Contact: James Carskadon
STARKVILLE, Miss.— Starkville Mayor Parker Wiseman issued a proclamation Wednesday [March 15] at Humphrey Coliseum honoring the Mississippi State University women’s basketball team.
With MSU set to host first and second round games in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament on Friday and Sunday, the mayoral proclamation declares March 17-19 as “Mississippi State University Women’s Basketball Team Weekend.” The proclamation also recognizes the Bulldogs for earning a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament and winning 29 games this season, both of which are program records.
On Wednesday, Wiseman addressed the team and thanked them for bringing nationwide recognition to the Starkville community.
“You all know that you have built something here,” Wiseman said. “It’s something that you can feel. When a community starts growing around something, it’s amazing. It’s something I can feel. For the second year in a row, y’all have given us a great honor. In the biggest month on the college basketball calendar, we are at the center of it. That is priceless for our community.”
Friday’s NCAA Tournament games will begin at 11 a.m. when Northern Iowa takes on DePaul. At 1:30 p.m., MSU will play Troy. The winners of both games will meet at Humphrey Coliseum on Sunday. MSU is hosting first and second round tournament action for the second year in a row. The Bulldogs are one of eight SEC teams to make the 64-team field this year.
MSU head coach Vic Schaefer, who was named a Werner Ladder Naismith Coach of the Year finalist on Wednesday, thanked the Starkville and MSU communities for their strong support of the women’s basketball team. Four of MSU’s top five crowds in program history came during this season.
“What this community has done for us here sets it apart from most of the country,” Schaefer said. “We’re top ten in the country in attendance, but we are No. 1 in how our community really embraces these young ladies.”
For complete tournament details including ticket information, visit www.hailstate.com/ncaawbk. The MSU women’s basketball team can be found on Facebook at www.facebook.com/HailstateWBK and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/HailstateWBK.
MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.