EAST LANSING, MI. — Michigan State women’s basketball was given a 5-seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Spartans have now made the tournament all three years under head coach Robyn Fralick and have improved every year.
The Spartans will take on the 12-seed Colorado State in the first round. Colorado State won the Mountain West Tournament, securing the auto-bid and a date with Michigan State. Colorado State finished the regular season 27-7, and was 15-5 in conference play during the regular season.
Fralick said of the Rams, “definitely a slower tempo team, very disciplined, very controlled. Play smart basketball. So, we’re going to have to really work to get stops and offensively, we’re gonna have to play smart. They’re gonna pack it in and we have to find ways to move the defense.”
Michigan State finished the season 22-8 and was 11-7 in conference play. The Spartans bowed out early in the Big Ten Tournament however, falling to Illinois 71-69 in their first game of the tournament. The Spartans have struggled down the stretch and injuries have mounted up, and are looking to turn things around in the tournament.
For the Spartans to make a run, it all starts with senior forward Grace VanSlooten and sophomore guard Kennedy Blair. Both players were named to the second team all Big ten. VanSlooten averaged 15 points per game along with 6.6 rebounds per game. Blair was the breakout star for Michigan State, averaging 14.4 PPG and 7.1 RPG. Blair also averaged 5.4 assists and 2.3 steals per game, and stepped up in the absence of senior guard Theryn Hallock, who has been out with an injury since December. Junior guard Rashunda Jones was named to the Big Ten all defensive team, also averaging multiple steals per game.
The leading scorer for Colorado State this season has been senior guard Lexus Bargesser, averaging over 15 points per game. Bargesser is also averaging almost six boards per game, second on the team behind sophomore guard Kloe Froebe. Colorado State averaged 66 PPG, while holding opponents to an average of 55. The Rams excelled defensively against the Mountain West, but MSU will be their biggest test yet and will be unlike anybody else they have faced.
“Well, they’ve been really good defensively. It’s why they’ve had a great season. That has been a huge strength of theirs is making things tough, and then getting the first rebounds,” Fralick said.
“So we have to find ways to create advantages. We have to find ways to move the defense and a lot of opponents, when you watch, will just settle for shots. And we’ve got to find ways to make sure we’re not settling.”
Should the Spartans prevail, they will face either 4-seed Oklahoma or 13-seed Idaho in the second round. The Spartans find themselves in a tough region that includes Dawn Staley’s 1-seed South Carolina, which consistently ranks as one of the top five teams in the nation. Big Ten foe Iowa is also in the same region as a 2 seed, so the Spartans’ path to glory is no walk in the park.
The Spartans tournament run begins Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET in Norman, Oklahoma. The game will be streamed on ESPNEWS.
