OXFORD — Vic Schaefer has a two-headed monster at just about every position.
That depth has propelled the Mississippi State women’s basketball team to new heights in The Associated Press and the USA Today Coaches polls.
On Sunday, No. 4 MSU received three solid efforts off the bench in its 66-44 victory against Ole Miss before a crowd of 4,634 at The Pavilion at Ole Miss.
In addition to Teaira McCowan’s 17-point, 18-rebound performance, senior forward Ketara Chapel had six points, three assists, and two steals in 24 minutes, while sophomore point guard Jazzmun Holmes had six points, two assists, and three steals in 13 minutes.
All three players had key role in a 24-4 second quarter that helped MSU (25-1, 11-1 Southeastern Conference) break the game open.
“Late in the second quarter I thought we kind of hit our second wind and I thought they maybe were getting a little tired,” Schaefer said. “We just seemed to get every loose ball. We had good denial, we got out in transition, and got some fast-break points.”
The efforts of the reserves help make up for the fact junior guard Victoria Vivians was 3 of 21 from the field and had 11 points.
“How many times are we going to win by 22 with Victoria Vivians going 3-for-21?” Schaefer said. “That don’t happen very much. I think that speaks well for the rest of our team and their execution. Dom(inique Dillingham) made some big shots in the second half. Chinwe and Teaira went 10-for-14, and Ketara comes off the bench and goes 3-for-6. We did a nice job sharing the ball.”
Chapel logged the most minutes since she played 30 on Dec. 13, 2016, in a 58-44 victory at Little Rock. She showed her versatility by helping on defense and feeding the post to keep MSU’s offense clicking.
“Our defensive intensity led to our offense,” Dillingham said. “Ketara came in and gave us some really great minutes and played great defense and was denying the ball. Jazz played really well. She was all over the ball and was getting steals. I think hustle plays and our defensive intensity in the second quarter really got us off to a good start.”
Holmes added a spark at the point to keep the Bulldogs’ defense humming. Starting point guard Morgan William added seven points and five assists in 27 minutes.
“We had a lot of people involved and a lot of people played well,” Schaefer said. “A lot of people did some good things in a game we had to have.”
Aside from McCowan, who spelled starting center Chinwe Okorie (six points, four rebounds in nine minutes due to foul trouble), Chapel had some of the biggest minutes because senior forward Breanna Richardson had an “off” day, according to Schaefer.
“Both of those kids have started all of their career,” Schaefer said. “Those kids have impacted our program now to the tune of 102 victories in four years and climbing. Bre was off today (one point, five rebounds in 15 minutes). Ketara steps up. They have kind of ham-and-egged it all of their career at Mississippi State. They’re best friends, yet they’re competing for the same time on the court. But that is what makes those kids special, and they’re really special kids.
“We talk about it all of the time, do you want to impact me or do you want to impress me? I think our kids understand the importance of trying to make an impact. I was really proud of Ketara today.”
Ole Miss struggles from field
Ole Miss coach Matt Insell liked what he saw from his team Monday in an 84-75 victory against Florida in Gainesville, Florida.
The Rebels shot 45.6 percent from the field, including a 10-for-20 effort from 3-point range, to record their highest field goal shooting mark in 11 games, dating back to a victory against Austin Peay.
Unfortunately, Ole Miss wasn’t able to build off that effort in a 62-51 loss to LSU on Thursday. The Rebels shot 33.9 percent in that loss. They had an even tougher day from the field against Mississippi State, shooting a season-low 29.6 percent (16 of 54). The Rebels also were 1 of 10 from 3-point range and 11 of 20 from the free-throw line.
“The last two games we have not shot the ball well,” Insell said. “We shot the ball extremely well at Florida on Monday, and we have come back home and have not shot it well at all. When you go 1 of 10 from the 3-point line and 11 of 20 from the free-throw line, that is not what you do to win a game at this level.”
Erika Sisk led Ole Miss (15-10, 4-8) with 14 points, while Taylor Manuel and Madinah Muhammad had 10. Shandricka Sessom had a team-high nine rebounds for the Rebels. The game was Ole Miss’ third in seven days. It will play host to Auburn at 8 p.m. Friday.
“We got in foul trouble, we went 1 of 10 from the field, and within that 1 of 10 I think we missed six layups at the rim,” Insell said. “You look at the second quarter, we get 10 shot attempts and they get 26. We went 1 of 4 from the free-throw line. The stats don’t lie. … You have to put the ball in the hole. Then we got to turning the ball over and we had some kids get in foul trouble and we had to play some kids some extra minutes.”
Insell also wasn’t pleased because he felt the Bulldogs outhustled the Rebels. He called two 30-second timeouts in a span of 1 minute, 17 seconds in an attempt to stop MSU’s momentum in what turned out to be the end of a 24-4 quarter. After one of the turnovers, Insell wasn’t happy that the Rebels didn’t get back down the court to try to stop the Bulldogs.
“I really thought I was going to lose my hair,” Insell said. “I was frustrated with them because there was a loose ball and we had one player run after the ball. That is not us. That blew me away. I will fix that. Hopefully, I will fix it in the next couple of days, but if not I will fix it when the offseason comes. You have to play hard and you have to hustle and you have to go after the ball there. State got going there. … We didn’t do that bad defensively. They scored 66 points, but the second quarter is when they really got going on us.”
Insell credited MSU for its ability to feed McCowan and Chinwe Okorie in the post. He said the Rebels didn’t push either player off the block like they were able to do in a 73-62 loss last month in Starkville.
Fans travel to support Bulldogs
MSU fans have come out in droves to support the women’s basketball team at Humphrey Coliseum the last four seasons.
On Sunday, MSU’s fans made up a large part of the crowd of 4,634, which was Ole Miss’ second-largest crowd of the season. Much of the lower section behind the team benches was filled with people wearing maroon on a day the Rebels celebrated their ninth-annual Tickled Pink at The Pavilion” in honor of breast cancer awareness.
“I want to give a big shout out to my fans,” Schaefer said. “Our fans made that a great college basketball atmosphere today. They have got it listed at 4,500 (4,634), but I am going to say half of them were ours, at least. I am really proud of our fan base. That’s part of it. When you’re building a program, that is part of what you’re doing, you’re developing a fan base. You want people who want to travel.”
Noteworthy
MSU needs one more win to clinch a top-four spot in the SEC tournament, which begins March 1 in Greenville, South Carolina. The top four teams will earn a double bye until the quarterfinals on Friday, March 3. … Schaefer said junior guard Roshunda Johnson missed the game due to precautionary medical reasons. He also said redshirt freshman center Zion Campbell will miss two to four weeks with a stress reaction in her foot. … The Rebels committed 20 or more turnovers for the seventh time this season. Their 1-for-10 showing from 3-point range marked the second time this season they have hit only one 3-pointer in a game.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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