Michigan State had a tough matchup ahead of it in Minneapolis Saturday against Minnesota, but the team's worst shooting performance of the season kept it from having a chance in a 69-50 road loss to the Golden Gophers.
The Spartans slid to 13-5 on the season with the loss and 3-4 in league action while the Golden Gophers improved to 14-4 overall and 4-3 in conference action.
MSU managed just 20-for-61 shooting (32.8%) in the barn at Minnesota on Saturday, its worst shooting percentage from the field of the season and worst since going just 32.2% at Maryland on Feb. 18, 2023.
Junior guard DeeDee Hagemann was the only Spartan to hit double figures, leading Michigan State in scoring on the day with 18 points alongside her seven rebounds and two assists. Graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault was the only other player for MSU to come close to double figures in scoring, finishing the day with nine points and eight boards.
Mallory Heyer led the Gophers with 18 points and had the game-high 15 rebounds.
Both teams kept it close and were hot from the field in the opening stanza. The Spartans were tied with the Gophers 10-10 less than three minutes into the game, but Minnesota used a 6-0 run powered by hot shooting from behind the 3-point line to open an 18-14 advantage late in the quarter. MSU tightened it up in the closing moments to trail 20-18 at the buzzer to end the first 10 minutes.
The Golden Gophers took advantage of the Spartans stone cold offense in the second quarter to jump out to a 25-18 advantage early. MSU went over three minutes into the second stanza without scoring a point and Minnesota went on to attain its first double-digit lead of the day, leading 34-24 with under two minutes left in the first half.
The Spartans ended the quarter missing their final six shot attempts and trailed 36-24 at half. MSU shot a paltry 14.3% from the field after a hot 47.1% first quarter performance.
Michigan State's shooting woes continued into the third quarter, and Minnesota didn't hesitate to press its advantage. The Gophers scored the first seven points coming out of the locker room and later opened up their first 20-point lead in the game after Heyer hit a trey to make it 46-26 with 5:19 to go in the stanza. The Spartans managed just 14 points in the quarter, with Hagemann scoring seven of them herself.
MSU refused to go quietly to end the game, though. The fourth quarter saw the Spartans try to battle back, trimming their deficit to 14 just over two minutes into the quarter on a 6-0 run started by a pair of free throws to end the third. Minnesota's offense proved too much, though, as the Gophers responded with an 8-0 run of their own to push it back out to a 20+ point lead, up 66-44 with 4:43 remaining. Minnesota finished the day 12-for-26 from 3-point range and sent the Spartans home with a 69-50 loss.
Michigan State will look to get back in the win column on Wednesday when it hosts Purdue. Tip off against the Boilermakers is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time with the game streamed on B1G+. Then arch-rival Michigan will visit next Saturday, Jan. 27 for a noon matchup on Alumni Day for the Spartans.
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