With MSU struggling to score early against Rhode Island on Wednesday, it wasn't an upperclassman who came to save the day. It wasn't even a player with a full season under her belt. Instead, it was freshman Allyssa DeHaan and her six games of experience that came to the rescue.
DeHaan opened the game 6-for-6 from the field and finished with a career-high 28 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks as the No. 20 Spartans overcame a slow start to beat Rhode Island, 67-40, at Breslin Center.
"All I know is it's just great to see Allyssa being aggressive," MSU head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. "She gets better every day; she gets better every game, and she picks up a few things.
"It's going to be important for her to hold her ground and continue to be aggressive like she was. Without question, that was the most aggressive I've seen her all year."
For DeHaan, Wednesday's game was a stark contrast from Sunday's game at Houston, in which she shot just 1-for-7 from the field with two rebounds.
"Wow, she really was motivated," McCallie said. "Houston really bothered her, and she came back and really showed her character, and I was very, very impressed by that."
Against Rhode Island, DeHaan said she was on a mission.
"I was ready to play," DeHaan said. "I was ready to get it done, and we got it done."
Minus DeHaan's hot start, the Spartans (5-1) shot just 1-for-9 from the field to start the game. DeHaan was the only Spartan to score in double figures.
Rhode Island guards Safi Mojidi and Mia Marcus gave MSU trouble early, scoring the Rams' first 14 points for a 14-11 lead.
The Spartans then went on a 25-6 run to take a 36-20 lead into halftime.
MSU's lead ballooned to 21 points midway through the second half, and as the game wore on, it became apparent that the Spartans' size and strength were too much for the Rams (1-6) to handle.
"We did try to get the ball inside a lot," McCallie said. "We felt that was a tremendous advantage for us."
The Spartans had as many offensive rebounds (21) as the Rams had total rebounds.
Rarely did Rhode Island venture into the paint after three first-half blocks by DeHaan, as a third of its shots on the game came from 3-point range. Rhode Island shot 28.3 percent for the game, had 12 points in the paint and went to the free-throw line once.
The glaring statistic for the Spartans: They turned the ball over 25 times.
"If we want to score more points, our first suggestion is to stop turning the ball over," McCallie said. "Twenty-five turnovers has a way of cutting into momentum, and we've got to do a much better job in that area."
The Spartans face South Florida at 2:30 p.m. at Breslin Center.
Matt Bishop can be reached at bishop20@msu.edu.
