Women's Hoops Opens Practice For 2016-17 Season Tuesday
October 03, 2016 | Women's Basketball
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Mississippi State opens its 43rd season of women's basketball Tuesday when practice for the 2016-17 slate begins.
Vic Schaefer's fifth Bulldog squad will do team-building exercises with The Program before hitting the court for the first time Tuesday afternoon.
MSU can hold 30 practices in a 40-day span before hitting the court for game action.
"It's an exciting time. We're 40 days out and excited about the opportunity," Schaefer said. "We have a veteran group, with our seniors being the first class that we recruited four years ago. We're looking for a great year. We've had great conditioning, and they're all working hard."
The Bulldogs enter the slate ranked in the Top 10 in several preseason publications. Both Athlon and Sporting News put the Bulldogs at No. 7, while Slam Magazine placed the team at No. 8. Lindy's Sports rated MSU No. 12 in its college basketball preview issue.
Schaefer returns all five starters and nine letterwinners from last year's edition that won a program-best 28 games, tied for second in the SEC and earned the school's second trip to the NCAA Sweet 16.
Junior Victoria Vivians claimed first team all-America honors from Sporting News and second-team accolades from Athlon following a 2014-15 season that saw her average an SEC second-most 17.1 ppg en route to claiming WBCA All-America Honorable Mention accolades and first team All-SEC honors.
Vivians also ranked in the SEC's Top 20 in both rebounding (5.8 rpg) and steals (1.7 spg).
The Bulldogs also return Morgan William, who ranked second in scoring (9.7 ppg) and tops in assists with a league second-most 4.9 apg. The Birmingham, Ala., native also finished 2015-16 second in the SEC at the free-throw line, draining a program-best 84.4 percent.
Dominique Dillingham enters her senior season looking to build on a junior season that saw her average 7.9 ppg, while Chinwe Okorie scored 6.8 ppg and paced the team with 6.0 rebounds per contest.
Ketara Chapel, a 35-game starter last season, also returns along with a pair of key reserves in Breanna Richardson (5.6 ppg) and SEC All-Freshman Team selection Teaira McCowan (6.6 ppg, 5.6 rpg).
The Bulldogs open the season at Humphrey Coliseum on Nov. 3, facing former MSU assistant Elena Lovato and Arkansas-Fort Smith in a 6 p.m. exhibition.
MSU officially begins the 2015-16 ledger at the Maine Tipoff Tournament Nov. 11-16. State's home opener comes Nov. 20 when Texas, another preseason Top 10 squad, comes to Starkville.
Season tickets for the 2016-17 are currently on sale and can be purchased online at www.hailstate.com/tickets or via phone at 1-888-GO-DAWGS. Reserved season tickets (sections 114-118 and sections 105-107) cost $100 each, while general admission tickets for the campaign are $40 each.
Vic Schaefer's fifth Bulldog squad will do team-building exercises with The Program before hitting the court for the first time Tuesday afternoon.
MSU can hold 30 practices in a 40-day span before hitting the court for game action.
"It's an exciting time. We're 40 days out and excited about the opportunity," Schaefer said. "We have a veteran group, with our seniors being the first class that we recruited four years ago. We're looking for a great year. We've had great conditioning, and they're all working hard."
The Bulldogs enter the slate ranked in the Top 10 in several preseason publications. Both Athlon and Sporting News put the Bulldogs at No. 7, while Slam Magazine placed the team at No. 8. Lindy's Sports rated MSU No. 12 in its college basketball preview issue.
Schaefer returns all five starters and nine letterwinners from last year's edition that won a program-best 28 games, tied for second in the SEC and earned the school's second trip to the NCAA Sweet 16.
Junior Victoria Vivians claimed first team all-America honors from Sporting News and second-team accolades from Athlon following a 2014-15 season that saw her average an SEC second-most 17.1 ppg en route to claiming WBCA All-America Honorable Mention accolades and first team All-SEC honors.
Vivians also ranked in the SEC's Top 20 in both rebounding (5.8 rpg) and steals (1.7 spg).
The Bulldogs also return Morgan William, who ranked second in scoring (9.7 ppg) and tops in assists with a league second-most 4.9 apg. The Birmingham, Ala., native also finished 2015-16 second in the SEC at the free-throw line, draining a program-best 84.4 percent.
Dominique Dillingham enters her senior season looking to build on a junior season that saw her average 7.9 ppg, while Chinwe Okorie scored 6.8 ppg and paced the team with 6.0 rebounds per contest.
Ketara Chapel, a 35-game starter last season, also returns along with a pair of key reserves in Breanna Richardson (5.6 ppg) and SEC All-Freshman Team selection Teaira McCowan (6.6 ppg, 5.6 rpg).
The Bulldogs open the season at Humphrey Coliseum on Nov. 3, facing former MSU assistant Elena Lovato and Arkansas-Fort Smith in a 6 p.m. exhibition.
MSU officially begins the 2015-16 ledger at the Maine Tipoff Tournament Nov. 11-16. State's home opener comes Nov. 20 when Texas, another preseason Top 10 squad, comes to Starkville.
Season tickets for the 2016-17 are currently on sale and can be purchased online at www.hailstate.com/tickets or via phone at 1-888-GO-DAWGS. Reserved season tickets (sections 114-118 and sections 105-107) cost $100 each, while general admission tickets for the campaign are $40 each.
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