Something had to give Monday at Breslin Center where the Big Ten’s top-scoring offense in Minnesota took on the conference’s top defense in the Spartan women’s basketball team.
And in the final 11 seconds, it was MSU’s defense that faltered.
Minnesota guard Lindsay Whalen’s drive with seconds remaining sliced through the Spartan defense and gave the Gophers (12-2, 2-1) a 70-69 victory.
“We had a very disappointing defensive effort tonight,” said MSU head coach Joanne P. McCallie.
“I’m disappointed to give up 70 points at our home.”
The loss comes two days after the Spartans (10-4 overall, 0-3 Big Ten) upset then-No. 8 Georgia at Breslin, where the defense limited the Bulldogs to 49 points.
The Spartan defense failed to regroup Monday as it struggled in transition and couldn’t find the open Gopher shooters.
Minnesota’s balanced attack was led by Whalen’s 16 points. The guard’s 21.2 points per game is second best in the conference.
“I just feel like they had too many open looks,” McCallie said.
“(To find out what went wrong) I just have to look at our defense and turnovers.”
Junior forward Syreeta Bromfield had a game-high 20 points in the losing effort. She was joined by three other Spartans in double figures.
Despite the final outcome, the game never seemed as if it would come down to one final shot.
From the opening tip to halftime, it appeared the Spartan defense had exhausted Minnesota.
The Spartans took a 37-28 lead into the locker room.
The Gophers then responded in the second half, tightening their defense and turning Spartan turnovers into points.
“We just didn’t get back on defense at all,” Bromfield said.
“We knew they were going to trap, and that’s when the turnovers happened.”
Minnesota scored 17 points off 18 Spartan turnovers.
Gopher adjustments in the second half shrunk the Spartan lead to two points with 5:03 remaining, as Minnesota’s Corrin Von Wald completed a three-point play.
Sophomore forward Julie Pagel said the Spartans were unable to handle Minnesota’s increased pressure.
“I felt that we needed to show composure down the stretch,” Pagel said. “I didn’t feel that we ever needed to panic, and I think we all did.”
Minnesota opened the game strong, connecting on seven of its first 10 shots, but MSU responded with a momentum-turning 6-0 run spanning two minutes.
The run gave the Spartans a 20-17 lead. As the Gophers’ shooting hands cooled, MSU closed out the half on a 8-3 run.
Senior forward Abby Salscheider surprised Minnesota in the first half with 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting. Prior to the game Salscheider had scored just seven points all season.
But in the second half the Gophers held Salscheider scoreless, with just one shot.
The Spartans will look for their first conference win at 7 p.m. Thursday, when they host No. 5 Wisconsin.
Dan Woike can be reached at woikedan@msu.edu.
