Michigan State women beat Purdue, advance to Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals

After a second round victory, the 8-seed Spartans advance to battle 1-seed Ohio State

Michigan State women’s basketball advanced to the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals with a 73-69 victory over Purdue on Thursday.

The 8th-seeded Spartans will meet top seed Ohio State tomorrow as they try to keep their season alive.

“We’re just going to survive and advance, and appreciate it today and we’ll go to war with Ohio State, who’s the Big Ten champions and an amazing team,” Michigan State head coach Suzy Merchant said.

The Spartans were led by star guard Nia Clouden, who scored 23 points and added four rebounds, four assists and a steal. The senior struggled from the floor, going 6-for-17, but made up for it at the free throw line where she sank 10-of-11 attempts.

“I’m just really proud of Nia,” Mercahnt said. “It wasn’t like her best offensive night, but she does so much for us and draws so much attention.”

Clouden’s final two free throws came with less than three seconds remaining, to put Michigan State up by two possessions and essentially seal victory for the Spartans.

“Nia Clouden at the line to make it a two possession game – I’ll take it any day,” Merchant told the Big Ten Network broadcast crew after the game.

Clouden leads the Big Ten in free throw shooting at 88.8 percent on the season.

“I really just try to calm down and breathe,” Clouden told BTN’s crew about the final free throws. “Not think about the free throws, think about something random and then just take my time when the ball comes.”

The battle between the Spartans and Boilermakers was a back-and-forth affair. Michigan State led 23-22 after the first quarter, and stretched their advantage to 38-34 by halftime. Purdue stayed well within striking distance however, outscoring the Spartans 18-15 in the third quarter to cut MSU’s lead to one point heading into the final frame.

But, in the end, the Spartans held on, thanks to clutch free throw shooting down the stretch from Clouden and Co.

“It took everything,” Clouden said of the win. “The whole mindset was, ‘Whatever it takes to win’, and we did that.”

Michigan State got excellent post production in this one as well. Senior forward Alisia Smith had 15 points on 7-of-14 shooting, with four rebounds and an assist.

“I thought Smitty was really aggressive from the beginning,” Merchant said. “They were playing off her on the outside, that’s kind of her shot, so I was proud of her for taking that.”

Senior forward Tamara Farquhar had nine points, nine rebounds, two assists, a steal and a blocked shot. Junior forward Taiyier Parks came off the bench to score 12 points on an efficient 4-of-5 from the floor, and added nine rebounds, a steal and a block.

“I’m really proud of them,” Clouden said of her teammates. “They came up so big today. They were our beasts on the boards, and they were great on defense, so I can’t ask anything more from them. They were great.”

Michigan State now turns its attention to Ohio State, whom the Spartans fell to twice in the regular season to two tight battle – 89-83 on the road, 61-55 at home.