Gina Guy
EAST LANSING – Coming off a tough ranked loss to No. 14 Indiana, the Michigan State women’s basketball team looked to bounce back at home against a tough Ohio State team ranked No. 5 in the nation.
The Spartans struggled from the jump, only leading for 20 seconds throughout the game. Ohio State would force 16 MSU turnovers and capitalize on those MSU mistakes, turning those 16 turnovers into 27 points. A large part of that was the full-court press from the Buckeyes, giving Michigan State immense struggle.
“They have really good size and athleticism in all the right spots,” Robyn Fralick said. “I thought the first time we saw them (Ohio State) we played much better.”
Ironically for the Spartans, the defensive full-court press for MSU has led them to 17 wins this season, with one of the best on-ball defensive backcourts in the Big Ten, averaging 9.3 steals a game. Tonight, MSU only had five steals.
“Setting up our press break took us a little longer,” DeeDee Hagemann said. “I feel like that is what caused a lot of turnovers from us tonight.”
The Buckeyes also had four players in double figures, with each of those players having 15 or more points. The Spartans on the other hand only had one player in double figures as Theryn Hallock led MSU with 18 points.
Michigan State will have a week to prepare for their next matchup, as they travel to Ann Arbor on Sunday, February 18th to face off against the Michigan Wolverines. Tip-off is set for 12 pm EST.