STARKVILLE — The puzzle pieces to Vic Schaefer’s 2020 Mississippi State women’s basketball team have begun falling into place.
Entering a year in which the Bulldogs had to replace three starters in Teaira McCowan, Jazzmun Holmes and Anriel Howard, Schaefer brought six newcomers to this season’s squad — four freshmen, junior college center Yemiyah Morris and Michigan State transfer forward Sidney Cooks — in an effort to bridge the gap.
And while finding continuity amongst the fresh faces and MSU’s talented but inexperienced returners has been taxing, Monday’s game against South Carolina offered a fuller look at what the Bulldogs may trot out come tournament time.
“If you’ve followed us at all or paid attention you probably can’t figure out my rotation right now,” Schaefer said at his midweek media availability Tuesday. “Because from one game to the next you’ve got somebody that might play 37 minutes and they might’ve played two last night, or three or four or whatever it is.”
Through 19 games this season, Schaefer has been relatively consistent in his starting lineups — having employed just four different combinations on the year. Further, only the contingent of senior Jordan Danberry, junior Chloe Bibby, sophomores Myah Taylor and Jessika Carter and freshman Rickea Jackson has been used more than once — 16 times to be exact.
And while he’s been reticent to make wholesale changes in the starting lineups, Schaefer has been anything but when it comes to dipping into his bench.
In MSU’s 16 wins this year, the Bulldogs have used all 12 available players in 12 of those victories. MSU has also used less than 10 players in a game just once this year — a four point victory over LSU on Jan. 16.
Monday’s game against South Carolina backed up this approach — albeit in defeat — as the Bulldogs received major contributions from freshman guards Aliyah Matharu and JaMya Mingo-Young in limited minutes.
Combining for 24 of MSU’s 36 bench points in 27 minutes of action, Mingo-Young and Matharu provided instant offense for a Bulldog team that desperately needed it, trailing by 12 after the first quarter.
In Matharu’s case, her 10-straight points gave MSU a lead late in the third quarter as she flashed an ability to beat her defender off the dribble and get to the hoop, in addition to a prolific 3-point shooting stroke — a gunner mentality that’s earned both Schaefer’s praise and maligning over the past few weeks.
As for Mingo-Young, she matched a career-high 14 points on 6 of 10 shooting while also notching three rebounds and two steals in a challenging defensive matchup against standout South Carolina guard Tyasha Harris.
“I think I handled it well, playing against somebody like her,” Mingo-Young said Tuesday. “I’ve got a lot of respect for her and just not being afraid of the moment and just going out there and seizing the opportunity — that’s all I really wanted to do.”
This isn’t to say MSU’s approach isn’t without its faults. While the Bulldogs boast a deep supporting cast at guard in Matharu, Mingo-Young and sharpshooting junior Andra Espinoza-Hunter, among others, Schaefer’s bunch remain thin in the frontcourt.
With Cooks ineligible this season due to NCAA transfer rules, MSU has leaned heavily on sophomore Jessika Carter to eat minutes at center. Through 19 appearances, Carter has averaged 28.7 minutes per game — a nearly three-fold uptick from her 10.8 minutes per night last season.
Behind Carter, Schaefer has been critical of the play of Morris and sophomore Promise Taylor in relief — going as far to say they were “lagging behind” ahead of SEC play.
Prepared or not, the pair was forced into stopgap duty after Carter picked up her second foul with 1:09 remaining in the first quarter. In a mixed result, Morris and Taylor combined for four points and five rebounds in 10 minutes played.
“I’d like to think Promise and Yemiyah had a little bit to do with us staying in it but those two, we’ve just got to develop them better,” Schaefer said. “We’ve just got to get more out of those two because when Jessika went out, (South Carolina) really went to work on us.”
While MSU has now equated its total losses from last season’s Elite Eight team, the Bulldogs should be favored in every regular season game the rest of the season — starting with Thursday’s road trip to Vanderbilt and Sunday’s home matinee against in-state rival Ole Miss. And though Schaefer’s rotation continues to be a work in progress, MSU’s showing against South Carolina proves the Bulldogs’ Final Four aspirations should remain possible in 2020 with a touch more consistency.
“This is a good, young group,” Schaefer said following MSU’s loss to West Virginia Dec. 8. “I love them and we’ll be better — we’re going to be ok. I know people around here think the sky is falling because we lost a nonconference game today, but it happens.”
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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