People from across Starkville gathered downtown Friday afternoon to celebrate and honor the Mississippi State University’s women’s basketball team for its many successes this season.
Hundreds of people lined the sidewalks and roadways on Main Street. The Famous Maroon Band entertained the crowds with a variety of sounds, as people waited in anticipation for the team’s arrival. 
When the team made its grand entrance, crowds applauded and cheered the team on to  the stage in front of city hall at the end of Main Street. Mayor Parker Wiseman was on the stage to greet them.. 
At the ceremony, Wiseman gave the team’s head coach Vic Schaefer a key to the city. He also congratulated Schaefer and his team on its succesful season. 
Among the  team’s successes was the monumental win over the University of Connecticut in the Final Four, a win which enabled them to play in the national championship game for the first time in MSU women’s basketball history. 
Although the team did not win the national title this season, fans had much to celebrate. Among the team’s accomplishments, they won the most games in a single season for the university’s men’s or women’s basketball team.
Wiseman and Schaefer, like many others in attendance, had memories of the team’s game against UConn played on March 31. Few people believed MSU could win the game against UConn. Schaefer and his players, however, believed they could and  the team did, shocking the entire country.
The game itself was a rematch for the two teams. Both met in the NCAA Sweet Sixteen in last year’s tournament. In that game, MSU lost to UConn by 60 points, the largest margin of defeat for any team in a regional. 
 
This year, however, the team won against UConn following a buzzer beating shot in overtime by guard Morgan William. MSU’s win also ended UConn’s 111-game winning streak and stopped one of the longest winning streaks ever recorded in sports.
Schaefer noted to the crowd how the team’s win over Connecticut also coincided with the senior classes’ 111th victory, and how that also makes for a “pretty good story.”
Players Morgan William and Dominique Dillingham both thanked the crowd for their support this season.
William addressed the crowd briefly about the amazing game winning shot she made against UConn. William described her game winning shot as an “incredible moment” and one which can never be taken away from her and the team by anyone.
Dillingham, one of the four graduating seniors on the team, told the crowd how dear the city of Starkville belongs to her and her teammate’s hearts. She concluded telling the crowd, dressed in the team’s colors, to continue “rocking the maroon and white.“
Schaefer told fans about his expectations, which he looks forward to achieving with his current and future players next season. 
“Look,” Schaeffer said, “we’re going to be really good next year.”
Schaeffer’s optimism has grounding with much of his team remaining intact for next season including three of his five starters, Victoria Vivians, William and Teaira McCowan.
 Schaefer will, however, lose four of his players from this season. Among them, Dillingham, Chinwe Okorie, Breanna Richardson and Ketara Chapel. Okorie, however, could possibly return if the team decides to challenge the NCAA ruling which led her to sit out her freshman season over eligibility issues.
Those talented players will be missed, but fans should look forward to the talent awaiting next season: Myah Taylor, a 2017 Mississippi 6A state champion and five-star guard, and Jordan Danberry, a former five-star guard and transfer from The University of Arkansas. 
The team will also add three-star guards Nyah Tate, a three-time Gatorade player of the year, and Bre’Amber Scott, who Schaefer expects to play with the same intensity as Dillingham.