A last-ditch effort by the MSU women’s basketball team Saturday was not enough to save it from a loss to Boston College during the MSU Chevrolet Classic championship game.
After beating Arkansas State on Friday, the Spartans trailed Boston College the entire game, only to lose in the final moments 63-61.
MSU junior point guard and co-captain Vnemina Reese said when the team is determined it is easy to come from behind.
“The hardest thing is making ourselves dig that hole,” Reese said. “Getting out of it, that’s pretty easy when you have everybody focused and ready to do the job we were supposed to do before we dug the hole.
“Digging the hole is the hardest part, not getting back if you had the mentality like all of us had.”
MSU head coach Joanne P. McCallie said even though the team lost, there is a silver lining in the fact that they now know they are capable of playing from behind.
“I loved how scrappy they were,” McCallie said. “I think it’s very important to have that ability to be a blue-collar, feisty team. I think it’s going to be a great lesson.
“It’s great to be able to come back from behind but I’d rather like to have the problem of being the dominant team out there.”
Boston College jumped all over the Spartans in the first half, with its biggest lead coming with 5:53 remaining in the half when forward Rachel Byars hit a three-pointer, making the score 31-19. The Spartans cut into that lead going into the locker room down 40-33.
After trailing by 10 or more the majority of the second half, the Spartans finally cut the Eagles’ lead to six points with 3:18 to play. MSU continued to put offensive pressure on Boston College, going on a 6-1 run.
With seven seconds remaining in the game, MSU senior point guard Christie Pung passed the ball to senior forward and co-captain Becky Cummings in the low post. Cummings hit a turnaround jumper from the right block, tying the game at 61.
With 1.5 seconds remaining, Reese fouled Byars while she was bringing the ball down the floor.
After Byars hit both her free throws, Pung received a long inbound pass at the right wing, but missed a three-pointer as time expired.
McCallie said Reese, who was named to the all-tournament team after scoring 15 points, played a great game even though she had a mental lapse by fouling Byars at the end of the game.
“I’m very proud of Vnemina Reese in the game that she played (and) her all-around game,” McCallie said. “As you all know one play certainly does not make a game.”
McCallie said she was also proud of Pung’s play since the coaches have been getting on her in practice.
“We’ve been pretty hard on her as far as intensity and meanness we want out of her,” McCallie said. “Telling her she’s not mean enough and those types of things. To see her come out after not playing a lot the night before and to show that kind of confidence and poise was an enormous lift for the team.”
