The Golden Gophers were in a close battle with Michigan State Sunday, but ultimately came up short, falling 74-71 to the Spartans.
After suffering a 56 point loss at home against Iowa Thursday – the program’s second-worst defeat ever, the Gophers had another tough test on the road against 9-8 Michigan State and the country’s ninth leading scorer Nia Clouden (21.3 PPG).
Graduate student Bailey Helgren slid back into the starting lineup for the Gophers Sunday, joining the other four usual starters; Jasmine Powell, Sara Scalia, Deja Winters and Kadi Sissoko.
The move by head coach Lindsay Whalen paid off for Minnesota, taking a 17-14 lead after one quarter of play. Scalia had a game-high nine points after sinking three three-point shots in the first quarter.
Scalia continued to light up the scoreboard for the Gophers in the second quarter. She sank two more threes and added 10 points to a first-half total of 19.
Deciding to give more minutes to Helgren paid off for Whalen’s team. Her eight first-half rebounds helped Minnesota lead 23-22 in the first-half rebounding total, after getting out-rebounded 50-23 against Iowa on Thursday. The Gophers led 34-30 heading into the break.
The Gophers continued to find great success leaning on Scalia in the third quarter. She added eight more, but this time she was joined by graduate student Deja Winters who also added eight points.
A 54-52 lead heading into the final quarter set up for an exciting finish between Minnesota and Michigan State.
Big-time players show up when it matters most, and that was the case for Michigan State’s Nia Clouden. Her 14 points in the fourth quarter brought her game total to 25, giving the Spartans serious momentum.
The Gophers struggled offensively down the stretch, shooting 27.8% from the field in the final 10 minutes, leading to a 74-71 loss.
Sara Scalia finished with a game-high 31 points, highlighted by seven of 13 shooting from beyond the three-point arc, but it wasn’t enough. Michigan State made big plays when it mattered most and the Gophers simply did not.
Minnesota will now look ahead to a road contest in West Lafayette, Ind. against 12-6 Purdue on Thursday, Jan. 27 at 6:00 p.m. The Boilermakers currently sit in seventh place in the Big Ten standings with a 3-4 record.
