Jackson Free Press

In the first two rounds of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, things went as planned for Mississippi State University. The hosting Bulldogs switched up the starting lineup and rotation, but Head Coach Vic Schaefer made the changes work.

MSU got little resistance from opening-round foe No. 15-seed Troy University with a 110-69 win on Friday, March 17. The Bulldogs won an opening-round game for the eighth time in a row and topped 100 points for the first time in an NCAA Tournament.

The 41-point win is the largest in a tournament game and tied a school record for most three-pointers made in a tournament game with 12. Five players scored in double figures, with Blair Schaefer leading the way with a career-high 21 points. This is also the first time in MSU history that the program has won 30 games in a season.

At no time during that first contest did Troy lead after an 18-0 start by the Bulldogs. MSU got a much stiffer test in No. 7-seed DePaul University in the second round on Sunday, March 19. The Bulldogs’ 92-71 victory is even more impressive considering that MSU only led 32-31 at halftime.

In the third quarter, MSU took over the game and began to pull away. By the midpoint of the fourth quarter, no one could doubt the outcome after the Bulldogs’ offensive explosion.

The victory means the team will finish 12-1 at home and continues to set the school record for victories, now at 31 wins. It also puts the team in the Sweet Sixteen for the second straight year and for the third time in program history.

Six players finished in double figures against DePaul, with Schaefer scoring 18 points to lead the team for second time in the tournament. Dominique Dillingham also scored 10 points in the game to reach 1,000 points for her career.

In the first two rounds, MSU scored a total 202 points.

The Bulldogs had to wait until late Monday, March 20, to find out which team they would play in the round of 16, as MSU will face the winner between the No. 6-seed University of Oklahoma and the No. 3-seed University of Washington.

Washington rolled over Oklahoma 108-82, with Huskies guard Kelsey Plum scoring 32 points and elevating the record for the most points in a women’s NCAA season. She broke Jackie Stiles’ record of 1,062 points back in February of this year, and currently sits at 1,080 points. The Washington star also has the second-most points in NCAA history for men or women, only behind Louisiana State University great “Pistol Pete” Maravich.

The Huskies have been on an offensive roll, just like the Bulldogs, in the NCAA Tournament. Washington has scored 91 and 108 points in its first two tournament games. MSU will have to figure out a way to slow down Plum and the rest of the high-powered Washington offense.