Despite an impressive effort by MSU freshman guard Candice Jackson with 24 points, MSU’s women’s basketball team lost 66-57 Sunday to the Houston Jaguars in exhibition play at the Breslin Student Events Center.
The Jaguars, a club team, comprised of two Women’s National Basketball Association players and former NCAA players, held on to the win with their strong defense, forcing 21 Spartan turnovers.
MSU head coach Joanne P. McCallie said she gave Houston’s strong defense the credit for the win.
“Their defense just did a great job and we didn’t respond,” she said. “They played a good zone against us, and people didn’t step up to take their shots.”
Houston took the lead 0-2 after two minutes of play and didn’t look back the entire game.
Jackson hit her first three as MSU lingered by five after 10 minutes of play. After three MSU fouls in the next two minutes, the Jags used their free throws to take a 13-7 lead.
Offensive play continued to be slack for the Spartans as the Jags crept to a 20-10 lead with just under five minutes left in the first half. Senior guard Donita Johnson began to take some shots and managed to close the gap to five with a lay-up and a three-pointer.
Jackson put up five more points and Johnson gave four to keep the game close at 27-33 at halftime.
“We had solid leadership from Donita and a tremendous show by Candice,” McCallie said. “It wasn’t so much that she made the shots, but that she had the confidence in taking them.”
The Spartans’ game showed little change in the second half, with the Jag’s defense dominating their offense.
Jackson hit four more three-pointers and seemed to be the Spartans only confident shooter.
MSU tied the score at 45-45 on a Jackson layup with ten minutes left. After Houston reclaimed the lead with a layup by Tatum Brown, the Jags held their edge and kept the lead.
MSU managed to stay within eight the rest of the half with Jackson’s three-pointers, but as time wound down and MSU was forced to foul, Houston proved it could win at the foul line.
Patricia Lucky sank four free throws to close the game for the Jags at 66-57.
Senior center Becky Cummings, the Spartans’ only returning starter and a captain, finished the game with 11 points. The two other co-captains, junior forward Abby Salscheider and sophomore guard Vnemina Reese, combined for only six points.
“It was toughness,” McCallie said. “We had a stretch of not very positive offense and then they beat us defensively.”
Jackson improved her performance from last week, when she scored two points against the NWBA Elite Team, to lead the Spartans in scoring.
“I really don’t feel any different,” she said. “It’s not just about the points on the board. I want to contribute in every aspect of the game.”
Next weekend the Spartans begin regular season play with the Spartan Chevrolet Classic on Friday and Saturday at Breslin.
Cummings said she thinks the loss can help the team make necessary changes before this weekend.
“This can be an awakening for us,” she said. “We’re going to have to go out there and show up to practice this week.”
