MSU women’s basketball head coach Suzy Merchant talks about her team’s efficiency in having only 10 turnovers in Saturday’s 72-62 NCAA Tournament first round win against Bowling Green State. Junior guard Brittney Thomas also talks about the team’s defensive strategy.
Louisville, Ky. — After Bowling Green drained eight 3-pointers in the first half, the MSU women’s basketball team limited the Falcons to just six attempts beyond the arc in the second half, holding one to beat the Falcons, 72-62, Saturday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Spartans allowed 36 first-half points — the most since a loss against Oklahoma State on Nov. 28, 2009 — but as they’ve done all season, they turned up the defensive pressure as the game continued.
The Spartans effectively forced Bowling Green away from the perimeter and into tough situations on the floor, leading to nine second half takeaways and only 29 total two-point attempts for Bowling Green for the game.
“We had to make a statement in the second half and make them really put it on the floor,” senior forward Aisha Jefferson said. “That’s the adjustment we made and I thought we did a good job of it .”
The Spartans gave up 26 second-half points, but allowed just nine of those from behind the arc.
Heading into the game, MSU’s main assignment was defending against Bowling Green forward Lauren Prochaska, the two-time Mid-American Conference Player of the Year.
Prochaska finished with 19 points, including her team’s first eight of the game, but the Spartans made her work for the majority of her baskets.
Sophomore forward Lykendra Johnson guarded Prochaska for the majority of the first half, but the Spartans also switched to several other players, including freshman guard Jasmine Thomas, who was effective in the second half.
Together, the Spartans held Prochaska to 5-for-13 from the field.
“She’s a great 3-point shooter and has a great release, so you’ve got to try to make her do things that are the lesser of two evils,” junior guard Brittney Thomas said.
DeHaan’s presence
After missing part of the Big Ten Tournament because of back spasms, senior center Alyssa DeHaan made her presence felt on the glass Saturday.
DeHaan kept possessions alive by grabbing five offensive rebounds and finished with a game-high 11 rebounds, the most she’s had since a Jan. 3 win at Indiana.
Her efforts on the boards, as well as her eight points, helped swing the rebounding advantage into MSU’s favor, 42-35.
Rebounding was a concern for the Spartans coming in because they squandered several second-chance opportunities in its Big Ten Tournament semifinal loss against Iowa.
Despite her efforts, DeHaan played only 20 minutes, but said after the game her back is all right.
“I was just trying to do my job in attacking,” DeHaan said. “We’re a rebounding team, so we just had to step it up.”
Limiting turnovers
In addition to turning in a solid second-half defensive effort, the Spartans had only 10 turnovers, their fewest since a win against North Carolina on Dec. 3, 2009.
The Spartans averaged 17 turnovers during their past three games, but were patient and made quick passes Saturday.
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“I really thought we made good decisions out there,” head coach Suzy Merchant said. “That’s a team you don’t want to give it back to. They’re very hard to defend.”
