Leading a basketball team means more than just having the highest amount of points on the scoresheet at the end of a game. There are so many moving pieces that earn someone the title of leader, and Interim Head Women’s Basketball Coach Dean Lockwood thinks that sophomore guard DeeDee Hagemann is one of those players that deserves the accolade.

Hagemann has been consistently pulling in long minutes on the court for the Spartans. In the Sunday afternoon overtime win over Penn State, the sophomore spent just over 40 minutes on the floor putting up shots and directing plays. Hagemann was on the floor longer than any other Spartan.

“Their communication was a lot better," Lockwood said. "DeeDee did a great job up front leading us. I thought our other players responded to her. There was great communicating. We changed our ball screen defense a couple of times, and again, I thought there was really solid communication in those moments.”

Against the Lady Lions on Sunday, Hagemann lead both teams with eight assists and three steals. On top of all of that, she also had 15 points.

Toward the end of regulation, Hagemann was fouled and was sent to the free-throw line to shoot two. Neither of the shots went in, and regulation ended in a tie. Despite the two missed shots, she still went out for overtime with a vengeance and helped to secure the win for Michigan State, and her effort did not go unnoticed.

“When something bad happens—a person who's not mentally strong—they almost become like a victim," Lockwood said. "They start feeling bad, they feel sorry. And a mentally strong person bounces back, and DeeDee I thought did a great job of that after those missed free throws. ... I credit her for having the mental strength to you know—okay, missed some key free throws there. Yep, it could have got her down, but she just fought back.”

Despite having assumed a leadership position on the team, Hagemann is just a sophomore, and still has so much room to grow as a leader and a player.

“Dean communicated with me, he said that he needed me to be this leader. He needed me to be a coach on the floor,” Hagemann said. “So I took that, put that in my back pocket, and after he said that I have just been focused on that. And obviously we've been getting some wins.”

Hagemann and the Spartans will be on the road Wednesday night to take on Purdue at 7 p.m. The game will also be streaming on BTN+.