ANN ARBOR. — No. 13 Michigan State women’s basketball took on the No. 7 Michigan Wolverines in a rivalry rematch at the Crisler Center. The Spartans were looking for revenge after losing the first game series, but were unable to come out with a win, falling to Michigan, 86-65. 

MSU head coach Robyn Fralick was disappointed with her team’s lack of complementary play and knows that it must improve as the regular season nears its close. 

“We’ve got to play better basketball on both sides of the ball,” Fralick said. “We have some things to figure out.” 

Here are three takeaways from the rivalry showdown. 

Unable to sustain the fast start 

The first quarter was controlled by MSU for the entirety of the 10 minutes. Shots were falling left and right as the Green and White finished the period up six and were shooting 57% from the floor. 

The next three quarters told a different story as Michigan’s defense began to lock down the Spartans offensively. The Wolverines’ offense began to catch fire at the same time. 

Redshirt sophomore guard Kennedy Blair felt like the gameplan was perfect in the first quarter and herself and her teammates were executing at a high level, but the second quarter was when things unraveled. 

“I felt like the first quarter, we got out and we got steals and we scored down low and I felt like we had good shots,” Blair said. “…The second quarter, we turned the ball over and then we also got bad shots… We just got all out of sorts in the second quarter there and it killed us for the rest of the game.” 

Sophomore guard Mila Holloway took over for Michigan in the second period, going on an 8-0 run by herself as she knocked down two three pointers and a floater. This was the point where the Wolverines took the lead and never looked back. 

Michigan head coach Kim Barnes Arico was proud of how her squad adjusted to MSU, taking the first punch. 

“Early on, they (MSU) were kind of getting whatever they wanted,” Barnes Arico said. “I just think we had to settle in and try to get some stops.” 

Turnovers, turnovers, and more turnovers 

The name of the game was ball control. This was something MSU lacked in the contest, especially in the second quarter. 

The Spartans ended the night with 24 turnovers as a team, and half of those came in the second period for Fralick’s squad. 

“… Second quarter, it was wild,” Fralick said. “We were dropping the ball, passing ahead; it was a lot of self-inflicted, just playing a little bit sped up… You can’t turn the ball over that much and be effective.” 

The flurry of Spartan turnovers led to them only putting up seven shot attempts and just getting nine points in that 10-minute frame. Michigan countered this by capitalizing on the Green and White’s mistakes, getting 14 points off MSU’s second-quarter turnovers and completing the quarter with 26 points. 

Blair felt like what happened in the second quarter was too much for the Spartans to come back from, and having the number of turnovers they did during that time can’t happen, especially against a top 10 team. 

Barnes Arico loved her team’s defense in the second period and onward, especially after a rough start in the first quarter. 

“Our second quarter defense was outstanding,” Barnes Arico said. “Our defense and the way we forced turnovers all game was really exceptional.” 

Lack of ball movement 

Throughout this season, MSU has been a team that’s been able to share the wealth offensively, putting up high assist numbers in most of its outings. The Spartans are fifth in the Big Ten in assists per game with 18, but against the Wolverines, they just knotted nine. 

Blair thought the first ten minutes of the game included a good offensive flow for the Green and White, but after that, it disappeared. Blair discussed how higher assists lead to better production for MSU. 

“In order to win, we play well in transition, we have to get rebounds and push the ball and also get everybody involved,” Blair said. “That’s when we’re the best, is when we’re all scoring, we’re all assisting each other, not when we’re all playing one-on-one.” 

Coach Fralick knows her team has to get back to its old habits of sharing the wealth and getting more people involved. 

“When we were playing our best basketball, everybody was helping make a positive impact on the game and we got to get back to more people doing that,” Fralick said. 

This was also a game where two Spartans hit the deck hard and were both unable to return to play. Junior guard Rashunda Jones appeared to injure her ankle and couldn’t put pressure on it and sophomore forward Juliann Woodard hit her head and had to exit the court in a wheelchair.  

The potentially shorthanded MSU squad will take on the Northwestern Wildcats next, back at the Breslin Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 18. Brian Rivers and Josh Lee will be on the call, and the game can be listened to locally on 88.9 FM or at https://impact89fm.org/.