They may have been smaller, but the players in the Spartans’ new lineup did their job.
The women’s basketball team has utilized various lineups all season, but Sunday night’s was arguably its most effective.
The Spartans (13-7 overall, 3-6 Big Ten) defeated Northwestern (4-16, 0-9) 75-58.
Wildcats head coach June Olkowski was the first to admit the Spartans lineup puzzled her team.
“What really gave us problems was the matchup,” Olkowski said. “Our post players had difficulty getting any clean shots off.”
The starting five of junior guard Vnemina Reese, freshman guard Kristin Haynie, sophomore guard Candice Jackson, sophomore forward Julie Pagel and junior center Jennifer Callier did exactly what MSU head coach Joanne P. McCallie wanted.
After a lackluster performance against Iowa on Thursday, McCallie said the team went with the small, quick lineup because those were the players who gave the Spartans a rebounding advantage.
“We struggled at Iowa and I was just looking at rebounds.” McCallie said. “I put the people in who rebounded the best at Iowa.
“I’d rather make sure our defense is anchored first and know that the offense can come.”
That’s exactly what happened.
The Spartans failed to score until the 4:23 mark, but the Wildcats didn’t post a single point until 5:01.
In fact, the game took its first television timeout without a single point scored.
But while the offense struggled, McCallie got the defense she desired.
The Spartans forced the Wildcats into 25 turnovers, including 17 steals. MSU outrebounded Northwestern 38-24, with 17 offensive rebounds.
Haynie said the defense stepped up after a displeasing end result against the Hawkeyes.
“Defensively, we were doing a lot better than we were against Iowa,” Haynie said. “We just had to toughen it more and become more aggressive and I thought we did a pretty good job of that today.”
The guard combo of Haynie, Jackson and Reese did a great job clamping down on the Wildcats’ perimeter game, while Callier and Pagel clogged the middle.
“Our mind-set was double them down low,” Reese said. “Tonight, the post did a very good job, and we forced them to kick it back outside, making them take longer, outside-range shots.”
Rarely did the Spartans give Northwestern a second-chance opportunity, holding the Wildcats to eight offensive boards and 10 second-chance points.
Adding to MSU’s effective lineup was its depth, as nine of the 10 players posted at least 14 minutes.
“I think it’s very important down the stretch to be connected as a team, and one of those ways to connect is to have a lot of different people play,” McCallie said. “To have all those people in double-figure minutes is something that we want to continue throughout the rest of the season.”
