In a season mired with miscues and inconsistency on the offensive end of the court, the MSU women’s basketball team had one of its best performances of the season Sunday in its 70-59 victory over Penn State.
The win completed a season sweep of the Lady Lions for the Spartans, the first time MSU has swept Penn State in school history, and continued the team’s three-game win streak.
The defense was extremely strong as the Spartans held Penn State’s Tyra Grant, the Big Ten’s second-leading scorer, averaging 19.3 points per game going into the game, without a field goal in the first half and to only seven points on the game.
“I liked how we played,” head coach Suzy Merchant said. “It’s something to build on, to look at and learn from. I like how we’re playing defensively. I think we’re defending people in both halves.
“I think that’s always a starting point. I think our offense has been slow coming, but tonight it looked like we’re starting to figure it out and play together.”
The victory was one of the most efficient games MSU has played all season as it dished out 20 assists on 23 field goals and only committed 15 turnovers, well below the season average of 21 per game.
“I think we finally have all come on the same page,” sophomore guard Brittney Thomas said. “Just speaking offensively, we’ve realized let’s get out of our own heads, let’s just play the game that we like, make that first easy pass and it’s going to end up, a majority of the time, (leading to) buckets in the paint for us.”
The Spartans finished the night with 40 points in the paint, including 17 from junior center Allyssa DeHaan, her third straight double-figure scoring night. DeHaan has hit her stride in conference play, averaging 13.4 points and 8.7 rebounds per game, a good sign for the Spartans as they are undefeated this season when DeHaan scores in double figures.
“I felt like tonight she really had some leadership and some toughness to her,” Merchant said. “She went up and got rebounds. She played 25 minutes and she played great 25 minutes aggressively. She’s getting knocked around and pushed around a little bit, and I really felt like you can see her grow and mature in that department. Which is nice to see. I think she’s coming into her own.”
Sophomore forward Kalisha Keane also had a big game, scoring 12 points and sparking the Spartans’ offense, leading the team with six assists.
“She just allows us to play a lot of different ways,” Merchant said. “I thought she did a great job defensively, rebounding, she had steals. She just really was a great catalyst for us.”
The Spartans head to Northwestern on Thursday. MSU beat the Wildcats 64-52 on Jan. 8.
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