The Michigan State women’s basketball team went on the road to play Minnesota this Saturday, where they lost 69-50, in a game heavily dominated by their opponents. The Spartans now hold a record of 13-5 overall and are 3-4 in the Big Ten Conference, as well as 1-3 in conference away games. 

Minnesota out rebounded the Spartans 45-39 and held the Spartans to only 32.8% shooting from the field, a season-low performance. There was only one Spartan to hit double figures this game: DeeDee Hagemann, a core player throughout the season. Michigan State ended the first quarter strong, only down 20-18, but fell apart in the second quarter, scoring a measly six points. Every single quarter, Minnesota out-scored the Spartans, contributing to the 19 point loss. 

Michigan State also shot a low 18% from the three-point line and only shot nine free throws, converting five of them.  MSU had fewer assists than the Golden Gophers (17 vs. seven), fewer steals (seven vs. three), more turnovers (12 vs. 11) and more personal fouls (15 vs. 12). Overall, it was not the Spartans’ best game. 

Michigan State head coach Robyn Fralick thought overall this was not the best game on either side of the ball for the players — both individually and as a team.

“I thought it was a disappointing game for us on both sides of the ball,” Fralick said. “You know we got to learn from it, we got to bounce back, we got another one coming Wednesday.” 

Junior guard DeeDee Hagemann led scoring for the Spartans with 18 points and seven rebounds, followed by graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault with nine points and eight rebounds. On the other team, forward Mallory Heyer was the team’s leading scorer with 18 points and also grabbed 15 rebounds and threw three assists. Minnesota finished the game with four players in double-digit scoring, as opposed to Michigan State’s one. 

With two straight home games coming up for the Spartans, Fralick said the team needs to regroup and are looking forward to the next game, hoping to play better than today.

“It’s great but I think wherever you play, you got to be able to play at a high level,” Fralick said. “We’ve got to regroup, learn and we’ll be excited to be at home on Wednesday.”

A lot can happen in practice between now and Wednesday for the Spartans, and hopefully the next game, Michigan State will have better team chemistry, shoot better and foul less: three objectives that are easier said than done.

Looking ahead, the women’s team will be returning to the Breslin Center this upcoming Wednesday, Jan. 24 to take on Purdue at 6:30 p.m. Streaming will be available on Big Ten Plus.