The statistics didn’t look like those of a winning team.
But with some unseemly numbers, the MSU women’s basketball teams beat Buffalo 50-42 and UCLA 67-63 to take first in the season-opening Spartan Chevrolet Classic on Friday and Saturday at Breslin Center.
The team began the tournament at 8 p.m. Friday against Buffalo.
The Spartans took the lead fewer than 30 seconds into the game on a free throw by freshman forward Joy Johnson.
But the Bulls took the lead a half-minute later and held on to it for the entire first half, shooting only 38.1 percent and committing 11 turnovers on the way to the 19-16 halftime lead.
“We chose to attack from the outside rather than the inside-out,” head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. “There was a price to pay for that because we weren’t hot at all from the outside, so I think we got a little down on ourselves offensively.”
The second half fared better for MSU, taking the lead after a minute and a half of play.
Junior guard Vnemina Reese fueled the Spartans’ comeback with two consecutive second-chance shots.
Six of Reese’s eight points came in the first five minutes of the second half.
“My focus was to try to get to the paint as much as possible and hopefully create something off the dribble, because of how slow their defense reacted to our penetration,” Reese said.
But the Bulls didn’t let go, grabbing a five-point lead with fewer than eight minutes left in the game.
The Spartans came back, this time under the direction of junior forward Syreeta Bromfield. Bromfield garnered a steal, leading to a fastbreak layup and then dropped a three-pointer to give the Spartans the lead.
The Spartans kept that lead until the end of the game, allowing the Bulls only two points in the final five minutes of the game.
“In the second half what we needed to point out was that we had done a great job defensively,” McCallie said. “We set a goal, ironically, to hold them to 42 points at halftime. The team achieved that goal.”
With the win, the Spartans advanced to the tournament championship to play UCLA at 8 p.m. Saturday. UCLA beat Liberty 62-55 to earn the spot in the championship.
The Bruins took the lead early with guard Michelle Greco making an immediate impact on the game, scoring the Bruins’ first eight points including two three-pointers from the baseline.
“We knew right from the start she was their go-to player and she was going to get her points,” sophomore forward Julie Pagel said. “We just had to try our best to contain her.”
The Spartans took control of the game near the end of the first half, but Greco became a problem again at the beginning of the second half. Greco racked up 36 points and eight three-pointers in the game, both tying tournament records.
But in the final five minutes of the game, Greco’s role diminished as MSU went on a 10-point streak to gain a five point lead with 1:15 remaining.
MSU freshman point guard Kristin Haynie added five of the 10 points, including three from free throws.
UCLA kept it close, though, bringing it within two points with 29 seconds remaining.
The Bruins held the ball but Greco didn’t pull the trigger. The team instead opted for a shot by guard Gennifer Arranaga.
But the ball never made it to Greco, and Arranaga missed her jumper, giving MSU the win.
“I was planning on (taking the shot), but I didn’t want to just throw up a crazy, off-balance shot, so I gave it up, and then I was looking to maybe try to weave my way back in and get off a good shot,” Greco said.
The team next undertakes its first road trip of the year at Arkansas State on Tuesday.
