Mike Siroky’s SEC Report: Looking For Balance

By Mike Siroky

 

It was a light work week for the Southeastern Conference of women’s basketball.

December dawns with two Top 10 teams in the last month before the conference collisions.

But even with that ascension, another perennial contender is hanging on until it can fashion an SEC upset.

Another of the ranked teams fell out when playing its one game of the week without its leading scorer, lost to a disciplinary suspension.

That left an elevator drop between the top two and the other four, those in the bottom of the Top 25.

This is when you grind to get stronger, with fewer games and more training time. Once December ends, there are two games a week, every week until the tournaments.

The Big 12 Challenge is also under way with the top two ranked teams among those participating. Last season, the leagues split the 10 games.

Still more national signees showed up, especially as these teams continued to build future teams to add to traditions.

 

No. 6 Mississippi State (8-0)

These ‘Dawgs have been in the Top 10 longer than any other league team, 44 straight and 79 weeks in the overall poll. 

The poll is as it always has been, one dominant team, several more very good and then everyone else just sorta piled in, just like the conference.

State is in the nation’s top statistical categories,  including second-best scoring offense (97.5); fourth-lowest points allowed (44.5); fourth in field goal percent (52.6); third in rebounding (50); ninth in turnover margin (plus 10.8); sixth in assists (22.0); and fifth in assist/turnover ratio (1.7).

Two State players are from Arkansas, The Natural State.  Jordan Danberry actually fled the University of Arkansas when that program was tanking and came to where she had originally been recruited.

 Bre’Amber Scott is from Little Rock.

She scored 13 for her friends and family, but it was Teaira McCowan’s 25 leading five players in double figures in the 98-63 win over Little Rock.

The Bulldogs fell just short of reaching extending its streak of 100-point games. MSU had scored 100 or more points in four straight games.

A 31-point second and quarter and a 32-point third kept them unbeaten.

“Proud of how this team responded in the second quarter after a poor first quarter,” coach Vic Schaefer said. “We have a lot of respect for Little Rock. They were exceptional tonight and competed all the way to the end. Proud of our third quarter. Back-to-back quarters with 31 and 32 points shows you are doing something right.

 “We had a lot of kids shoot the ball well tonight. Sixty points in the paint is a good number for us. They shot 50 percent in the fourth quarter and that’s not a good number for us. We will learn from this and go on.”

McCowan had her fifth double/double of the season by halftime and finished with 15 rebounds. Anriel Howard barely missed a double/double with 16 points and nine rebounds.

 They had runs of 10-0 run and 7-0 and three times led by 40. The rebounding advantage was 50-22.

But then came at No. 10 Texas in the Big 12 thing. The Longhorns are recovering from losing their leading scorer, senior guard Lashaan Higgs, the previous week to a left ACL. They had one game to prepare and next face Tennessee.

State led 18-8, obviously paced by defense, after one quarter. Just past halftime, the Bulldogs led by 20 and it was obvious they had their first win over another Top 10 team.

Jordan Danberry and Jazzmun Holmes were in double figures. McCowan was closing in on a double/double. State had a 50-17 rebounding edge.

It ended 67-49. 

Texas had its first loss of the season and dropped out of the Top 10.

Chloe Bibby scored 14, McCowan attained the double in her home state, 13 points and 12 rebounds, Holmes a career-best 17 and Danberry 12.  

Howard had three blocks and eight rebounds.  It’s the type of  statistical distribution that speaks more to the team than individuals.

Seniors Holmes and McCowan have won 107 career games, fourth-most in the nation since 2015-16.

 Their 79 wins since 2016-17 are tied for the most in the nation.

They are 8-0 for the third consecutive year.

Howard and former Texas A&M teammate Danni Williams had a reunion. Howard’s 1,069 career rebounds rank fourth among active Division I players.

 State has won 44 straight regular-season non-conference contests. The Dawgs have won 11 straight non-conference road games, with the last setback coming at Texas in 2015.

Holmes is fourth in the country, leading the SEC, with a 5.7 assist/turnover ratio. McCowan passed Morgan William for ninth in MSU’s career scoring records with 1,429 points. That is second among active SEC players.

"I'm awfully proud of my team today," Schaefer said. "These two (Holmes and McCowan)  special. In a big game, in big moments, there's so many moments in a game like this. 

“You have two top-10 teams battling. I mean it was a battle. That's who we are at Mississippi State. That's how we play the game. That's how we honor the game, and I'm really proud of our kids."

They drew 4,579. 

They are all but assured of another 20-win season with eight in early December.

No. 9 Tennessee (5-0)

For all the grief Holly Warlick gets for not overcoming the high expectations,  welcome back to the Top 10. Thanks to Mississippi State for knocking off a team above them.

The game at Oklahoma State is part of the Big 12 Challenge, The Cowgirls came in 6-0.

The UT center, sophomore Kasiyaha Kushiuah was unable to start with a late injury. It meant a start for rookie guard Zaay Green, a native of Texas.

 UT went with the speed game. It was UT’s first in-country road game.

The Lady Vols did not use a substitute in the opening quarter and kept a balanced 25-22 lead. Evina Westbrook had eight points and two steals.  

Warlick had already dumped her suit court.

A 21-15 second quarter gave the home team a three-point halftime edge. Westbrook was 8-of-8 from the field for 16.  Warlick needed to make adjustments.

And 8-0 start in the third showed she had.

Westbrook was up to 23, 11-of- 13 from the field. 

Rennia Davis inched into double figures with 11 and it ended with UT 12 ahead. Green had 10 with five rebounds, four defensive. 

But the Lady Vols had 17 turnovers, most of them unforced trying to do too much, stifling their own momentum.

It was a 13-point lead with 80 second left. It ended right there, 76-63. 

Westbrook had 29, Green and Davis 15 each. Westbrook also fouled out and made five turnovers.

“Early on, the gaps were open,” said Westbrook. “I was just shooting the gaps. My job is to get the offense going. It’s the trust my teammates have in me.

“That’s my job as the point guard and for my teammates to have in me. We have to grind every day. No excuses. We just have to be ready for everything.”

Four of the next six are against unranked teams, which gets them to 10 wins before the SEC starts.

No. 19 Kentucky  (8-0)

The Kats celebrated their return to the Top 20 by using their backcourt to sweep SEC player honors.

Senior guard Taylor Murray is the Player of the Week; freshman guard Rhyne Howard is the Freshman of the Week. UK last swept the weekly awards in 2011.

 It is Murray’s first such honor.

 Howard was MVP of the Island Division of the Paradise Jam.

Morehead State came in 6-1 but UK was 30-4 all time against them. This is another of those traditional regional games.

Kentucky used the usual starting combination of senior guards Murray and Maci Morris, freshman guard Howard, sophomore forward Keke McKinney and sophomore forward Tatyna Wyatt.

Morris scored 31 and Howard 17 in an afternoon rout. 

They hit 63 percent from the field in the first quarter. In the second quarter, defense came into play as they ran off a 26-9 segment.

 It is the 10th time this season UK limited a team to 10 points or less in a quarter. The overall score is Murray State’s lowest of the season.

Morris  hit 12-of-20 shots from the field, including 4-of-8 3s and 3-of-4 from the line.

 With a program best 25 recorded in the first half, it is eight short of her career high. She had  10 rebounds to claim her second consecutive double/double.

 Sophomore Jaida Roper had 14 points and four assists, while Murray had 13 points and six assists.

The Kats forced 25 turnovers and scored 38 off those. They later had a 7-0 run to start and an 11-0 run  and closed the half on a 12-4 run, having an insurmountable 52-23 lead at the break.

 UK scored 16 points off seven MSU turnovers in the second quarter alone. The Kats have forced 25 or more turnovers in five of their eight games.

“ I was  real proud of our players, fourth game in seven days, very, very difficult stretch we had and an  early tip,” said coach Matthew  Mitchell.

“There were so many reasons to make up excuses for lacking energy. I thought we came out with some energy. “

Of Morris, he said, “Yeah she’s been really fun to watch. She’s just worked so hard throughout her entire career, since she was a kid, to be a good basketball player.”

They drew 3,192. Kentucky earned a week off.

 

No. 22 South Carolina (4-4)

Never in Dawn Staley Decembers have the Gamecocks needed a win to stay above .500. Their inclusion in the poll is approaching Pat head-like mythology for Staley.

No other ranked team has four losses or a non-winning record.

Wow.

Fresh off of getting Drake ranked by losing to them, SC had the first of three home games banked but then got blown out for the first time in a long while. 

It has also been awhile since 10 conference teams had a better record.

To start the week, they had never played Toledo before, though Staley coached against them in another incarnation.

It was a tight one. The Flyers took the lead twice in the third. They were behind by a basket as the fourth started.

That’s when Staley got lockdown defense – four points --and the Gamecocks ended it 65-55.

Te’a Coooper was 0-for-the night but Junior guard Tyasha Harris scored a season-high 24, 18 in the second half. She was 9-of-18 from the field and 4-of-4 from the line.

Mikiah Herbert Harrigan led an early 12-0 run. Despite the 13-point deficit in the opening quarter, the Gamecocks had it even at 30 at the half.

Harris scored 12 of the team’s 23 – including two 3s -- in the third and the Gamecocks led by two. The 12 is a player first this season.

The Gamecocks  allowed no points in the final 4:39 and a total of four points, second-best in a quarter for points allowed in program history.  

Herbert Harrigan’s four blocks matches her career high.  The overall plus-11 rebounds is a season high.

With two minutes left, LeLe Grissett dove to the floor to force the 12th turnover for Dayton. After a timeout, Nelly Perry hit a 3 for an eight-point lead with 1:31 remaining.  

“We also just attacked them offensively really well and Harris got hot in the second half,”  Staley said.

 “She got it going and we went to some set plays. 

“We also wanted to allow her to read the defense and get some open shots. We also tried to push them back on their heels by going quickly and seeing if they could guard us in the transition.

“ I wanted Harris to push the ball and be aggressive and she did that. I think moving quickly in transition really helped us win the game.”

Then came Texas and a total disassembling.

 The programs had never met.  SC had won 40 if its past 42 home games. No. 4 Baylor (6-0) was SC’s  third Top-10 opponent in three weeks.

Staley and the obnoxious Kim Mulkey are the only two women to play and serve as a head coach in the NCAA Women's Final Four in, much less as national champs.

Staley is also the first NCAA Women's Final Four Most Outstanding Player (1991) to win a national championship as a coach (2017). But Mulkey is the only one to win a title as a player and as a coach. She won two national titles as a player.

Staley was named 2018 USA Basketball National Coach of the Year, because she  coached the Gold medal team in the FIBA World Cup and also is the national coach heading into the 2020 Olympics.

But, as a coach, Staley 59-55 is just against nationally ranked teams.

And Mulkey has the much-better team this season.

SC had three turnovers in the first 90 seconds. It was 32-12 after one and already over.

As an 11-0 run continued, Mulkey put in all three post players, an overwhelming height advantage.

One of her players familiar with SC is Chloe Jackson a 32-game starter last season for LSU.

SC was never in this one. All of Mulkey’s players got in. It was like a practice game and a light workout at that, a 94-69 Texas stomping. 

Good thing the 10,531 were sold n advance.

 “We talk about how to handle yourself when the crowd gets into it,” Mulkey said. “Keep a cool head and a hot game. When you make shots like we did to start the game, the crowd can’t get into it. That’s a credit to those kids in that locker room.

“This was a step forward in (all) of their confidence,” Mulkey said. “To watch kids grow and become more comfortable, that’s all you can do as a coach. You can make mistakes with effort, just don’t make mistakes because you didn’t know something or forgot something or weren’t focused.

“ On the defensive end of the floor, we still have to get better. We have to quit allowing dribble penetration and letting them drive middle. We still have to get better. It was a good test for us today.”

Grissett had her first career double/double 11 points and a career- best 10 boards.

"I think LeLe can play wherever," Staley said.  "She's the type of player that just wants to help the team. But she is rebounding the ball, and that's something that we weren't consistently getting.

“ She quarterbacks our full-court press."

SC could win three of the five before the SEC starts, but another 20-win season has never looked farther away.

Staley kept restocking for the future by acquiring Olivia Thompson to one of the top recruiting classes.

 Thompson is an in-state signee from Lexington.

 “We are thrilled to welcome her,” Staley said. “Olivia’s ability to shoot the ball is what immediately drew our attention, but it was her drive for greatness and her love of South Carolina that made it the right fit.”

 A 5-foot-8 swing, Thompson hit a state-leading 105 3-pointers last season. She averages 21.4 points, 4.5 rebounds.

Staley lost Haley Jones, the No. 1 prospect in the country from San Jose, who announced her decision to  attend nearby Stanford.

 The 6-foot-1 wing’s other  finalists were UConn, Stanford, Oregon and Notre Dame.

Despite that setback, South Carolina already has put itself in the conversation for best recruiting classes ever. 

Last Wednesday the Gamecocks celebrated a signature from No. 3 prospect Aliyah Boston, a 6-4 forward on the USA Basketball team that struck gold at the U17 World Cup over the summer.

Thompson and Boston join No. 7 Zia Cooke, No. 10 Laeticia Amihere and No. 13 Breanna Beal and point guard Olivia  in Staley’s standout class.

Now unranked Texas A&M (4-2)

The Aggies had the upset loss, an afternoon affair and fell out of the Top 25 from No. 18.

It was a rather disappointing 74-68  to unranked Lamar.

 Their coach called it a “statement game” and it was, on both sides. 

All-American and leading scorer Chennedy Carter did not play for A&M. The team handed out a one-page statement to attendees saying she had been suspended for one game for violation of “team attendance” rules. A freshman started in her place. Hope she realizes what her indiscretion cost her team in dignity.

The Aggies could not counter-punch, nor make up Carter’s usual 19 points and game control, losing 74-68. 

Lamar is the pick to win the Southland Conference but that should not matter.

The Texas team  staged a 13-4 run early in the third quarter, A&M cut that with a 10-0 run in the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to two points, but Lamar closed on a 9-3 run to seal victory.

Aaliyah Wilson led the Aggies with 17 points and a career-high nine rebounds. She has been in double figures five times in the six games. 

Kayla Wells scored a career-high with 16 and Ciera eight.

The sad part is this was supposed to be a showcase for area children, the Aggies’ sixth annual Elementary School Day game,  4,000 elementary school children in attendance.

 The total attendance of 7,133 marked the sixth straight season with over 7,000 in Reed Arena for the game.

Instead, it broke a 10-game losing streak.

“When the score went 65-63, we had every chance in the world, but the inability to get loose balls and to gather yourself and play with poise after the scrambles was what we were not able to do,” said coach Gary Blair.

“Their guards were more poised and made better decisions, and they only had 13 turnovers. This game did not have anything to do with who did not play in the game.

“ It has only to do with who did play in the game, and who coached the game. Obviously, their coaching staff did a better job because they didn’t know (A&M’s lineup) until one hour until the ball game.”

Texas A&M began a week off.