No. 19 Michigan State was looking to get back in the win column after suffering its first defeat of the season and also hoping for its first-ever two-peat against No. 8 Maryland on Sunday. A slow start in the first half dug too big of a hole for the Spartans in the end and handed a second-straight loss to MSU, falling 72-66.
The loss drops the Spartans to 11-2 on the season and 1-1 in Big Ten play. MSU also falls to 19-3 all-time against UMD as the Terrapins remain undefeated to date on the season, improving to 12-0 overall and 2-0 in league play. MSU also now falls to 19-3 all-time against UMD and Maryland improves to 8-1 in games played in College Park.
Junior guard Theyrn Hallock led all scorers Sunday with 20 points while graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault notched yet another double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds.
No other Spartan finished in double figures, though senior guard/forward Jocelyn Tate was second on the boards with 10 and led the team in helpers (four) and steals (three). Tate finished just three-for-10 from the field with seven points. Graduate guard Nyla Hampton also led the team in blocks with four.
"The effort was good," MSU head coach Robyn Fralick said after the game when asked about MSU's 15-10 advantage on the offensive glass. "I also think that when (Inés) Sotelo, one of our freshmen, came in that she did a great job of keeping the ball alive and attacking. Jocelyn Tate as well. Julia (Ayrault). So, you know, the one thing I've loved about our team all year is our efforts always been in a great space.""
Overall, MSU had its worst shooting performance of the season, finishing just 32.4% from the field and its fifth-worst outing from 3-point range on the year, hitting just 25% from deep. By contrast, UMD had the second-best FG% on the season to date of any opponent, scoring on 48.3% of FGAs.
With that strong shooting in mind, four Terps ended the day in double figures for scoring. Kaylene Smikle led UMD with 19 points. Saylor Poffenbarger finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds, Bri McDaniel added 12 points, and Shyann Sellers totaled 11 points.
First Half
Despite jumping out to a five-point lead to open the game, MSU quickly fell behind due to abysmal shooting. The Spartans were able to take a narrow 9-7 lead with 5:08 to play but failed to hit a field goal for the remainder of the quarter. UMD mounted a 13-2 run to close out the opening stanza with a pair of free throws being the only points for MSU in that span.
The Spartans trailed 20-11 at the end of the quarter. It was MSU's third-worst first half point total in a quarter to date. The only worse performances was a five-point outing against California in the second quarter of that game and an eight-point performance against Alabama in the first quarter.
“I think a combination of all the above (of a long break, tough road environment, and a strong UMD defensive effort)," Fralick said about the poort shooting performance in the first quarter. "I also think when I watched the film, we missed some layups. We missed some baskets in the paint that, in these kind of games, you got to finish. Probably a little bit of all of the above.”
The second quarter is where the Spartans dug a hole that became too much to overcome. After finally snapping its field goal drought less than a minute into the stanza, MSU quickly fell behind. With 4:09 remaining in the half, the Terps had built up a 17-point advantage, what would become the largest lead by either team, up 37-20.
The Spartans were able to buckle in from there and twice trim their deficit to just 11.
At the half, MSU trailed 41-30. Michigan State shot just 18.8% in the first quarter from the field and finished the half just 10-for-33 overall from the field. Several of the shot attempts were layups or inside the paint that continually bounced out of the rim or off the backboard. The Spartans would finish the game 11-for-29 on layup attempts overall.
Despite the poor shooting in proximity to the basket, one thing MSU excelled at on the day was forcing turnovers by UMD. In fact, the Spartans forced a season-high 25 turnovers by the Terrapins Sunday, though that only marks tied for seventh-most by an opponent for the Spartans. MSU managed to score 25 points, 10 in the first half and 15 in the second, off that same breakdown of turnovers in each half by UMD.
"We didn't really press them a whole lot," Fralick said of the turnover feat. "Like we probably full court press every other game more than that. But we’ve got a team that plays really hard on the defensive end, and rotates together, and is athletic, and moves well. Of course, Maryland's good and has really good guards. So for us to have 25 turnovers, mostly in the half court, that's a good thing for us. And that's something we have to be able to consistently do."
Second Half
Coming out of the locker room, the Spartans rattled off a 5-0 run to trim the deficit to just 41-35 just under two minutes into the third quarter. Michigan State managed to pull within four twice, doing so a second time with 3:02 remaining thanks to a pair of free throws by Hallock.
With under three minutes left, Maryland managed to mount a 7-0 run to stretch its lead back into double digits. The swing was a fast one, taking less than a minute of game time before the Spartans finally cut it back to single digits to close the quarter. A layup by Jaddan Simmons with :30 left would be the final score of the stanza as MSU trailed 57-48 heading into the fourth.
That layup sparked an 11-0 run by the Spartans as they managed to tie it up at 57 with 6:06 remaining. A trey by Hallock capped the run, but back-to-back treys fell for the Terps to push the home team's lead back to six.
"Even when we get down, our team has really good fight, believes they can get themselves back in any game," Fralick praised of the comeback Sunday against Maryland. "We did again tonight. But just that's not a place you want to be in a lot, because it takes a lot of effort to get back."
MSU refused to give up or fold as the team was able to cut its deficit to within two three total times down the stretch. A trey by Simmons with just under a minute left to bring the score to 68-66 would be the final points for the Spartans.
UMD was able to force MSU to foul down the stretch and shots turnovers plagued the Spartans on their final possessions. The Terps notched a 72-66 victory as a result.
"Just made too many mistakes at the end of the game," Fralick said of that final minute of play by MSU. "But, credit to (Maryland). And, I think to some level, they'll learn and get ready to play again soon."
Michigan State will return home to host Purdue on Jan. 1 at 2 p.m. Eastern Time. The first game of 2025 for the Spartans will be streamed on B1G+ and starting with Sunday's game against Maryland, it's a conference schedule from here on out for the rest of the regular season.
“Having watched non-conference, the league was already outstanding and only became better with the additions of the new teams," Fralick said of the road ahead in Big Ten play to come. "And I think a lot of teams also that were in the league before got better. So, it's what makes it fun. It's what makes it really challenging. And it's what makes playing in this league worthwhile."
