MSU hopes to ride momentum for Wildcats

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Following a dramatic win over Michigan on Sunday, the MSU women’s basketball team (14-9, 6-4) returns home to take on Northwestern (13-10 overall, 3-7 Big Ten) on Thursday (6:00 p.m., Big Ten Network).

The Spartans are riding a two-game winning streak — with victories over teams in the top half of the conference — and head coach Suzy Merchant said she hopes her team’s recent success will help them enter the game with the right mindset.

“I hope we have confidence, and we’re riding a confident feeling, but I don’t think it’s a cockiness that you worry about,” she said. “Hopefully it’s a swagger and a confidence that we can get the job done.”

For the Spartans to come out with a victory, Merchant said it will be important for MSU to improve its interior defense.

Freshmen forward Becca Mills and center Jasmine Hines have stayed after practice the past two weeks to work on defense.

“If we don’t play better post defense, we’re going to be exploited,” Merchant said. “Two of (Northwestern’s) top three scorers are (post players). They can shoot (3-pointers), and they can post up, and they spread the floor pretty well. We’re going to have our hands full.”

Northwestern features two players who pose matchup problems in 6-foot-2 forward Kendall Hackney and 6-foot-5 center Dannielle Diamant, with both players having diverse skill sets.

Hackney averages 15.2 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, while Diamant adds 13.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.

The addition of senior guard Porsché Poole and sophomore guard Klarissa Bell to the starting lineup have made MSU smaller to open the game, so Mills and Hines could play a larger role against Northwestern.

Reigning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year senior forward Lykendra Johnson likely will be tasked with containing Diamant early and said it’s critical for the Spartans to limit the Wildcats front court duo.

“We definitely have to stop them two, there’s no question about that,” she said.

“They (score) the majority of their (team’s) points, and they’re very solid. They’re big bodies. They can take you off the dribble, shoot 3-pointers — everything, so it’s going to be a full-out battle for us. If we get (Hines) and (Mills) to step their game up on the defensive side, (we’ll) be fine.”

Northwestern also utilizes a playmaking freshman guard, similarly to MSU, in 6-foot-2 guard Morgan Jones.

Jones averages 15 points, six rebounds and 3.5 assists per game and will be a challenge for freshman guard Kiana Johnson.

Kiana Johnson struggled on both ends of the floor against U-M and had difficulty containing guard Courtney Boylan.

As a result, Merchant benched her for the final 12 minutes of the game, and Kiana Johnson said she’s learned from the experience.

“I feel like I can be more efficient on the offensive end and the defensive end,” she said. “I didn’t have a good defensive game (against U-M). Boylan scored a majority of her points on me, and I didn’t have enough pride on the defensive end in that game. I have to just continue to work on that and get stronger in that area.”

Following wins over Penn State and U-M, Kiana Johnson said the team’s confidence has grown, and the four-game losing streak is behind them.

In the season’s final stretch, the freshman guard said she and her teammates can see the finish line ahead of them.

“It’s in our reach most definitely,” she said. We just have to continue to grind it out and do what we do best. That’s score the ball in transition, get stops and play Michigan State basketball.”

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