STARKVILLE — Mississippi State women’s basketball coach Vic Schaefer understands what a Southeastern Conference championship team looks like.
Last season, Schaefer guided MSU to a 16-0 finish in league play for the program’s first SEC regular-season title.
MSU turned its focus to SEC play minutes after its 104-36 rout of Louisiana on Sunday at Humphrey Coliseum. The victory helped MSU close the non-conference slate with a 12-1 record. The loss was an 82-74 setback at No. 5 Oregon. SEC play will start at 6 p.m. Thursday against Arkansas (11-3) in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
“These students-athletes are getting ready for a two-month grind,” Schaefer said. “That’s exactly what life in our league is all about. It’s a grind. Each night you are facing some of the elite teams and coaches in this nation. We survived that grind a year ago. It takes a special team. Do I like where we are right now? Yes.
“We have established we are a good team, even on some nights, a great team. That doesn’t mean there isn’t room to grow and get better. I believe in this team a lot. I think there is still enormous growth that we can make, so take where you are and be happy. Don’t be satisfied.”
After leading MSU to back-to-back in national championship games, Schaefer has continued the recent trend of a daunting non-conference schedule. The team has grown through a mixed bag of road games, home games, ranked opponents, and struggling opponents.
MSU topped 100 points for a sixth time in 13 games against Louisiana. While Sunday’s defensive performance was an outlier, senior guard Jordan Danberry knows the potential of this team.
“We have to get better on the defensive end to compete for championships,” Danberry said. “Everybody is doing their part on the offensive end. A year ago, we were great on defense, and we need to get back to that to continue winning. Everybody is happy, pleased, about how this season has gone.
“A lot of teams would like to be 12-1, like the position we are in. For the younger players, this is fixing to be a challenge. Like coach said, it’s a grind. We have to step our game up mentally and be ready for that.”
MSU announced a sellout crowd of 10,242 Sunday. That ranks as the fifth largest crowd in program history. The arena was estimated at being 80 percent full. While Schaefer has grown used to large crowds, even he was surprised by Sunday’s turnout.
School is still out for Christmas break and a large fraction of the fan base already had left for Tampa, Florida, where the No. 18 MSU football team lost to Iowa 27-22 on Tuesday in the Outback Bowl.
“Coach (Johnnie) Harris and I are still amazed every time we come through that tunnel,” Schaefer said. “We shouldn’t be because that’s the norm around here. My first year here we probably played before 10,000 for the whole season combined. Now, Mississippi State women’s basketball on a Sunday afternoon is a destination.
“Our fans plan family road trips around watching this team play. I will be forever indebted to our fans for their support. I think we pay a little bit of that back by the product that is put on the floor. We have created a hostile environment for opposing teams here. We know we will have that eight times during league play.”
Sophomore guard Bre’Amber Scott scored a game-high 21 points against Louisiana. She said the team grew during a road trip to Austin, Texas, to face Texas and on a road trip that featured games against Oregon and Washington.
“The coaches do a great job of preparing us,” Scott said. “We are playing with confidence. I think that is going to help us when we play conference games. This team wants to have their own identity.”
Danberry said MSU has a high amount of confidence. It also has an understanding of how much improvement needs to be made, despite being the conference’s highest-ranked team entering league play.
“There is so much potential on this team,” Danberry said. “We have to keep working until we realize what all we can do. Coach talks all the time about being consistent in everything we do. That is what we are trying to do.”
Schaefer said he had high comfort level with each of his last two teams. He said he felt like if the seniors made the bus, his team would have a great chance of winning. He is working on having a similar peace with his current squad.
“We would like to have the Oregon game back,” Schaefer said. “If you lose a game, you want to play that game again. We didn’t play to our potential in that game. Even though we would like that one back, we have established we are a good team. I am still trying to get a pulse on this team. There was a comfort level the last couple of years.
“We can get there with this team. For now, it’s back to practice and working hard to play Arkansas. You can’t get caught up in the big picture when conference play starts. You have to focus on the opponent straight ahead. The only guarantee is we will keep working hard and keep getting better.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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