STARKVILLE — As freshman guard Aliyah Matharu walked across the court following Monday’s 82-46 win over UT Martin, coach Vic Schaefer walked alongside her.
Draping his arm around the minute point guard, Schaefer and Matharu traded laughs as a gaggle of MSU staffers joined the pair in the jaunt across the playing surface at a nearly empty Humphrey Coliseum.
“Thank y’all,” Schaefer said toward a few leftover reporters sitting at their baseline seats, laptops in front of them.
On a night that MSU received another poor offensive display from freshman phenom Rickea Jackson and a middling effort from starting point guard Myah Taylor, it was Matharu’s prowess that shined brightest.
“I’m young, and I’m learning,” she said postgame. “But my teammates don’t get on me when I mess up, and I feel like that’s really helping me. When I make a mistake they take their time with me, they’re patient, they tell me what I’m supposed to do, and they guide me.”
Rated the No. 28 player in ESPN HoopGurlz’s class of 2019 rankings, Matharu was named the group’s top stock riser after shifting from unheralded to a five-star rating at season’s end.
A dynamic scorer and energetic defender, she averaged 17.7 points and 3.5 steals per game as a senior at Bishop McNamara in Forestville, Maryland, while also notching 26.1 points and 7.5 rebounds for her AAU team — New World Basketball Academy — in 2018.
Playing alongside fellow five-star recruits Jakia Brown-Turner (now at North Carolina State) and Madison Scott (an Ole Miss signee) at Bishop McNamara, Matharu was forced into more of a utility role rather than her natural position at point guard.
Now back at point guard with the Bulldogs, she has taken kindly to her position. Through two games this year, Matharu is averaging 12.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game — including a 15-point outburst Monday against UT Martin.
“Phew, it’s hard,” she conceded through a smile of playing point guard at the collegiate level. “Because in high school I just filled in wherever I was needed — I could score, sometimes I could run the offense, but it wasn’t on me as much … Now it’s hard because it’s my time, and I have to tell everybody where to go.”
“She’s trying to play a position where she’s been the off guard in high school,” Schaefer said last week. “But I’ve seen her handle the ball and run a team, so I really believe if she’ll just listen and buy in a little bit she can play some minutes for us at point guard.”
Flashing an impressive ability to “let the game come to her,” as Schaefer calls it, Matharu finished her Monday night’s win 6 of 8 from the field and 3 of 5 from 3-point range.
“On dribble-drive, which (Schaefer) likes us to run, he likes us to attack the gaps (in the defense),” she explained. “Sometimes when you attack the gaps they sag off a little bit. And I know he’s comfortable with me shooting the ball, and I’m comfortable with my jump shot, so when I see an open shot sometimes I shoot — and I was just feeling it tonight.”
Beyond the offensive display, Matharu has also shown a propensity for gritty defense — a trademark of Schaefer-coached guards.
Standing with her feet at shoulder width and her torso square to Southern Miss’ Alarie Mayze last Friday, she crashed to the floor as the Golden Eagle guard sent her shoulder into Matharu’s upper body.
Popping up from the deck, Matharu let out an excited yell as the generally stone-faced Schaefer cracked a smile along the MSU bench. She had earned her first career charge.
Positive play aside, Matharu is the first to admit her game needs work. Following the Southern Miss game, Schaefer was less than thrilled with her seven turnovers. But speaking with the media Monday, both conceded the growing pains are simply a part of the process in indoctrinating Matharu into the college game.
“I’m really excited because sometimes I struggle with making the best passes and I know here on this team that’s a big part of setting my teammates up,” she said after a zero-turnover performance against the Skyhawks. “And I just focused on that tonight — trying not to make wild passes as I did the game before — and setting (my teammates) up to get the ball in a position to score or where they’re comfortable to do what they do best.”
Walking off the floor with Schaefer on Monday night, she offered a wave toward the remaining reporters on the baseline, thanking them for their coverage. With her bright turquoise Crocs squeaking into the tunnel and out of earshot, Matharu’s night concluded.
Though still relatively reserved as just a freshman, the 5-foot-7 guard has already offered a glimpse of what dynamism the present and future may hold in the MSU backcourt.
“It’s hard — yeah, it’s hard,” Matharu added of playing point guard in Schaefer’s system. “But I’m getting through it because my teammates are very supportive and they help me a lot.”
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.