Indiana guard Ashlee Mells drove hard to the basket midway through the first of half of Sunday’s game when MSU guards Brittney Thomas and Lykendra Johnson stepped in front of her.
The ensuing collision sent both defenders sprawling through the lane, resulting in an offensive foul on Mells.
In a low-scoring defensive battle, it was plays like that one that helped the No. 16 MSU women’s basketball overcome poor shooting and lift the Spartans to a 53-44 win Sunday afternoon at Assembly Hall.
MSU experienced cold-shooting in the first half and trailed by three points at halftime, but the Spartans found their rhythm during an 11-2 run to begin the second half to take a six-point advantage at 28-22.
After Indiana drew closer to pull within 31-28, the Spartans went on an 8-0 run during the next five minutes to seize control of the game and pull ahead by 11.
Senior center Allyssa DeHaan keyed the surge, fighting through contact to convert a three-point play and followed that up with a jump shot to put the Spartans ahead by 11. Later in the half, DeHaan showed some outside touch by drilling a 3-pointer to put MSU ahead by 10 with about four minutes remaining.
DeHaan finished with 16 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks.
Indiana drew within as close as five late in the second half, but was seven or eight points down for most of the second half as the Spartans locked down defensively and drew several free throw opportunities.
For the game, MSU finished 29 percent from the field, while Indiana shot 24 percent.
The Spartans pulled ahead 4-2 in the game’s early-going before starting on a seven-minute scoreless streak.
DeHaan finally scored with 11 minutes remaining in the half to break Indiana’s 8-0 scoring run, but the cold shooting continued for both teams for the remainder of the half.
The Spartans and Hoosiers each shot 22 percent for the first half.
After an Indiana bucket put the Hoosiers ahead 18-12, the Spartans responded with the next five points off a basket from senior center Lauren Aitch and trey by Thomas. Thomas finished with 13 points and nine rebounds, while junior guard Jori Davis led the Hoosiers with 20 points and eight rebounds.
MSU turned the ball over 20 times compared to the Hoosiers’ 15, but outscored its opponent 14-10 on points off turnovers.
The win improves the Spartans to 2-2 in Big Ten play and serves as their second straight victory following Thursday’s win against Michigan.
Earlier this season, MSU lost to the Hoosiers 68-63 at Breslin Center on Dec. 6, and looked as though they wished to return the favor on Indiana’s home court Sunday.
MSU (11-4) returns to action Jan. 9 against No. 6 Ohio State at Breslin Center.
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