Friday, March 12
Indianapolis, Ind.
4:30 PM
Michigan State University
15-8,8-7Big Ten
72
vs
87
Iowa
18-8,11-8Big Ten
1
2
3
4
F
Michigan St.
24
17
16
15
72
Iowa
24
16
24
23
87
Team Stats
MSU
Iowa
FG%
.426
.469
3FG%
.400
.308
FT%
.429
.905
RB
40
33
TO
16
11
STL
3
8
Game Leaders
Pts
24
FGM
10
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G/F
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
MSU’s Big Ten Tournament Comes to an End Against Iowa
3/12/2021 8:51:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Injury-plagued Spartans fall in Big Ten semifinals Friday.
INDIANAPOLIS - No. 7-seeded Michigan State's Big Ten Tournament run came to a halt Friday in the semifinals with an 87-72 loss No. 6-seeded Iowa at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Fighting injuries all week, the Spartans ran out of steam with a limited lineup.
With the loss, Michigan State had its three-game winning streak come to an end and fall to 15-8. Iowa will face top-seeded Maryland on Saturday in the championship game.
Junior guard Nia Clouden was once again stellar in the Big Ten tournament with 20 points to go along with seven rebounds and four assists. For the tournament, she averaged 24.0 points per game. Freshman forward Kendall Bostic came up big for the Spartans' who were playing without guard Julia Ayrault and Tory Ozment, scoring 13 points.
The teams traded baskets early with MSU taking an early 9-7 lead after a Clouden layup. Neither team took more than a four-point lead in the period. After the first 10 minutes of action both Clouden and senior forward Alisia Smith contributed seven points.
Working with different rotations due to injuries, both Bostic and senior guard Laurel Jacqmain saw more minutes with both rising to the occasion. With the score tied at 33 with under three minutes left in the second quarter, Sharon Goodman put the Hawkeyes on top 35-33. With 1.5 seconds left in the half, senior forward Mardrekia Cook drained jumper to put the Spartans up 41-39 before the Hawkeyes hit one free throw before the half ended.
Michigan State's tough defense was able to hold Big Ten Freshman of the Year Caitlin Clark to only six first-half points.
Iowa came out hot in the second half, jumping out to a 51-46 lead despite Monika Czinano picking up her third foul early in the period. The Spartans responded with five-straight in a quarter with very little runs. With seconds ticking away in the third, Clark drained a 3-pointer to give Iowa the momentum and the 64-57 advantage.
In the fourth quarter, Iowa started to pull away after back-to-back treys by Clark put the Hawkeyes on top 77-62. Sophomore guard Alyza Winston halted an Iowa 11-0 run with her first basket of the game. MSU responded with a 7-0 run of its own to cut it to a 77-69 deficit. From there, the Iowa offense was relentless, as Clark and Czinano both scored 14 points in the second half.
Post-Game Notes vs. Iowa
• Michigan State falls to 3-11 all-time in Big Ten Tournament semifinals. The Spartans were making their first semifinals appearance since 2017, when they dropped a 100-89 decision to Maryland.
• Junior guard Nia Clouden posted her ninth 20-point game of the season and second in a row following
Thursday's 30-point performance in the quarterfinal win over Indiana. It's the third time this season
Clouden has recorded back-to-back 20-point games.
• Freshman forward Kendall Bostic finished with 13 points, just missing her career high of 15 points set in her college debut (and MSU's season opener) on Nov. 27 in East Lansing.
• With 20 points, NIa Clouden now has 1,265 career points, moving up to No. 13 on the MSU all-time scoring list. She passed LyKendra Johnson (1,242) and Branndais Agee (1,250) with her 20 points against Iowa.
With the loss, Michigan State had its three-game winning streak come to an end and fall to 15-8. Iowa will face top-seeded Maryland on Saturday in the championship game.
Junior guard Nia Clouden was once again stellar in the Big Ten tournament with 20 points to go along with seven rebounds and four assists. For the tournament, she averaged 24.0 points per game. Freshman forward Kendall Bostic came up big for the Spartans' who were playing without guard Julia Ayrault and Tory Ozment, scoring 13 points.
The teams traded baskets early with MSU taking an early 9-7 lead after a Clouden layup. Neither team took more than a four-point lead in the period. After the first 10 minutes of action both Clouden and senior forward Alisia Smith contributed seven points.
Working with different rotations due to injuries, both Bostic and senior guard Laurel Jacqmain saw more minutes with both rising to the occasion. With the score tied at 33 with under three minutes left in the second quarter, Sharon Goodman put the Hawkeyes on top 35-33. With 1.5 seconds left in the half, senior forward Mardrekia Cook drained jumper to put the Spartans up 41-39 before the Hawkeyes hit one free throw before the half ended.
Michigan State's tough defense was able to hold Big Ten Freshman of the Year Caitlin Clark to only six first-half points.
Iowa came out hot in the second half, jumping out to a 51-46 lead despite Monika Czinano picking up her third foul early in the period. The Spartans responded with five-straight in a quarter with very little runs. With seconds ticking away in the third, Clark drained a 3-pointer to give Iowa the momentum and the 64-57 advantage.
In the fourth quarter, Iowa started to pull away after back-to-back treys by Clark put the Hawkeyes on top 77-62. Sophomore guard Alyza Winston halted an Iowa 11-0 run with her first basket of the game. MSU responded with a 7-0 run of its own to cut it to a 77-69 deficit. From there, the Iowa offense was relentless, as Clark and Czinano both scored 14 points in the second half.
Post-Game Notes vs. Iowa
• Michigan State falls to 3-11 all-time in Big Ten Tournament semifinals. The Spartans were making their first semifinals appearance since 2017, when they dropped a 100-89 decision to Maryland.
• Junior guard Nia Clouden posted her ninth 20-point game of the season and second in a row following
Thursday's 30-point performance in the quarterfinal win over Indiana. It's the third time this season
Clouden has recorded back-to-back 20-point games.
• Freshman forward Kendall Bostic finished with 13 points, just missing her career high of 15 points set in her college debut (and MSU's season opener) on Nov. 27 in East Lansing.
• With 20 points, NIa Clouden now has 1,265 career points, moving up to No. 13 on the MSU all-time scoring list. She passed LyKendra Johnson (1,242) and Branndais Agee (1,250) with her 20 points against Iowa.
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