It’s difficult to imagine a four-hour bus trip could cure all of the Spartan women’s basketball team’s ailments. But, it’s not too hard to see the ride as a golden opportunity to bring the young team closer.
“I love a bus trip,” MSU head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. “There’s something about just heading into the bus, bringing a pillow and just having some good times.”
The Spartans (10-6 overall, 0-5 Big Ten) travel to Columbus, Ohio, in search of their first Big Ten win of the season against Ohio State at 7 p.m. today inside Value City Arena.
McCallie said the change of routine might be the key in taking the Spartans to a new level.
“It’s a good change-up for us. We’ve been flying around a lot and it’s nice and convenient, and we’re thankful for that,” she said. “But sometimes, I think you have to do things a little old school.”
Junior forward Syreeta Bromfield sees the travel as a way for the Spartans to collectively focus.
“We still need to get completely together as a team, but we’re getting there,” Bromfield said. “The time bonding on that bus trip will let us know what we’re going to Ohio State for.”
MSU is currently in the midst of a three-game losing streak, and have won only once since Dec. 21.
The Buckeyes’ transformation from preseason weakling to contender is one of the bigger surprises in the conference, McCallie said.
“Obviously, you have to play great defense, and (the Buckeyes) do have a very athletic team,” she said. “It’s very important that we do play great team defense and not let them get to the basket and keep them out of the paint as much as possible.”
Forward Courtney Coleman leads Ohio State (9-8, 4-2) in scoring and rebounding, averaging 13.9 points and 7.3 rebounds a night. The Buckeyes also get double-digit scoring from three other sources - forward DiDi Reynolds (11.7), D’wan Shackleford (10.8) and Lauren Shenk (10).
Ohio State also crashes the offensive glass well. Allowing second-chance points has been the Achilles’ heel of the Spartans.
“We have had a problem giving team’s second shots throughout the year, and that probably was the difference in the Illinois game (a 72-66 loss Sunday),” McCallie said.
Correcting those issues could spell success against the Buckeyes.
“Boxing out, keeping people out of the paint and controlling the tempo are the kinds of things we are going to want to do against Ohio State,” McCallie said.
The Spartans slide hasn’t come without a silver lining, junior guard Vnemina Reese said.
“There’s been a lot of growth here,” she said. “We’ve looked over tapes and seen opportunities where we could’ve capitalized on a couple of players or made a couple of key stops.”
While there is little question the Spartans have chalked up their recent losses as “learning experiences,” Reese said, the team is anxious to have the acquired knowledge and experience pay off.
“I think all these close encounters in games will help us to not be so panicky in tight games somewhere down the stretch,” Reese said. “But sometimes, I get like, ‘When’s the learning going to stop, and when can we get to reaching our goals?’”
