Schaefer wants MSU women to 'fix' some things

On paper, everything is looking up for the Mississippi State women's basketball team.

The No. 2 Bulldogs improved their records to 22-0 overall and 8-0 in the Southeastern Conference with Sunday's 69-49 win at Ole Miss.

Even though that looks good written down and sounds good to the ear, MSU women's head basketball coach Vic Schaefer sees beyond that.

There were some things about the way the Bulldogs carried themselves against the Rebels, especially in the second half, that concerned him.

Even though he did not get into specifics, Schaefer let it be known during the post game press conference that he was not happy with how some of his players reacted to adversity inside the Pavilion at Ole Miss.

"There comes to a point with a player that if the coach is asking you to change, you either love winning so much that you are going to sacrifice the way you are and you are going to change, or losing just doesn't bother you that much," Schaefer said. "That's the way in business too. At some point, if you want to do something special and you need to change and fix something, it's got to be more important than your own personal agenda.

"That's where I am right now. (At) 22-0 and 8-0, we can sit here and sugar coat things. I see it every day and know what I'm dealing with."

At the halfway point of the SEC schedule, MSU stands alone at the top of the league standings.

Schaefer wants to make sure the Bulldogs remain there and he knows it won't be easy to do unless everyone in the program is ready for the challenge.

"If you are going to do something special in this league, you've got to have toughness with all of the adjectives that goes with it," Schaefer said. "You'd better have them all. I'm not just trying to win today. I'm trying to build this team to win something special and a championship. It's very disheartening to know you are good enough, but we're not going to sacrifice and put the team first and things first other than ourselves and have a bad day and let everyone in the gym know it."

Schaefer listed two things that were key in claiming a championship – leadership and maturity.

He said MSU is lacking in those area right now and said that could really hurt progress moving forward.

"There is no sense sugar-coating it and thinking everything is great," Schaefer said.

The Bulldogs rely on four senior guards of Roshunda Johnson, Blair Schaefer, Victoria Vivians and Morgan William to be the rocks for the team right now.

VIvians admitted she slipped in that area against Ole Miss.

"We just need to grow up," Vivians said. "I know I had a little attitude and showed it on my face. I tried to get out of it in the fourth quarter and smiled a little bit. We've got to buy into what (Schaefer is) saying."

Vivians is not only one of the seniors, but is also the leading scorer for MSU.

Schaefer expects even more from her.

"I've always coached her harder and demanded more of her of anybody on my team," Schaefer said of Vivians. "She's always responded. I'm not going anywhere without her. I love the kid. It doesn't have anything to do with how I feel about her, but I need her to step outside of her comfort zone a little bit. She has been practicing great. For two weeks, she has been on point and working hard every day.

"She's a warrior and I love her to death, but I need for her to help me in some other areas."

The Bulldogs are faced with potentially the two toughest games of the season back-to-back with Missouri on the road Thursday and South Carolina at home Monday.

Schaefer just wants to make sure MSU is prepared for that and if it's not, a bad result may happen.

"We've got a lot of things we've got to work on," Schaefer said. "When you go to Missouri and play like that second half (at Ole Miss), you'll get run out of town."