Bulldogs Depart for World University Games
June 26, 2019 | Women's Basketball
STARKVILLE – With one goal in mind, the Mississippi State women's basketball team departs for Naples, Italy, Wednesday evening to represent the United States at the World University Games.
"We're going over there trying to win a gold medal," said head coach Vic Schaefer. "Whether that happens or not, I think we have to take advantage of the opportunity and make sure, number one, we have USA across our chest, we're representing this country in a positive way. At the same time, we're also going to have Mississippi State on our uniform as well and we're representing that piece of our history. I think our kids will do a great job, and they'll come back better for it."
The Bulldogs were selected to represent USA Team by the United States International University Sports Federation (USIUF) after the program's recent success. MSU will be one of 16 nations competing in the women's basketball events.
After two days of travel, the squad will arrive in Italy on the morning of June 28. On the following day, the team will spend the morning visiting Italy's breathtaking Amalfi Coast, where brightly colored towns are nestled between towering mountains and the Tyrrhenian Sea.
The Bulldogs received an invitation to visit troops in the region and will be spending the evening of June 30 on the U.S. Naval Base for their Independence Day celebration "Festa Americana." On the following day, the team will return to the base while dawning the Red, White and Blue for the first time to face Japan in a friendly contest.
The women's basketball portion of the games officially begins on July 3. All 16 teams are divided into four pools for the opening stages of the tournament and will compete in a single round-robin system. The top two teams in each pool (eight teams in total) will proceed to play for the ranking of 1st to 8th places, while the 3rd and 4th placed teams in each pool (eight teams in total) will proceed to play for the ranking of 9th to 16th places.
The team will be competing against Mexico, Slovakia and Taipei in Pool C. The Bulldogs open the tournament against Mexico Wednesday at 3:30 a.m. CT. On July 4, the U.S. will take the hardwood against Taipei at 6 a.m. CT. A 10:30 a.m. CT tip against Slovakia on July 5 will round out pool play for the team. After pool play, the team will move on to the bracket stages to play three more games in order to determine its placing. Those contests will be on July 7-10.
"What you do in pool play will dictate what you do as far as playing for a medal," said Schaefer. "We made the decision early on that this isn't like a foreign tour, where you go over and play a bunch of club teams that aren't very good, and you look like a million dollars, win by 60, everyone is happy and plays 10-12 minutes a game. We made the decision that we are going to go over, compete with the best and try to win it. We have practiced that way."
More information about live streaming the games will be released when it becomes available.
The name across the front of the jersey won't be the only thing different for this team. Six of the 12 players are newcomers who arrived in Starkville at the beginning of June. With less than a month of preparation, the Bulldogs will get their first game action four months before the 2019-20 season begins.
"For this team, they're going to get thrown in the fire pretty quick," said Schaefer. "They're going to play six games of a non-conference schedule that's going to be against some Top-25 competition, so to speak. I think it's hard to put a value on that. We are going over there and playing against 18 to 25-year-olds who have been playing together for years. However, we are taking a really competitive group that knows how to win and wants to win. As you all know, it's not what we do but how we do it that separates us."
The team returns from the World University Games on July 11.
For more information on the Bulldogs, follow MSU women's basketball on Twitter, like them on Facebook and join them on Instagram by searching for "HailStateWBK."
"We're going over there trying to win a gold medal," said head coach Vic Schaefer. "Whether that happens or not, I think we have to take advantage of the opportunity and make sure, number one, we have USA across our chest, we're representing this country in a positive way. At the same time, we're also going to have Mississippi State on our uniform as well and we're representing that piece of our history. I think our kids will do a great job, and they'll come back better for it."
The Bulldogs were selected to represent USA Team by the United States International University Sports Federation (USIUF) after the program's recent success. MSU will be one of 16 nations competing in the women's basketball events.
After two days of travel, the squad will arrive in Italy on the morning of June 28. On the following day, the team will spend the morning visiting Italy's breathtaking Amalfi Coast, where brightly colored towns are nestled between towering mountains and the Tyrrhenian Sea.
The Bulldogs received an invitation to visit troops in the region and will be spending the evening of June 30 on the U.S. Naval Base for their Independence Day celebration "Festa Americana." On the following day, the team will return to the base while dawning the Red, White and Blue for the first time to face Japan in a friendly contest.
The women's basketball portion of the games officially begins on July 3. All 16 teams are divided into four pools for the opening stages of the tournament and will compete in a single round-robin system. The top two teams in each pool (eight teams in total) will proceed to play for the ranking of 1st to 8th places, while the 3rd and 4th placed teams in each pool (eight teams in total) will proceed to play for the ranking of 9th to 16th places.
The team will be competing against Mexico, Slovakia and Taipei in Pool C. The Bulldogs open the tournament against Mexico Wednesday at 3:30 a.m. CT. On July 4, the U.S. will take the hardwood against Taipei at 6 a.m. CT. A 10:30 a.m. CT tip against Slovakia on July 5 will round out pool play for the team. After pool play, the team will move on to the bracket stages to play three more games in order to determine its placing. Those contests will be on July 7-10.
"What you do in pool play will dictate what you do as far as playing for a medal," said Schaefer. "We made the decision early on that this isn't like a foreign tour, where you go over and play a bunch of club teams that aren't very good, and you look like a million dollars, win by 60, everyone is happy and plays 10-12 minutes a game. We made the decision that we are going to go over, compete with the best and try to win it. We have practiced that way."
More information about live streaming the games will be released when it becomes available.
The name across the front of the jersey won't be the only thing different for this team. Six of the 12 players are newcomers who arrived in Starkville at the beginning of June. With less than a month of preparation, the Bulldogs will get their first game action four months before the 2019-20 season begins.
"For this team, they're going to get thrown in the fire pretty quick," said Schaefer. "They're going to play six games of a non-conference schedule that's going to be against some Top-25 competition, so to speak. I think it's hard to put a value on that. We are going over there and playing against 18 to 25-year-olds who have been playing together for years. However, we are taking a really competitive group that knows how to win and wants to win. As you all know, it's not what we do but how we do it that separates us."
The team returns from the World University Games on July 11.
For more information on the Bulldogs, follow MSU women's basketball on Twitter, like them on Facebook and join them on Instagram by searching for "HailStateWBK."
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