#17 Michigan State Falls on the Road to Ohio State
COLUMBUS, Ohio - No. 17 Michigan State women's basketball team continued its recent road struggles, as the Spartans fell to Ohio State 65-55 at Value City Arena in Columbus on Monday. Michigan State was led by the first double-double of the season by redshirt-junior guard Shay Colley, who had 18 points and added 10 rebounds.
With the loss, Michigan State falls to 12-4 this season and 2-3 in the very competitive Big Ten conference. Ohio State improves to 6-8 overall and 2-3 in league play, winning two-straight games. All three of the Spartans' B1G losses have come on the road.
Overall, the Spartans had three players in double figures. Along with Colley, senior center Jenna Allen added 11 points, while junior guard Taryn McCutcheon added 10 points. Redshirt-junior forward Victoria Gaines tied her career-high with 11 rebounds.
Ohio State was led by 25 points from Carly Santoro, who was 4-for-7 from beyond the arc for the Buckeyes.
After jumping to an early lead, the Spartans went over two minutes without scoring and the Buckeyes took the 8-4 lead. A free throw by redshirt-sophomore guard Mardrekia Cook stopped the cold spell followed by McCutcheon started to heat up with four points, trimming the OSU lead to 12-11 with 1:48 left in the quarter. McCutcheon's first trey of the game put Michigan State back on top 15-14 with under a minute left in the period.
The Buckeyes scored the first six points of the second quarter before Gaines put the Spartans on the board. Michigan State clawed its way back into the quarter due in part to the play of McCutcheon, who ended the half with 10 points. It was Ohio State's turn for a cold spell going over three minutes without scoring before a Santoro trey. The 27 points at halftime matched a season low for MSU, having also done so against Indiana on Jan. 6.
The third period belonged to the Buckeyes, as the Spartans went over seven minutes without a field goal and OSU opened up a 44-33 lead with under three minutes left in the period. MSU was held only six points in thestanza, the fewest ever in the third quarter for the Spartans.
Michigan State had its strongest quarter in the final period, out-scoring the Buckeyes, 22-20, in the last 10 minutes. Ohio State netted 12 of its 20 points from the charity stripe in the final frame. OSU took as big a lead as 15 points in the fourth period, despite the Spartans being able to trim the lead to six points. Colley added nine points in the fourth quarter alone, adding two steals.
After a brief one-game road swing, the Spartans return to the friendly confines of the Breslin Center to take on No. 9 Maryland at 6 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.
Post-Game Notes vs. Ohio State
• Monday's MSU starting lineup of Shay Colley, Taryn McCutcheon, Victoria Gaines, Nia Clouden and Jenna Allen was the eighth time with that starting five, falling to 6-3 this season with that quintet.
• Junior guard Shay Colley's earned her first double-double of the season and her second of her career with a team-leading 18 points and 10 rebounds. She was just shy of her career high 12 boards last season against Oakland on Nov. 13, 2017.
• Redshirt-junior Victoria Gaines tied her career-high with 11 rebounds She also had 11 boards against Hartford on Dec. 16, 2018. Overall, Gaines has had 11 boards three times in her career.
• The 27 points in the first half matched a season low. Michigan State also scored 27 first-half points in a loss to Indiana on Jan. 6.
• Three Spartans scored in double-digits Monday against Ohio State with Shay Colley scoring 18 and Jenna Allen and Taryn McCutcheon adding 11 and 10, respectively. Michigan State is now 3-1 when three people scored in double figures.
• Allen's double-digit scoring outing was also her third in a row and fifth in her last six games as part of 12th of the season and 39th of her career. She also added one block, one steal and one assist.
• Junior guard Taryn McCutcheon netted two 3-pointers on Monday which was her 13th game this season with multiple treys.
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