MSU women look to find edge again against Tennessee
For the first time in the history of the Mississippi State and Tennessee women’s basketball series, the Bulldogs came into last year’s senior night game in control of the series.
MSU had never beaten the Lady Volunteers in basketball until Vic Schaefer broke that streak in 2016. After their first win ever in Knoxville a season ago, the Bulldogs were on an unprecedented three-game winning streak.
That was until the proverbial wheels fell off.
While honoring the school’s all-time winningest senior class prior to the game, things got emotional both on the floor and in the stands. Add in a share of the Southeastern Conference Championship being on the line and MSU couldn’t hold on to it. Tennessee took advantage and rolled the Bulldogs 82-64 in a game that was never competitive.
With two days off with no school and the bye week, MSU leaves for Knoxville on Saturday.
“Tennessee played really good,” Schaefer said. “That was like playing the WNBA version of them. We were a basket case from the jump. There wasn’t a dry eye in the building. We had 10,500 there, it was senior night and, man, it was a train wreck.
“It’s the worst feeling as a coach to be playing at home in front of 10,500 and it’s over before the jump. There’s nothing you can do about it. It’s such a helpless feeling.”
That game prompted Schaefer to make many changes. One of those was for future reference as he had no plans for a “senior night” moving forward. Instead, all of the Bulldog seniors are honored individually during separate home games this season. The distraction piece of that ceremony is now gone.
It also helped MSU find itself for postseason play. The Bulldogs went to the SEC Tournament Championship game for the second year in a row and eventually made a run to the national title game. Both of their final losses came against South Carolina.
Before No. 3 MSU (19-0, 5-0 SEC) can avenge those losses to the Gamecocks, it will get an opportunity to take down Tennessee again this week when the Bulldogs travel to Knoxville again on Sunday at 2 p.m.
Blair Schaefer was a big part of that first win ever in Thompson-Boling Arena and that still stays in her mind. As does last year’s disappointing loss to Tennessee that’s started a 19-game regular-season winning streak since.
“When you lose by 60 to UConn, you don’t like it,” Blair Schaefer said. “It doesn’t sit well with you. It gives us motivation to come out strong, fight harder, do the little things. They came and outworked us in every area so we really need to focus on what we do that makes us a good basketball team.”