EVANSTON, Ill.- No. 20 Michigan State women’s basketball took care of business on the road against Northwestern, beating the Wildcats 89-75. The Spartans are now 18-4 on the season and 8-3 in conference play.
Here are some takeaways from the Spartans bounce back road win:
Shooting from the arc
Three-point shooting was rocky in the first quarter, with MSU going 0-5 from the arc. These missed shots gave Northwestern the opportunity to capitalize and keep the game close throughout the first half.
Junior guard Emma Shumate checked back in for the Spartans in the second quarter, making two three-point baskets to fire up the offense.
“I thought she made a lot of timely threes too, anytime maybe they’d (Northwestern) been on a little run, or they had a little momentum, she created separation,” Fralick said.
Shumate finished with 12 points consisting of four three-point baskets, which is what Shumate does best.
“I’m proud of her, she shot confident, she was open she let it fly, and it was fun to watch,” Fralick said.
Adjusting at the half
MSU had only 11 rebounds at the half compared to 20 from Northwestern, and the Wildcats aggressiveness in the paint kept the game close.
The Spartans finished with 26 total rebounds after some adjustments at the half.
“We went to way more half-court defense, they were scoring a lot out of our press, so we got way more settled in the half court,” Fralick said. “We did a much better job fronting, we knew that coming in they played through their post a lot, we knew their post would be tough matchups, in the second half we did a better job of doing it right.”
Junior forward Grace VanSlooten finished with a team high of 20 points and six rebounds and was a huge asset for the Spartans in the paint.
“Grace was really efficient, I thought she did a great job in the paint, finished, got to the free throw line, just got us some great points in the paint,” Fralick said.
Nyla Hampton’s career high performance
Graduate guard and team captain Nyla Hampton had a career-high of 16 points, five assists, and three blocks, helping control the pace of the Spartan offense.
“I thought Nyla was such an X-factor for us in this game, she made timely shots, defensively made some big steals, just really did the right thing at the right time,” head coach Robyn Fralick said.
MSU was struggling to get the offense going in the first half and went into the second half tied with the Wildcats at 40.
Hampton had eight points in the third quarter, making two three-point shots and securing a more comfortable lead for the Spartans heading into the fourth.
Good teams consist of a leader who can step up to the plate, and Hampton’s performance proved why she was selected as a team captain.
The Spartans get the week off before hosting in-state rival Michigan next Sunday.
“I feel good, I think we get a little time to focus on us, I think we need right now I think this is a good time where we can get a little time to zoom in on us, and excited for that,” Fralick said.
No. 20 MSU vs. Michigan will tip off next Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Breslin Center.