In its first Big Ten game of the season the No. 20 women's basketball team (8-4 overall, 0-1 Big Ten) was defeated by the Northwestern Wildcats (11-1 overall, 1-0 Big Ten) 61-57 on Sunday afternoon in East Lansing.
The Spartans were unable to find any rhythm shooting, ultimately shooting 29 percent on 20-of-69 shooting. MSU also turned the ball over 18 times. Northwestern didn't earn a glamorous win by any means shooting 38.3 percent on 23-of-60 shooting, turning over the ball 15 times in the process. The shooting performances were sloppy by both teams but the Wildcats did just enough to win.
The Spartans were outscored 29-22 in a low scoring first half. A second half comeback effort brought MSU to within three points, making it 54-57 with 1:47 remaining, but the Spartans ultimately fell short.
MSU was led by senior forward Becca Mills who scored 21 points on 8-of-20 shooting while also grabbing eight offensive and eight defensive rebounds for a total of 16 boards in a double-double effort. Also managing to earn a double-double was MSU redshirt sophomore forward Ariel Powers who grabbed 13 rebound and scored 10 points on 5-of-21 shooting.
Leading the way for the Wildcats was sophomore forward Nia Coffey, who scored 15 points on 7-of-17 shooting and grabbed six rebounds. The team was also powered by the play of sophomore guard Christen Inman who managed to grab eight rebounds while putting up 13 points on 6-of-13 shooting.
The Spartans continue Big Ten play on Wednesday night against the Indiana Hoosiers (10-2 overall, 0-1 Big Ten) in Bloomington.
Support student media!
Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.
Discussion
Share and discuss “No. 20 MSU drops Big Ten opener in women's basketball” on social media.
