A lot can change in two weeks.
Monday at Michigan State the Gophers women’s basketball team – playing in their second straight game without leading scorer Mara Braun – lost 76-65 to the Spartans.
Then: Two weeks ago the Gophers got their best victory of the season, by 19 points, against a Spartans team that couldn’t shoot straight, making a season-low 32.8% of their shots while scoring a season-low 50 points.
Now: The Spartans hit 12 of 33 three-pointers Monday, getting as many in the first quarter (five) as they did in the whole game Jan. 20. They had a 47-24 halftime lead after outscoring the Gophers 27-10 in the second quarter, nearly matching their Jan. 20 total in half the time.
Even a spirited second-half rally wasn’t enough. The hold the Gophers were trying to dig out of was too deep. Mallory Heyer’s three-point play with 2 minutes, 24 seconds left made it a nine-point game. A free throw by Janay Sanders pulled the Gophers within eight with 1:07 left.
The Gophers could not get closer.
This time it was the Gophers that struggled to protect the ball (18 turnovers, resulting in 19 MSU points) and defend the perimeter.
The Gophers, still searching to find a way without Braun, lost their fourth straight game, dropping to 4-7 in Big Ten play. They have not won since beating Michigan State.
The Spartans (17-5, 7-4) won their fourth straight, having not lost since Jan. 20.
Despite missing their first five shots and going 6-for-18, the Gophers were still within 20-14 entering the second quarter.
Then things got out of hand, quickly, with the Spartans opening the second quarter on a 19-4 run on the way to a 27-10 edge in the quarter.
Sanders, in her second start since Braun’s right foot injury, led the Gophers with 23 points. She made nine of 12 shots. Heyer had a 14-point, 11-rebound double-double. The rest of the Gophers shot a combined 13-for- shots. The rest of the team went 13-for-35.
Moira Joiner led Michigan State with 21 points on 9-for-16 shooting. Julia Ayrault scored 16, DeeDee Hagemann had 13. Both Ayrault and Joiner were in double-figures mid-way through the second quarter.
The Star Tribune did not send the writer of this article to the game. This was written using a broadcast, interviews and other material.