Hail State Hoops Hopes To Build Chemistry On Italy Trip

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI / MSU Athletics) – Mississippi State will be saying “Ciao” to Italy next week as the Bulldog women’s basketball team tours the country and plays three games over a 10-day period.

The reigning SEC regular-season champions will embark on the tour Aug. 8, with Rome being the first stop.

“I’m excited for our players to have the opportunity to go to Italy,” Vic Schaefer, the 2018 Naismith National Coach of the Year, said. “It will be a great educational experience for them, and you can’t put a value on that. It’s also a good opportunity to have 10 practices with a young team. It gives our freshmen a chance to play together, which will be beneficial. To be able to go and play in a place you’ve never been before is quite a special opportunity.”

While in Rome, the back-to-back National Finalist Bulldogs will visit sites such as Vatican City and the Colosseum while also participating in gladiator training.

Schaefer’s seventh MSU edition takes the court for the first time Aug. 11, challenging Deep 3 Select at 11:30 a.m. CT.

The following day, State heads to Florence where it will tour the Accademia Gallery and view Michelangelo’s “The David” before facing Germany squad TK Hannover at 9 a.m. CT on Monday, Aug. 13.

State then heads to Venice, where it will have the opportunity to see the city via the famous gondolas, before wrapping the tour with a couple of days on the scenic shores of Lake Como.

The Bulldogs’ final game of the tour comes Thurs., Aug. 16, as the Dawgs face International Select in an 11:30 a.m.  CT tip.