The MSU women’s basketball team has been flirting with disaster of late.
Using their defensive strength early in the season, the Spartans (16-11 overall, 6-10 Big Ten) opened the Big Ten season at 9-1 and were receiving votes in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today coaches polls.
Since then, the defense has been inconsistent and the Spartans fluttered down the stretch, with scrappy victories mixed in.
Sunday is a key example. MSU defeated No. 14 Minnesota 80-72 despite playing the Golden Gophers’ style of offensive-minded basketball.
Unfortunately, that is the only victory the Spartans tallied all year when allowing opponents more than 70 points. Out of MSU’s 11 losses, seven came when the team surrendered 69 points or more.
All of the losses should provide the Spartans with a huge lesson - playing the opposition’s game won’t get you very far.
MSU enters the tournament with a great deal of momentum after Sunday’s win over the Gophers. Prior to the game, the Spartans were on a two-game skid and had lost four of their last five games.
In the last four games, three Spartans have posted career-highs in points. Junior guard Vnemina Reese dropped 28 Sunday against Minnesota. Junior forward Syreeta Bromfield scored 25 against Penn State on Feb. 14 and sophomore forward Julie Pagel scored 25 against Illinois on Feb. 9.
The team is finally getting some offensive production to support a stifling defense that allowed only 61.4 points per game during the season, second in the Big Ten. But throughout the season the offense was inconsistent, scoring only 62.6 points per game, second worst in the Big Ten.
Because the team has been attempting to run, MSU head coach Joanne P. McCallie said all she can do is hope for everyone to have a great game.
“Instead of looking at who’s next, let’s see if we can all come together,” McCallie said. “For example, if you take Pagel’s game from Illinois, Syreeta’s game from Penn State, Mina’s game from Minnesota and (freshman guard Kristin) Haynie’s game from Arkansas State (21 points), we’d have a heck of a team.
“It has to be everybody’s night, and we all have to play together.”
However, McCallie wishes the team would stick to defense, since it is the team’s biggest strength. With teams like Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois all averaging more than 75 points per contest, she knows her team needs to realize they can’t post those numbers night in and night out.
“Obviously, you have to play great defense,” she said. “It’s very important that we continue playing great team defense.”
But after 27 grueling games leading up to the Big Ten Tournament, some players are starting to realize they need to carry the other players on their back when the team is struggling.
When Reese stepped up and led the team to victory Sunday, McCallie said it was a great performance by one player. But she wants team balance.
“We need more balance offensively,” she said. “We need more people willing to step up.”
As of late, it has been obvious the team is starting to jell. Passes are much smoother and the team’s communication has improved tremendously.
Early in the season, players were more selfish, trying to improve statistics. Lately, the players have realized they are playing on a team and that they need to work together.
In a couple of late-season games, teamwork was shown repeatedly on 2-on-1 breakaways. The extra pass has been made instead of forcing a tough layup.
They are playing to win, but more importantly, they’re playing the type of basketball McCallie knows will lead them to victory.
If the Spartans stop playing with fire and return to the way they won basketball games in the season’s early going, this Spartan team may be raising more eyebrows than ever expected. Quite possibly, the Spartans could be raising a Big Ten Tournament trophy.
Chris Mackinder, the State News women’s basketball reporter, can be reached at Mackind8@msu.edu.
