Miss. State shifts aim to S. Carolina
DALLAS - Go ahead and pick South Carolina to beat Mississippi State on Sunday for the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship. The Bulldogs don’t mind. They’re used to it. And, at this point, they probably prefer being counted out on the national level.
An ESPN panel of analysts all picked Washington and all-time leading scorer Kelsey Plum to beat Mississippi State in the Sweet 16. They all chose perenni-
al powerhouse Baylor over the Bulldogs in the Elite Eight. Minutes before Mississippi State played UConn, a breakdown comparing the Huskies and South Carolina aired on ESPN.
To be fair to the network, few thought Mississippi State would break UConn’s 111-game winning streak Friday night.
Yet here the Bulldogs are. They’re still at the American Airlines Center. They are playing in the national championship for the first time against South Carolina on Sunday (ESPN).
“Until you know what’s inside their breastplate, know the heart, the size of their heart, you just – my confidence in them is a whole lot different obviously than the confidence of the media,” Vic Schaefer said. “That’s fine. It’s fine.”
Another day in the NCAA Tournament presents another challenge for Mississippi State. It’s the final one. And although nothing really compares to having to top UConn in the postseason, it’s still a doozy.
To be crowned national champion, Mississippi State (34-4) will have to do something it has never accomplished under Vic Schaefer and that’s beat South Carolina (32-4).
“That’s our next step,” Breanna Richardson said.
The Gamecocks have defeated MSU twice this season. South Carolina’s 59-49 win in the SEC Tournament’s title game marked the 10th straight victory for the Gamecocks against the Bulldogs.
South Carolina handed MSU the Bulldogs’ first loss of the season, 64-61, on Jan. 23.
South Carolina defends the Bulldogs well, and Gamecocks guards Allisha Gray and Tyasha Harris are particularly tough to beat off the dribble. A’ja Wilson, at 6-foot-5, had 15 points and nine rebounds in the SEC Championship. South Carolina’s defense forced MSU to take bad shots the last time both teams played and the Bulldogs went 0-for-15 from 3point range. “South Carolina is a good defensive team,” Vivians said.
MSU committed 14 turnovers against South Carolina last time. Morgan William, the breakout star of the NCAA Tournament, had seven turnovers. The point guard averages 2.14 turnovers per game, and based off the way she is playing lately – the 41 points against Baylor, the buzzer-beater against UConn and six turnovers in her last four games – there is reason to think William will respond well.