Thursday's basketball: Michigan State women upend No. 9 Maryland
East Lansing, Mich. — The first season Maryland joined the Big Ten, the Terrapins went unbeaten in conference play — both the regular season and the league tournament.
That was only four years ago, but it feels well in the past now.
Jenna Allen scored 16 points and Nia Clouden added 15 to lift No. 17 Michigan State to a 77-60 victory over No. 9 Maryland on Thursday night. It was only the 10th loss to a conference opponent for the Terrapins since 2014-15, but seven of those have occurred in the last 12 1/2 months.
“The past four years or so, when they first came into the Big Ten, they haven’t lost a lot,” Allen said. “It’s always a good win to get over them.”
The Spartans (13-4, 3-3 Big Ten) led almost throughout, racing out to a 20-4 advantage in the first quarter. Maryland (15-2, 4-2) closed to within three at halftime, but Michigan State took control again in the third in this matchup between the highest-ranked Big Ten teams in this week’s AP Top 25.
It was the second victory over a top-10 team for the Spartans this season. They beat No. 3 Oregon on Dec. 9.
Michigan State made five 3-pointers in the first quarter against Maryland. The Spartans made only one after that, but they kept playing with confidence. Taryn McCutcheon scored 12 points for Michigan State, which had lost three of its previous four games.
“I thought Michigan State was tremendous,” Maryland coach Brenda Frese said. “They had a mentality coming off their last loss. They were hungry, they were motivated. The 3s really hurt us, I thought, just having to climb back through the course of the game.”
The Spartans led 37-34 at halftime but pushed the lead back to double digits in the third and stayed in control after that.
Brianna Fraser led Maryland with 22 points.
The Terps lead the all-time series with Michigan State 11-2, but they’ve lost two of the last three meetings.
More state women
(At) No. 22 Iowa 75, Michigan 62: Megan Gustafson had 21 points and 16 rebounds for her 16th double-double and added six assists to lead No. 22 Iowa over Michigan.
Eight players scored in the third quarter when the Hawkeyes made 10 of 16 shots, including two 3-pointers, to stretch a 32-29 lead to 54-38. The Wolverines went 4 of 12 and never got the deficit below double figures in the fourth quarter despite making 11 of 17 shots.
Hannah Stewart had 16 points for the Hawkeyes (13-4, 4-2 Big Ten Conference), who improved to 8-0 at home. Tania Davis and Kathleen Doyle both added 10. Davis also had six assists and Iowa had 25 helpers on 34 baskets.
Naz Hillmon had 16 points and Hallie Thome 15 for Michigan (11-7, 2-4). Despite the hot fourth quarter, the Wolverines shot 33 percent for the second half and 42 percent for the game. They went 1 of 15 from 3-point range.
(At) Wayne State 69: Northwood 60: Visiting Northwood’s fourth quarter rally came up short, while four Wayne State players scored in double digits en route to victory. India Hawkins led the Warriors (9-8, 4-5 GLIAC) with 14 points, and fellow guard Ja’Nae Williams grabbed 13 rebounds. Guards Adrianna Stolicker and Kenzie Seeley respectively netted 15 and 14 points to lead Northwood (7-10, 4-5).
State men
Northwood 73, Wayne State 70: Ja'Kavien Lewis scored 18, Alec Marty 14 and Trey McBride and Zach Allread each scored 12 for Northwood (7-10, 4-5 GLIAC). Darian Owens-White scored 23, Javon Henderson 14 and Latin Davis 12 for Wayne State (3-10, 3-6).
Top 25
(At) No. 5 Gonzaga 73, Loyola Marymount 55: Known for its offense, Gonzaga has shown that it can win by playing strong defense lately.
Zach Norvell Jr. scored 17 points and the Bulldogs won for the eighth consecutive time since a pair of losses knocked them out of the top spot in The AP Top 25.
Loyola Marymount used a slow-down offense to keep the scoring low, but the Zags were even stingier.
Brandon Clarke added 13 points, Corey Kispert 12 and Rui Hachimura 10 for Gonzaga (17-2, 4-0 West Coast), which beat Loyola Marymount for the 20th straight time. The Zags have won 18 straight games at home.
James Batemon led Loyola Marymount (13-5, 1-3) with 12 points.