STARKVILLE — The frustration was evident in Vic Schaefer’s voice and in his body language.
Schaefer has earned the nickname “Secretary of Defense” for his ability to get his players to play aggressive, in-your-face defense that sets the tone. Now in his third season as women’s basketball coach at Mississippi State, Schaefer has worked hard with his coaches to impress the importance of those concepts on the Bulldogs.
But Schaefer couldn’t help be disappointed with No. 22 MSU’s defensive showing Thursday in an 81-77 victory against Louisiana Tech. Senior guard Kelia Shelton had a season-high 31 points on 11-of-21 shooting to help the Lady Techsters (3-4) nearly hand MSU (9-0) its first loss of the season.
Schaefer understands Shelton, who entered the game shooting 28.8 percent from the field, had a game in which she was in the zone, but he also saw a team that didn’t invest in digging deep and stopping the other squad. He also saw the Lady Techsters refuse to be pressed and attack the basket seemingly at will against the Bulldogs.
Still, MSU found a way to win on an evening in which it played far from its best. That thought was of little consolation to Schaefer after the game.
“I am a little worried about defense,” Schaefer said. “We are the worst defensive team ever. We’re just not very good defensively. We took one charge (Ketara Chapel) tonight. Typically we are taking five to eight. They made a bunch of jump shots, but they also drove it on us a bunch and we didn’t rotate and help the helper. We always rotated, but we didn’t rotate and help the helper. That is my fault. I am supposed to be some great defensive coach and we are out there giving up 77 points.”
Schaefer hopes MSU will be ready to play better defense at 2 p.m. today when it plays at Southern Mississippi (6-2). Last season, MSU defeated Southern Miss 74-66 in double overtime in the second round of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament. It was one of two victories the Bulldogs had against the Golden Eagles in 2013-14. MSU won 71-61 in Starkville on Dec. 14, 2013.
Schaefer said Thursday night his team can’t afford to deliver another defensive effort like the one it did Thursday against Southern Miss because the Golden Eagles will capitalize. MSU enters the game ninth in the Southeastern Conference in scoring defense (61 points per game) and ninth in field goal percentage defense (38.9). The Bulldogs have countered those numbers with the SEC’s best scoring offense (89.3 ppg.) and its best offensive rebounding attack (21.9 per game). MSU also is tied with Arkansas for the best rebounding margin in the league (11.9).
But Schaefer knows his team won’t be able to outscore everyone, especially in the SEC, or rely on its rebounding to be its saving grace. That’s why he wants his players to get better defensively.
“We’re not hooked up,” Schaefer said Friday. “Part of that is our youth and our inexperience. We have a bunch of freshmen and sophomores who are out on the floor. They’re going to be good, but right now they are still of that mind-set they have had all of their lives, which is I have got to go score and when are we going on offense? They don’t understand the importance of defense or a scouting report that it takes 20 or 30 hours to do, which is for their benefit, so you better go an d study it.”
Schaefer feels his team has shown signs of hunkering down and defending. He pointed to a 74-61 victory against then-No. 16 West Virginia on Nov. 20 in Starkville. But he just as quickly points to games against Arkansas State and Western Kentucky in which his team gave up “a bunch of points.” He said he received a text message Friday morning from a friend who watched the game against Louisiana Tech and told him to “hang in there” because the Bulldogs weren’t playing defense like he is accustomed to seeing Schaefer’s team’s play. For someone who has prided himself in his players’ toughness and ability to affect the game on defense, that is something Schaefer will work hard on to change.
MSU won despite shooting only 25.7 percent (9 of 35) from the field in the first half. The Bulldogs regrouped to shoot 14 of 30 (46.7) in the second half thanks to a concerted effort to go inside.
MSU also was 33 of 46 from the free-throw line, including 18 of 24 in the final 20 minutes. Still, MSU appeared to get bogged down at times, especially with freshman guard Victoria Vivians going 4 of 18 from the field en route to a team-high 20 points. Dominique Dillingham’s layup tied the score at 77. Kendra Grant then hit 1 of 2 free throws before Ketara Chapel (13 points) hit a layup with one second left on the shot clock to give the Bulldogs a three-point cushion.
“We just couldn’t find our rhythm,” MSU senior guard Jerica James said. “There were a lot of fouls called. … We just didn’t have that spark we usually have. Clearly we needed that. … We were settling (for shots). We could have attacked more. I felt like we were taking more outside shots instead of attacking like we normally do.”
Schaefer would love to see his players have that same attacking mind-set on defense. He said certain players have to take better care of the basketball, while others have to understand they need to play equally hard on both ends of the floor. With a team that has regularly played five freshmen and a sophomore (Chinwe Okorie) who is in her first season, Schaefer realizes there are going to be growing pains, but he also knows the start of the SEC season is less than three weeks away.
“It just makes me sick how bad we are defensively,” Schaefer said. “We are just not committed to it. We have some that are, but two people can’t guard five. It takes five people playing cohesively as one. We’re not there, and I don’t expect us to be there because it is the last thing you get. But you have to play hard defensively. We just don’t play hard defensively as a unit. We will watch the film. The film doesn’t lie. It is that attention to detail. It is that commitment. It is a discipline. It is understanding that if you are going to win in the SEC you better play defense, you better rebound, you better have an inside game. If you are going to win on the road, you better play defense, you better rebound, you better have an inside game. The only thing we’re doing is rebounding.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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