After slow start, Spartans overcome George Washington 78-47

The No. 25 MSU women’s basketball team found itself down 11-2 early in the first half Friday against George Washington.

But from there, the Spartans roared back, outscoring the Colonials 76-36 the rest of the way to pick up a 78-47 win in the Junkanoo Jam in Freeport, Bahamas.

After the initial deficit, the Spartans (3-2 overall) slowly fought back, as a jumper from junior guard Brittney Thomas gave MSU a 21-20 lead. From there, the Spartans never looked back.

MSU took a 37-28 lead into halftime but exploded in the second half for 41 points, shooting 17-of-29 from the field (58.6 percent). More impressive than the 58.6 percent shooting on the offensive end was the Spartans’ defense, which held George Washington (2-2) to 20.7 percent shooting in the half.

MSU held the Colonials’ leading scorer, guard Tiana Myers, to six points on 1-of-10 shooting.

Freshman guard Jasmine Thomas led all scorers with 15 points on 7-of-12 shooting. She added six rebounds and five assists in 19 minutes.

Junior forward Kalisha Keane had a successful day from the field, as well, shooting 5-of-7 (3-of-3 from 3-point range) for 13 points in 22 minutes. Senior center Allyssa DeHaan rounded out MSU’s double-digit scorers with 10 points in 16 minutes.

The Spartans outrebounded George Washington 50-29.

MSU will face Oklahoma State in the Lucaya Division championship game at 8 p.m. Saturday.