It has been around nine months since Chloe Bibby was unable to leave the floor of Humphrey Coliseum as she suffered a season-ending knee injury against the University of South Carolina. 

On her return to the basketball court Bibby, a junior from Warracknabeal, Australia, scored 11 points, shooting three for four from three-point range. 

“I’ve got some rust to knock off,” Bibby said.  “It’s been a while. I’m just enjoying the moment and trying to get better with each play and each practice and slowly, I’ll get there.”

The team has a lot of rust to knock off as the team was not impressive defensively against Lubbock Christian University, giving up 41 points in the first half of the game. Bibby said it is an area the team will have to improve on. 

“I think with our defense,” Bibby said. “That’s something that’s really a focal point that Coach Schaefer has us always practice on. We need to get better at that because we don’t have 6’7” down there being able to save our butts every time.”

Bibby said One of the reasons MSU struggled in their exhibition game was due to their inexperience. The team lost Teira Mccowan whose presence was key to the rebounding capabilities of the team. With young guards and forwards, seven of which are freshmen and sophomores, it will take time for the team to improve. 

“It’s just baby steps with us. We are a really young team,” Bibby said. “Eventually, we are going to keep getting better. I think we’re going to be good down there though.”

One veteran whose return to the team was uncertain is Jordan Danberry. A graduate student from Conway, Arkansas, Danberry was able to get one more year of eligibility and said she was happy to get back on the court. 

“It felt good to be out there again. Especially, thinking that last year was my last year and going through those different emotions, I was honored to be out there again tonight.”

The Bulldogs are very much a work in progress heading into their season opener. Schaefer said the team will need to correct mistakes in practice. 

“We have a lot of inexperience on the floor,” Schaefer said. “I’m still trying to figure out rotations. I tried to play everybody and give everybody a chance and so we’ll settle it in practice now.”