The Michigan women’s basketball team has played back-to-back high-scoring games, and despite losing their most recent game against Iowa, the Wolverines are feeling good about their offensive production.
Michigan State’s women’s team is coming off a much-needed break feeling refreshed after losing two straight to higher-ranked opponents.
This sets the stage for two interstate games between the two teams, to be played Sunday at the Chrysler Center in Michigan. The game came three weeks after the Wolverines lost 82-61 to MSU, but the Spartans took advantage of Michigan’s 17 turnovers and foul trouble, going 29-of-34 from the free-throw line. I let it happen.
Michigan is 16-10, 7-7 against the Big Ten, and Michigan State is 17-7, 7-6.
“I think they’re doing some things a little differently, and that’s something we have to be intentional about,” MSU coach Robin Fralick told reporters Friday in East Lansing. ” he said.
Rylia Ferrier led Michigan State with an average of 15.9 points in 34 minutes per game, and Lauren Hansen averaged 11.7 points. In Thursday’s 106-89 loss to Iowa, the big story was that Hawkeyes standout Caitlin Clark became women’s basketball’s all-time leading scorer with 49 points against the Wolverines. But Michigan had six players score in double figures for only the second time in program history, and the first time against a Big Ten opponent.
Michigan enters the rivalry game coming off a back-to-back, scoring at least 80 points for the first time in Big Ten play this season. The Wolverines defeated Rutgers 86-58 on February 10, scoring a Big Ten season-high 89 points against Iowa. They’ve also shot at least 50 percent from the field in each of their last two games, marking the first time this season they’ve hit that percentage or higher in back-to-back games.
“They’re an explosive, up-tempo team that’s going to score and play fast,” University of Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico said of Michigan State. “It’s good to be able to come into the game with such confidence offensively.”
Michigan State has four players averaging double-digit points, led by Julia Herault with 15.1 points and Moira Joyner with 14.9 points. The Spartans were on a two-game losing streak, losing 94-91 to the then No. 1 team. They lost to No. 14 Indiana State on February 8th and then to then-No. 1 Indiana State on February 11th, 86-71. 5 Ohio State University, currently ranked No. 2 in the nation. Iowa is 4th.
Having time off between that period and the Michigan game was a welcome break.
“We were able to reset, rest and focus on ourselves a little bit,” Fralick told reporters.
She said the Spartans have been preparing hard for the Michigan tournament and the final push of the regular season. Ohio State, Iowa State and Indiana sit at the top of the Big Ten, but a six-team group that includes Michigan and Michigan State is in the middle and five teams are in the bottom. Michigan has four regular-season games remaining and Michigan State has five before the Big Ten Tournament begins March 6.
“They’re a good team,” Fralick said of Michigan. “They’re playing a lot, too. A lot of us are right now. There’s a lot at stake in the last few weeks of the season. They play the interior well. They have a great win on the season as well. We’re a team that has a lot of control. We played great on both sides of the ball here (against Michigan), and we’ve got to be able to play great on both sides of the ball again.”
Michigan is 10-3 against Crisler this season, and a maze-out is scheduled for the game against MSU.
“This is a high-level match,” Fralick said. “It’s going to be really competitive, it’s going to be really physical. Avoiding distractions, staying firmly within the group and making sure we’re together and on the same page throughout the game.” We have to do a really good job of making sure.”
But a rivalry is a rivalry, and this one takes on a unique level of importance.
“The game is different,” Fralick told reporters. “The feel is different. Preparation, it’s different. Having other emotions is about minimizing it, you have to play like it’s a different game. There’s a different feeling around it. There’s emotion and energy. The home crowd was great and (this is) a different game so we have to have the same mindset and go into the game and play the same way.”
achengelis@detroitnews.com
@Changelis
