With the MSU women’s basketball team (13-9 overall, 5-4 Big Ten) sliding from first to sixth in the conference after losing four straight games, head coach Suzy Merchant said her team needed a game to turn the tides.
Not only was MSU falling out of the conference title race, the team started to fall into a mental rut, regularly playing with low energy and noticeable frustration.
On Sunday, the Spartans beat No. 18 Penn State (16-5, 6-3) 83-77 — a win Merchant said gave her team the boost of confidence it desperately was seeking.
“We definitely needed that game on Sunday,” she said. “We were really dying for a victory.”
Throughout the losing streak, the Spartans struggled to get off to a strong start, regularly falling behind by large margins that were too great to come back from.
To get an early spark, Merchant decided to move senior guard Porsché Poole and sophomore guard Klarissa Bell into the starting lineup. Senior forward Lykendra Johnson said she thought the change was responsible for the win.
“Energy-wise we were just dead the last four games, and we didn’t come out like we wanted to win the games,” Johnson said. “So (we) just (needed to come) out with energy at the tip, and I think (Bell) helped us out a lot with that because we know we can trust in her to bring energy to the team.”
Answering the Bell
Coming into Sunday’s game, Bell had been looking for a way to distinguish herself.
The sophomore guard was averaging less than two points in 7.1 minutes game, but when Bell got her first start, she said she was focused on what she could bring to help snap the losing streak.
“(The) first thing (was) defense,” Bell said. “I have been playing better defense … and then offensively, I just needed to play my game. They put me in there so I can penetrate (the defense) … and I accomplished it.”
Bell scored seven points and grabbed four rebounds against Penn State, with five of her seven points coming on critical plays in the game’s final three minutes.
Despite her limited playing time, Merchant said Bell had demonstrated her potential.
“She rebounds well, and she’s a scorer too, and that’s what we were missing,” Merchant said. “She did a really good job of just staying the course and playing within the flow of the game, and hopefully she’ll just get more and more confidence and be more productive.”
Following the game, Merchant announced she would stick with Bell in the starting lineup, and Bell said she was excited and grateful for the opportunity.
“It definitely gives me confidence,” she said. “I’ve just got to go out there and make sure I keep fulfilling what (Merchant) needs. I’ve got to keep proving to her and everybody else that I can be a starter.”
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