STARKVILLE — First things first, Savannah Carter tried to call timeout with the Mississippi State women’s basketball team nursing a one-point lead against Texas A&M in overtime Sunday.
But you never know when you’re going to have an equipment malfunction, or when your mouthpiece is going to get stuck in your mouth and render it impossible for you to say the word — TIMEOUT — everyone wants you to deliver before you commit a turnover with the game on the line.
That’s OK, though, because Carter is the kind of lunch-pail player who will pick herself up, dust herself off, and get back into the fray. If you needed any proof, you only needed to watch the final 31 seconds of MSU’s nail-biter against Texas A&M at Humphrey Coliseum. After corralling a rebound under MSU’s basket, Carter toed the baseline and tried to no avail to call timeout. Without a good hold on the ball, Carter feared losing it, so she fell out of bounds to give the ball back to the Aggies.
Carter made sure the turnover proved to be irrelevant, as she shadowed the Aggies’ Courtney Walker on the ensuing play and was right up on her to contest what could have been the go-ahead jump shot. Carter’s defense forced Walker’s shot to go long. Breanna Richardson battled for the loose ball on the weak side before Carter and MSU’s Morgan William teamed near midcourt to gain control. Carter capped the wild finish by hitting 1 of 2 free throws with two seconds to play to seal MSU’s 63-61 victory.
“It was just a great win for me personally because what we did when we went to their place,” Carter said Carter, referring to a 73-35 loss to Texas A&M on Jan. 19, 2014. “We didn’t have a great game. We kind of felt like we let the coaches down, so I felt like being a senior, not getting as many minutes as I thought I would be getting due to my leg, I have to keep the bench going and keep the people out there who are playing motivated, and when it is my turn to get out there, just play. To get this win is pretty big for me. I feel like I have been here the whole four years with them.”
The win pushed MSU to 23-3 and 8-3 in the Southeastern Conference. It also helped the Bulldogs climb four places to No. 13 in this week’s The Associated Press Top 25. The loss dropped Texas A&M one spot to No. 15.
Carter said she knew Walker or Courtney Williams was going to take what could have been the final shot for Texas A&M, so she knew she had to shake off the turnover. She said the Bulldogs worked on contesting shots hard leading up to the game, so she kept her hands up straight and jumped straight up to make things as tough as possible for Walker.
“It’s like having four fouls in that type of situation,” Carter said. “You can’t really think about fouling and you can’t really think about getting your fifth foul. You just have to play defense.”
The free throw was the only point Carter scored in 10 minutes. She also had four rebounds and a steal in a victory that guarantee MSU will finish at least .500 in the SEC with five regular-season league games remaining.
Carter said she is feeling mentally and physically stronger as the Bulldogs enter the home stretch. That could be exciting news because the senior gives MSU a tenacious presence on defense and another slasher and shooter on offense who can help keep defenses honest. The trouble is a leg injury has prevented Carter from playing a bigger role. She missed eight of the team’s first nine games of the season, and then played double-digit minutes in only two of the next five games. Carter also missed MSU’s final non-conference game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff and its SEC opener against Georgia. Prior to the Texas A&M game, she had played double-digit minutes only three times.
Carter isn’t sure how she will be able to affect the action when and if she is called on. She said she is using practices as her games to make sure she is prepared if she is needed. She said she has been to go all of the team’s recent practices, which she hopes will help her earn more minutes.
“Going through what I have been going through with the leg and the left leg not healing as much as I need it to and being painful, it has been adversity to deal with in the middle of the season,” Carter said. “But coach gives me these motivational things every Monday. Those have really helped a lot. I think I have really gotten stronger mentally, and I am really starting to see it.”
MSU coach Vic Schaefer praised the team for its effort and its focus. Carter was at the top of the list for her defensive efforts in the second half. After Walker went 6 of 11 from the field and had 19 points in the first half, she finished 7 of 25 from the field and with a game-high 25 points.
“Van (Carter) and Dom (Dominique Dillingham) obviously are our two best defenders,” Schaefer said. “I have a lot of confidence in those kids. … Van is a tremendous competitor. She and Dominique are tough kids. Van understands the importance of what she brings to our team. I have been telling Van it is not too late, you can get in the fray whenever you are ready. I am real proud of hr. She impacted the game today.”
Freshman Morgan William also played a key role in the victory. The 5-foot-5 point guard had 15 points and a career-high six rebounds in 28 minutes. She scored six key points late in the second half to fuel the Bulldogs’ comeback from an eight-point deficit. She also had the assist on Victoria Vivians’ 3-pointer from the corner that proved to be the game-winning shot. For her efforts, William was named SEC Freshman of the Week.
“Coach always tells me no one can stop me,” William said when asked about her drives in the lane. “I would go off the screens and the post player would come out and I would know that the post player would be open or I am going to go (to the basket), so I was like, ‘I am going to go.’ I went and I hopped and I just laid it up.
“When I am in that situation in practice, I normally throw it out and he is in my ear telling me, ‘Shoot the ball,’ … so I laid it up.”
The honor was the second this season for William. She earned the league’s first honor of the season following wins against Mercer and Arkansas State in the Preseason Women’s National Invitation Tournament.
MSU will take on No. 10 Kentucky at 6 p.m. Thursday (SEC Network) in Lexington, Kentucky.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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