Women's basketball comes back against Illinois, drops overtime 71-62

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The feistiness of Courtney Schiffauer has been a motivator for the Spartans the entire season, but on Thursday night the junior forward let her emotions get the better of her in a moment that ultimately proved costly.

After fighting from behind for most of the night, the MSU women’s basketball team (12-9, 4-4) let a late lead slip away, losing in overtime to Illinois (7-14, 1-7) 71-62.

With the game tied at 52, senior forward Lykendra Johnson drew a shooting foul and as she headed to the free throw line, Schiffauer turned and yelled at Illinois guard Adrienne Goldbold, drawing a technical foul and the ire of head coach Suzy Merchant.

“I mean that was just a killer, just unnecessary (and) unprovoked,” Merchant said. “I was sprinting out there to grab her to get her to not do that, but I was too late and obviously it cost us, I think, the opportunity to win the game in regulation.”

Guard Amber Moore made both technical free throws to give the Illini their first lead in more than 12 minutes and Merchant said the shots changed the momentum of the game.

After losing three straight games, including an 18-point blowout by Purdue in their last game, Merchant said she thought she would see an improved effort when her team returned home and was “really upset” to see another lethargic first half.

Illinois jumped out to an early 11-4 lead as MSU made just one of their first 11 shots against the Big Ten’s worst defensive team.

Even though MSU outscored their season-low 15 first half points from the previous game, the opening half against Illinois was unquestionably their worst of the season.

“You can’t put yourself 14 (points) down and miss 10 free throws and get a technical foul with two minutes to go in the game,” she said. “We got the ball where we wanted it, we had post players down there two feet from the basket and we just can’t make a layup, can’t make a post move and score over somebody.”

It got worse quickly as Illinois extended their lead to double figures behind 5-for-7 (71.4 percent) shooting from beyond the arc and headed into halftime leading 35-21.

After watching her team play a lifeless first half, guard Porsché Poole said she knew it was her responsibility as a senior to lead a second half surge.

Poole was the only player to have more than three first half points and helped the team open the second half on a 10-0 run by scoring seven points and assisting junior guard Jasmine Thomas on a 3-point play.

She finished the game with a career-high 28 points, but said she was hurt by the loss and the way her teammates played.

“This is crazy because we’re the same team that started off 4-0 (in conference play),” she said. “People got to step back and look at themselves and see what they’re bringing to this team and … be real with themselves.”

A 3-pointer by Kiana Johnson with 13:46 to go gave MSU their first lead in nearly 145 minutes of game action, dating back to the opening minutes of the Jan. 15 game against Ohio State, four games ago.

Once the game reached overtime, the Spartans appeared out of gas, and were outscored 13-4 in the extra period.

The loss extends MSU’s losing streak to four games, the program’s longest losing streak since December 2008 and freshman guard Kiana Johnson said she’s noticed a difference in the team since it won its first four Big Ten games.

“Same players, same system, we’re just not producing like we’re supposed to,” she said. “Right now, I feel like we’re selfish and consumed in our own thoughts and what we want from coach and what we want from the team, and because of that, we’re not performing and producing like we should.”

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