Mississippi State Climbs Latest Women’s Basketball Polls

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI/MSU Athletics) – A day after breaking into the Top 10 in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll, Mississippi State found itself just outside the Top 10 of the USA Today Coaches Top 25 Poll.

The Bulldogs moved up two places in Tuesday’s ranking to No. 11. On Monday, State earned the second Top 10 ranking in program history with a one-place leap in the AP poll.

(AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Reigning SEC Coach of the Year Vic Schaefer’s squad claimed its 18th-straight week in the coaches poll after opening the season with a 68-47 win against Samford last Friday.

Tuesday’s ranking came the same day sophomore Victoria Vivians, who had 8 points on Friday, was named to the John R. Wooden Preseason Top 30 Watch List.

Junior Dominique Dillingham paced MSU in the opener with her first-career double-double, 13 points and 11 rebounds. Freshman Jazzmun Holmes, a Gulfport, Mississippi native, had a stellar debut, notching 12 points and five steals in the 21-point victory.

Schaefer’s squad is the third-highest SEC team, coming behind No. 2 South Carolina and fifth-ranked Tennessee.

Texas A&M and Kentucky follow the Bulldogs in 12^th and 13^th, respectively.

The No. 10 Bulldogs return to action Saturday, Nov. 21, hosting Grambling in a 1 p.m. tip at Humphrey Coliseum that will be broadcast on SEC Network +.

USA Today Coaches Poll – November 17, 2015RANK            SRECORD    PREVIOUS

Rank      Team                              Record    Pts.      Pvs.

1              Connecticut (32)          1-0            800       1

2              South Carolina             2-0            758       2

3              Notre Dame                   1-0            738       3

4              Baylor                            2-0            674       5

5              Tennessee                     1-0            670       4

6              Maryland                       1-0            629       6

7              Oregon State                2-0            577       9

8              Texas                              1-0            560       11

9              Duke                               2-0            478       12

10            Stanford                        2-0            471       14

11            Mississippi State      1-0            425      13

12            Texas A&M                    2-0            395       16

13            Kentucky                        2-0            393       17

14            Florida State                 0-1            370       7

14            Ohio State                     0-2            370       10

16            Louisville                       0-1            334       8

17            South Florida                2-0            274       19

18            Arizona State                0-1            227       15

19            DePaul                           2-0            196       22

20            George Washington    1-0            182       21

21            California                      2-0            165       NR

22            Northwestern                1-0            131       24

23            Iowa                                2-0            103       23

24            Princeton                       2-0            82         25

24            Oklahoma                     1-1            82         18

Others receiving votes: Michigan State (1-0) 63; Seton Hall (2-0) 40; Florida Gulf Coast (1-0) 27; Chattanooga (2-0) 24; Syracuse (1-0) 24; Nebraska (2-0) 23; Dayton (1-0) 22; Florida (1-1) 20; UCLA (1-0) 19; Virginia (2-0) 11; Miami (Fla.) (2-0) 6; Gonzaga (1-1) 5; James Madison (1-0) 5; Villanova (1-1) 5; Wisconsin-Green Bay (1-0) 5; St. John‘s (1-1) 4; North Carolina (0-2) 3; North Carolina State (2-0) 3; Oregon (1-0) 2; Pittsburgh (2-0) 2; Albany (1-0) 1; Arkansas State (1-0) 1; Brigham Young (0-0) 1.

Dropped Out: No. 20 North Carolina.