Northwestern started the second half tied with the Spartans, but Michigan State quickly snuffed out a potential upset.
Northwestern (7-13, 0-9 BIG) kept it close in the first half but couldn’t withstand a potent Michigan State (18-4, 8-3 BIG) offense, losing 89-75 at Welsh-Ryan Arena Sunday afternoon.
The ‘Cats entered half time tied at 40 with the No. 16 team in the country, but Michigan State outscored coach Joe McKeown’s squad 49-35 in the second half to prevent Northwestern from earning its first conference victory.
Grace VanSlooten led all scorers with 20 points on an exceptionally efficient 8-of-11 from the field. Nyla Hampton came up big for the Spartans as well, adding 16 points of her own that included a pair of well-timed threes to deter a Northwestern comeback.
Taylor Williams had her third highest scoring performance of the season with 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting along with a team-high 12 rebounds. Caileigh Walsh chipped in 12 points and Casey Harter added 11 points with a perfect 3-of-3 from deep. Melannie Daley and Grace Sullivan were strong contributors off the bench, contributing 11 points and 10 points respectively.
Caroline Lau got the start after a good string of games that included tying a career-high with four three pointers against Illinois.
After Northwestern won the opening tip, Michigan State opened the scoring with a free throw. Walsh scored the first five for the ‘Cats on the board, getting the friendly bounce on a corner three and following that up with a pretty floater off the glass. The Spartans retook a 7-5 lead on back-to-back layups before Williams got fouled after hauling in an offensive board. She tied the score at seven with two made free throws. The Spartans retook the lead, but Harter responded with a tough bucket in transition. Michigan State flexed its defensive prowess with a steal and score to bring an 11-9 lead into the first media timeout.
After the break, Williams made one-of-two free throws after absorbing a hard foul and immediately followed up with a layup. Michigan’s offense began to stall and the ‘Cats took advantage, building a seven-point lead behind baskets from Walsh and Sullivan. Northwestern would close the quarter strong and take a 20-15 into the break behind nine points from Walsh.
The Spartans opened the second quarter with more pace offensively as they made back-to-back threes, but Northwestern refused to relinquish the lead. Impressive transition buckets from Kyla Jones and Daley kept the Wildcat lead at five through the first three minutes.
Michigan State broke their scoring drought but continued to struggle against a relentless Northwestern defense. However, the Wildcats’ offense grew quiet and the Spartans eventually broke through, using a three from Emma Shumate to retake a 32-31 lead.
Northwestern’s offense came back to life with a corner three from Harter and buckets in-transition from Jones and Williams. The ‘Cats briefly grabbed back the lead, but a quick conversion by Michigan State leveled the score at halftime, with the teams tied 40-40 heading into the locker room.
Walsh led the scoring in the first half with 12 points, while Williams added seven points and four assists. The Wildcats shot an impressive 55.2% from the field and nailed 2-of-3 from deep.
VanSlooten and Ayrault paced the Spartans through the first half with nine points each.
Michigan quickly took the lead to open the second half as the Wildcats came out sloppy, committing two turnovers and four fouls within the first three minutes. McKeown would pull Walsh after she committed her third foul on an ill-advised reach in. Without Northwestern’s leading scorer on the floor, the Spartans widened the lead to six on five straight points from Vanslooten. Unlike the first half, the ‘Cats had no answers on the other end.
Following an NU timeout, Williams stopped the bleeding momentarily with an impressive and-one, but the Spartans continued to outpace the ‘Cats with their shotmaking and offensive boards. The lead ballooned to 10 points for the first time midway through the third quarter as Michigan State’s Nyla Hampton found her stroke from deep. Northwestern continued to hang around with a three from Harter and steal-and-score from Williams, but the Spartans maintained a 65-55 lead through the third quarter.
Michigan State came out firing in the fourth quarter and Northwestern couldn’t keep up. The Spartan lead grew to 18 points after three minutes as the ‘Cats had no answer for the Michigan State shooters. Shots from Harter and Sullivan weren’t enough to make the game competitive as Northwestern would not get back within striking distance.
Up next, Northwestern will embark on a quick trip south for a rematch against Illinois (17-5, 7-4 B1G) next Thursday. Illinois beat Northwestern 85-60 two weeks ago inside Welsh-Ryan arena.