Junior forward Courtney Schiffauer said the pressure from Miami affected MSU in the first half and the team has to get off to better starts at the beginning of games with the conference season on the horizon.

“I think we did get a little rattled,” she said. “The turnovers really killed us … and to get down by that many and come back in 20 minutes, it’s hard to do.”

MSU head coach Suzy Merchant said Miami’s quickness and athleticism were impressive, but she still was disappointed with her guards decision making.

“(Miami’s) pressure is really good, they can cover a lot of ground,” Merchant said. “That’s the fastest, most athletic team I’ve played against in my coaching career, no question.”

Senior guard Porsche Poole was the only Spartan in double figures with 17 points and had to leave the game briefly in the second half after both legs began cramping up.

Junior forward Morgan Stroman led the Hurricanes with 20 points on 7-for-7 shooting and junior guard Stefanie Yderstrom added 11 points including three big 3-pointers that Merchant called “daggers.”

A bright spot for MSU was the play of freshman center Jasmine Hines who, along with Schiffauer, was the Spartans second leading scorer with nine points and helped ignite a second half rally that cut the Hurricanes lead to seven points.

Early foul trouble for senior forward Lykendra Johnson gave Hines the opportunity to play additional minutes, and Miami head coach Katie Meier said her team had no answer for the freshman.

“She killed us,” Meier said. “I was impressed with her, and I thought she had great composure. She was really hurting us.”

The Spartans won’t have much time to rest, as they host Eastern Michigan on 3 p.m. Saturday.
Poole said playing a team a top-10 team has already benefited the Spartans, and she expects the team to continue to improve.

“I think we grew today,” she said. “The second half we did much better. We’re a young team and me (and other veteran players), we’ve got to step in and become more vocal leaders.”