STARKVILLE
The cheer rained down from the stands with 2 minutes, 22 seconds to go in the game.
If you didn’t know any better, you would have thought the No. 5 Mississippi State women’s basketball team was locked in a struggle that was going to go down to the final seconds.
Instead, most of the initial crowd of 6,352 at Humphrey Coliseum was still in attendance with No. 5 MSU leading Northwestern State 97-28 in the fourth quarter. Granted some had left early because the Bulldogs used a 31-9 first quarter to all but wrap up their 14th victory. Still, to see and to hear a crowd that large still in the Hump for a blowout that was taking place without MSU students on campus on a Wednesday night during a holiday break was impressive.
But that is how far MSU has come in five seasons with Vic Schaefer as its women’s basketball coach. The veteran coach, whose nickname is “Secretary of Defense,” couldn’t help but smile following the 106-30 victory when he was asked about the fans’ cheers for his team late in the game.
“It’s pretty special,” Schaefer said. “I get here at 5:25. It is an hour and 35 minutes before tip and there’s people outside waiting to come in, and it kills me that I can’t get them to open the doors until 6. They open (the doors) for the men at 5:30. For my game, it is 6. It kills me that those people are going to sit out there for 35 more minutes to get in to see my kids play, but it also warms my heart to know they are here to see my girls play.
“These kids deserve all of the credit for it. It is really a special time and a unique opportunity to see this team play, and they have earned these fans. I want to thank them. Y’all put it in the paper. I want to thank our fans that came out tonight (because) to have 6,352 for our non-conference game on December 28th is a great testament to what they have built here, to what this team has built here. It is fashionable to be at the women’s basketball game. It is the in thing to do in Stark Vegas.”
MSU hopes to have more than 6,352 fans at the Hump at 2 p.m. Sunday when it plays host to LSU in its Southeastern Conference season opener. Through games played Thursday, MSU is the only undefeated team remaining in the SEC, and one of only seven in Division I. MSU has accomplished that feat by playing only three home games. The Bulldogs’ schedule has featured more than 17,000 miles of travel and has included scenic stops like California and Hawaii as well as some more unconventional ones like Maine, Iowa, and Arkansas.
The game against Iowa State on Saturday, Dec. 3, in Ames, Iowa, is one of MSU’s best of the season. The Bulldogs rallied from a 17-point halftime deficit to earn an 85-81 overtime victory in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge before a crowd of 10,623 at Hilton Coliseum. The win helped MSU snap Iowa State’s 96-game non-conference home winning streak.
That victory is so impressive because MSU overcame one of the best home-court environments in the country — Iowa State ranked third in the nation in attendance last season — to set the stage for an unbeaten march through the non-conference slate.
On Sunday, MSU will look to its fans to create a home-court edge similar to the one Iowa State enjoys. If the past three seasons and the first three games of the 2016-17 campaign are any indication, the Hump should be rocking for the national television broadcast on the SEC Network.
Consider Schaefer arrived in Starkville in 2012 and inherited a program that averaged 1,442 fans a game in 2011-12. That figure has blossomed as the Bulldogs have increased their win total from 13 to 22 to 27 to 28. Last season, MSU drew a crowd of 10,626 for its 57-51 loss to South Carolina on Jan. 24, 2016. That crowd, the biggest in program history, helped MSU finish the year 16th in the nation in attendance with an average of 5,162.
More importantly, MSU ranked fourth in the nation in largest change in attendance for the second-straight year. In the last 10 seasons, MSU is one of only two Division I programs — South Carolina is the other — to rank in the top 10 of largest attendance increase for three years in row. South Carolina has done it four years in a row, but it is unlikely the Gamecocks will make it five in a row. Even though South Carolina led Division I women’s basketball in attendance (14,364) last season, it is more than 2,000 off (12,008) that pace entering SEC play.
MSU appears primed to match South Carolina’s streak. If you look at how the top 20 programs in attendance from 2015-16 are faring this season, MSU is seventh in Division I at 6,634. That is an increase of 1,472, which is the highest of any of the Bulldogs’ previous three changes.
Even without home games against South Carolina and Kentucky this season, MSU has a good chance to bolster its numbers with games against top rivals like LSU, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, and Tennessee. MSU also will play host to Florida, Missouri, Vanderbilt, and Georgia.
Those fans will be happy to know senior Dominique Dillingham likely will be back to help lead the Bulldogs. Dillingham has become a fan favorite with her tenacious defense and willingness to sacrifice her body to take charges. Dillingham missed six games after having knee surgery, but she played 19 minutes against Northwestern State.
Whether it’s Dillingham or Blair Schaefer taking charges, Victoria Vivians dazzling defenses with her perimeter shooting and drives to the basket, or Morgan William using her quickness to break down defenses and pester opponents, the Bulldogs have plenty of reasons to come to the Hump. Schaefer’s squad has size, speed, and experience and can go 13 deep if it needs to. It also enjoys a luxury few others have — a sixth man. Michigan State coach Suzy Merchant acknowledged that fact last season when she said Humphrey Coliseum is a place “where 7,000 sounds like 70,000.” That home-court edge (crowd of 7,094) played a key role in MSU’s 74-72 victory against Michigan State that helped it advance to its second Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament.
MSU hopes its home-court advantage can help it secure a top-four seed and a chance to play host to the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament again. Last season, MSU was a No. 5 seed and earned the chance to serve as host because Michigan State had a scheduling conflict with its home court and couldn’t play at home.
Sunday would be a great chance to see what it is like to be a part of a crowd of 70,000 indoors, so why not come out and kick off 2017 in style. Trust me, if you come out the Bulldogs will keep you coming back.
Adam Minichino is sports editor of The Dispatch. You can reach him by email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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