STARKVILLE — Bre’Amber’s bloody left eye and the black and blue under it have healed nicely.
The Mississippi State sophomore doesn’t intend to stop playing aggressively. After all, MSU coach Vic Schaefer said he recruited the former Central High School (Ark.) standout to follow in the footsteps of former Bulldogs Dominique Dillingham, who earned the reputation of being a defensive stopper.
Scott continues to hustle and make plays on that end of the court, but she is slowly becoming a bigger offensive presence for the Bulldogs.
On Saturday, Scott scored a career-high 14 points and was one of five players in double figures in No. 6 MSU’s 105-38 victory against Jackson State before a crowd of 6,953 at Humphrey Coliseum.
“Bre the last four or five days is making everything she looks at,” Schaefer said. “She is smart, she knows angles. She is really developing into a really good player for us. I am going to need her. Her and Myah Taylor are our two best help-side defenders.”
Schaefer said Scott and all of the players know they have the green light to shoot the ball when they have their shots. That’s good news for Scott, who was 3-for-3 from the field with one 3-pointer and 7-for-8 from the free-throw line. She also had three rebounds, two assists, one steal, and took one charge, which made Schaefer smile.
“Bre has been practicing really well,” Schaefer said. “Bre has been practicing well. She is really coming into her own. I was determined she was going to kinda be that first guard coming in, and she did not disappoint. She has been making a lot of threes in practice, and she made one today in the game. I am always excited about somebody who can stretch the defense and rebound and defend. Bre can do all of that.”
Scott said earlier in the month that she still felt the effects from shoulder surgery last season, when she scored 39 points in 23 games. Her 14 points against Jackson State (1-4) gave her 40 for the season.
“I think I am getting my confidence back,” Scott said. “I’ve had a couple of injuries, like with my shoulder, so I wasn’t as confident shooting the ball, but it is coming back slowly. It starts in practice, and I have been shooting the ball good in practice, so my confidence is definitely there right now.”
Scott said she continues to strengthen her shoulder as a preventative measure. She said the added strength she has coming back from the injury has bolstered her confidence and helped her play a bigger role in the Bulldogs’ 6-0 start.
At 5-foot-11, Scott gives the Bulldogs a bigger guard they can pair with smaller and speedy backcourt mates like Jordan Danberry and Jazzmun Holmes. But Scott showed Saturday she can get to the rim just as strongly as some of her teammates, as she finished a layup on the right side of the rim and was fouled. She let out a roar of approval after the made the shot. Plays like that are bound to get Schaefer to call her number even quicker the rest of the season.
“Bre is kind of my bull in a china cabinet,” Schaefer said. “She is a pretty rough customer, and I like that about her. She is coming off a shoulder injury. It is hard to be physical when you’re a guard, but her and Jo(rdan) are probably two my toughest, most physical guards. They both know there is a real value to our team when they are like that. I like that when they bring that and set that tone for us.”
Four charges taken
The graduation of Blair Schaefer and Morgan William cost the Bulldogs two of their best charge takers.
This season, MSU is still looking for those help-side defenders who are willing to put their bodies in harm’s way to force a turnover.
Myah Taylor stepped into a starring role Saturday by taking three of the team’s four. The success in an area coach Schaefer loves saved him a little yard work.
“I was fixin’ to take the charge board down and take it home for kindling because we don’t need it,” Schaefer said. “Myah took three and Bre took one or two. We took four charges. That is more than we have got all year. I guess we will leave it up one more game to see if it is worth keeping up.”
No need for updates on Tate
A stress fracture kept sophomore guard Nyah Tate out of the Bulldogs’ first five games.
The 6-footer from Terry saw her first minutes of the season Saturday and poured in five points and had two rebounds in eight minutes.
“I was glad to see Nyah get out there and have some success. She played really well,” Schaefer said. “I am all about kids who can come in and make shots. That is what we always say, we will recruit you if you can score and we will teach you how to defend.”
Tate played in only 71 minutes last season, but the Bulldogs’ graduation losses created competition for playing time this season. Connecticut transfer Andra Espinoza-Hunter (13 points) has stepped into that void nicely after the NCAA declared her immediately eligible. Schaefer said Tate could have a chance to earn more playing time if she can get in better condition.
With Tate back in action, Ole Miss transfer Promise Taylor is the only inactive Bulldog. Taylor is waiting for a ruling from the NCAA to declare if she is eligible to play this season after playing as a freshman in Oxford.
Offensive fireworks
No. 6 MSU scored 100 or more points for a program-record fourth-straight game.
Teaira McCowan led the Bulldogs with 19 points, followed by Danberry (16 points), and Anriel Howard (11).
Jessika Carter had a team-high eight rebounds and six blocked shots. Myah Taylor had six assists.
The Bulldogs have scored 77 or more points in all six games this season. On defense, all six opponents have been held to 53 points or less.
“We came out offensively and were very good,” Schaefer said. “Our transition game was good.”
MSU has won 42 straight non-conference games in the regular season. The Bulldogs also won their 25th-straight game at home, which ties for the fourth-best active streak in program history.
McCowan, Carter playing together
MSU won a program-record 37 games with a versatile lineup that saw Victoria Vivians play a lot of minutes at forward.
That lineup created matchup problems for opponents and gave Vivians the ability to beat bigger defenders off the dribble.
This season, MSU has similar depth in the backcourt. On Saturday, Schaefer displayed a wrinkle in the frontcourt by playing McCowan, who is 6-7, and Carter, who is 6-5, at the same time.
“Teaira can do some things skill set wise and handling the ball,” Schaefer said. “We may go to a big lineup some, especially if we play some zone, so I don’t mind playing those two if we can shoot it and go get it. That would be fine with me. I am just trying to get the two of them some minutes together knowing that down the line we may need them.”
This and that
MSU had 20 or more assists for the fourth-straight game. … The Bulldogs held their sixth-straight opponent to 32.1 percent shooting or lower. … MSU forced 20 or more turnovers for the sixth-straight game. … The Bulldogs shot 50 percent or better from the field for the third-straight game. … MSU won its fourth-straight game by 51 or more points. … The Bulldogs had 11 or more teals for the third-straight game. … MSU will play at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Little Rock.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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