STARKVILLE — Teaira McCowan is a player after Vic Schaefer’s heart, even if she puts baseline cameramen in peril.
To say the Mississippi State sophomore center doesn’t know how strong she is would be an understatement. It is also safe to say that the safety of cameramen for the SEC Network or other ESPN entities or photographers might be in question when McCowan is on the court.
McCowan accentuated that point Thursday night when she blocked a shot by Delicia Washington into the lap of a SEC Network cameraman seated in a rolling chair on the baseline. The defensive stand was part of a dominating all-around performance by McCowan, who had a career-high 25 points in the No. 4 Mississippi State women’s basketball team’s 82-49 victory against Florida before a crowd of 5,575 at Humphrey Coliseum.
“What can you say about Big T? Spectacular,” MSU coach Vic Schaefer said. “She really, really dominated her position and got her feet where she wanted them, and then you have to give our guards credit. On ball reversal, we found her, she was pinning, and I thought ball reversal and attacking, especially with Victoria (Vivians) was really good.”
The win helped MSU (18-0) equal the 2014-15 team for the best start in program history. MSU will try to eclipse that mark at 6 p.m. Monday (SEC Network) when it plays host to Ole Miss.
McCowan said she prefers blocking shots into the laps of cameramen over scoring on layups or hook shots.
“He has the camera and it makes my block look good from the angle,” McCowan said.
Vivians added 21 points, five rebounds, three assists, and four steals, while Chinwe Okorie had 13 points and six rebounds to help MSU keep pace with No. 1 Connecticut (15-0) as the only remaining undefeated teams in Division I women’s basketball.
McCowan was a driving force behind the Bulldogs’ program-best 4-0 start in the Southeastern Conference. The 6-foot-7 native of Brenham, Texas, built off a 14-point effort against Tennessee on Sunday with a 12-of-13 shooting performance in 24 minutes.
“When my number is called I have to step up and be there for my team and trust them to get me the ball and they have to trust me that I can finish and score inside,” said McCowan, who didn’t know she had made 12 shots in a row before missing her last one. She said under her breath that she doesn’t make 12 shots in a row in practice.
A five-play sequence in the fourth quarter epitomized McCowan’s dominance. She opened the stanza with an offensive rebound putback. She followed that by stealing the Gators’ inbounds pass. Shortly thereafter, McCowan converted a miss by Blair Schaefer and then scored on a hook shot in the paint off a pass from Ketara Chapel.
McCowan admitted her footwork wasn’t the best when she arrived in Starkville, but she said the coaches have encouraged her to “unlock her hips” to turn and score. She said her key is to get her footing down and then to get her hips unlocked to be as effective as she was against the Gators.
Florida coach Amanda Butler said MSU capitalized on its size advantage. Even though Florida had 6-4, 6-3, and 6-1 in the post, MSU had a 40-20 edge in points in the paint.
“They were just being big,” Butler said. “It was not a surprise. It was not something we didn’t account for. There are a few things wise you have to do technique wise every time or you’re going to be pushed around like that. We didn’t. Our effort on the weak side, in particular, wasn’t consistent. Our post defense wasn’t aggressive and physical enough. I thought we played really soft in the paint.”
The 38 points (11 rebounds and three blocked shots) by McCowan and Okorie is the highest total those two players have had in one-and-a-half seasons.
Schaefer praised the work of associate head coach Johnnie Harris, who works with the post players. He said Harris has worked with the centers to create habits and not to think about their footwork or doing a move a certain way. McCowan agreed and said she does best when she goes by instinct and powers up on her shot. It doesn’t matter if it is a hook shot or a putback because McCowan, who Schaefer said is the most flexible player on the team, can score in a variety of ways. She showed a little flair in the third quarter when she took a pass from Jazzmun Holmes and scored off one leg on a hook shot in the lane. That shot might not have been emphatic as the blocked shot into the cameraman’s lap, but the touch on the shot reflected a maturity and a development that says the Parade All-American out of Brenham High School can get even better.
“I think she is stepping up to the challenge,” Schaefer said. “She is respecting her opponent and, at the same time, she is attacking her opponent. She is not taking things for granted. She has had a tendency to stand, but I don’t think she is standing right now. I think she had three offensive boards and every one of them was a stickback. That gives them the confidence to shoot.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.