Tuesday's state hoops: Michigan State women fall to West Virginia
One day after a record setting performance by Nia Clouden and being edged by a point in double overtime by Florida Gulf Coast, Clouden and Michigan State ended their non conference trip on a sour note with a disappointing 74-54 loss to West Virginia in the West Palm Beach Invitational on Tuesday.
Esmery Martinez led the way for the Mountaineers (7-3) with 21 points and 11 rebounds in a performance that saw 11 different West Virginia players score against the Spartans. Guard Jayla Hemingway contributed nine points while guard KK Deans had 10 assists.
Clouden finished with 22 points for the Spartans (7-6) and DeeDee Hagemann poured in 13, but the duo didn't have much help past that to keep pace with the Mountaineers.
After falling behind 18-12 in the first quarter to Michigan State, the Mountaineers caught fire and outscored the Spartans 62-36 over the final three quarters of the contest.
WVU shot 50% or better from the floor in each of those periods, including 61.5% in the fourth quarter.
More state women
(At) Valparaiso 69, Detroit Mercy 57: After closing the third quarter trailing 48-47 heading into the final period, Detroit Mercy was unable to close the gap and succumbed to a 69-57 lost at Valparaiso on Tuesday.
With seven different Valpo players contributing to a barrage of 14 3-pointers on offense, Grace White led all scorers with 19 points, including hitting 4-of-8 from downtown. Shay Fredrick added 10 points and seven assists for the Beacons (2-9).
Sydney Searcy powered the Titans (0-11) with 18 points and six steals, while Janna Lewis added 12 points and five rebounds for Detroit Mercy.
After the Titans came within arms reach of taking the lead heading into the fourth quarter, Valpo responded with a 6-0 run to open the period to spur a 14-4 surge overall increasing their lead to 62-51 behind hot shooting from 3-point range. The Beacons outscored the Titans 21-10 down the stretch, including 4-for-6 from long distance to seal the win.