STARKVILLE – Victoria Vivians gathered in the pass, took a deep breath and let a shot fly from the corner in the first half of Mississippi State’s women’s basketball maroon-white scrimmage Thursday night.
The shot found nothing but the bottom of the net for Vivians’ first career three-pointer in a live game at MSU’s Humphrey Coliseum.
Fans of MSU’s women’s basketball team should get used to seeing that.
Vivians, a highly touted true freshman who broke the all-time Mississippi high-school scoring record at Scott Central, was the top scorer at Thursday night’s scrimmage, an intra-squad game that feature the MSU women’s team separated into two squads for a half before uniting to play against The Guys, the group of male MSU students that often scrimmages against the Bulldogs.
Vivians finished with a game-high 23 points, and she was 3-for-6 from three-point range.
“She is a knockdown shooter,” said sophomore Breanna Richardson, who finished with 15 points. “That’s what we expect from her. She does it everyday in practice so I didn’t think it would be any different out here.”
The big night from Vivians was the centerpiece of a strong performance by MSU’s freshman class, a crop ranked as a top 20 recruiting haul nationally for MSU head coach Vic Schaeffer. That included point guard Morgan William, a lightning-quick spark plug from Shades Valley High in Alabama that finished with 19 points. William and Vivians were joined by fellow freshmen Blair Schaefer and LaKaris Salter on the court. Salter finished with seven points.
“Our freshmen aren’t scared. They’re super competitive kids who have won at a very high level,” Schaefer said. “They’re all very accomplished in high school, and now they have to step up to the big league. I thought they did that tonight.”
The highlights of that group were Vivians and William, who combined for 42 points.
“It was important for us to put on for our fans,” said William, who also had four assists. “This is the first time we have played in front of people, so we wanted to make it count.”
The Bulldogs played four 10-minute quarters, with the first half consisting of an inter-squad scrimmage and the second half pitting the MSU women’s team against the men’s practice squad. In the first half, MSU’s White team rode 16 points from William to take a 41-37 advantage.
On the night, Dominique Dillingham joined a quintet of Bulldogs in double figures as the shooting guard added 15 points.
For Schaefer, MSU’s third-year head coach, the night was about finding cohesion and camaraderie on a team that features nine sophomores and freshmen.
“We’re still trying to figure out the right combinations,” said Schaefer. “We’ve got so many kids that can play, we just have to find that perfect chemistry and see which girls can play well together. I think our kids were ready to play and were excited to play in front of our fans.”
Richardson, a sophomore from Conyers, Georgia, agreed with her coach.
“Basically we were just trying to find chemistry, trying to get to know each other a little better,” said Richardson. “We found it. We beat the guys tonight, and we don’t usually beat them in practice. I guess we were hyped up, we got to show out in front of the crowd.”
For Vivians, the Humphrey Coliseum debut was memorable, but it could have been better.
“I can definitely improve on my defense,” said Vivians. “My shot felt good but I want to be a complete player.”
Alwal out
One of MSU’s biggest adjustments for Thursday night’s scrimmage was dealing with the absence of preseason All-Southeastern Conference pick Martha Alwal, a senior who was named as a First Team All-Defensive Team member in the SEC a year ago. Alwal missed the game due to an injury.
“She’ll be back,” said Schaefer. “Her and Savannah (Carter) are out for a while, but they will certainly be back sooner than later.”
Savannah Carter also did not dress due to ankle injury.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brandon Walker on Twitter @BWonStateBeat
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