REHASH & ANALYSIS: Michigan State goes 'toe-to-toe' with Caitlin Clark and Iowa, but gets beaten at buzzer

If it hadn’t been Caitlin Clark, it would have seemed like luck. But it was Caitlin Clark, so it goes down as her latest legendary moment – this time at the expense of Michigan State. But the Spartans emerge stronger for it.

Clark, the best and most famous woman in college basketball, hit a buzzer beater from the beak of the Hawkeye mid-court logo – more than 30 feet out – to overcome a brave effort from Michigan State, 76-73, Tuesday night in Iowa City. The game was played before 15,056, the 16th sellout for a women’s game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena history. But the Hawkeyes needed a sellout effort to beat Michigan State.

Iowa’s win and Clark’s shot became the lead story on ESPN’s SportsCenter, late Tuesday night. Michigan State is hoping to become a story for the rest of the year.  

“We went toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the country on their home court and gave ourselves a chance to win,” said first-year Michigan State women’s basketball coach Robyn Fralick.

The Spartans fell to 11-3 overall and 1-2 in the Big Ten but showed why they could become one of the surprise teams in the conference, and certainly one of the most exciting.

Iowa improved to 14-1 and 3-0.

“They play tough defense,” Clark said of Michigan State. “They made tough shots. Whenever we went on a run, they responded.”

As for the game-winning shot, Clark said: “We work on that play every day in practice. They defended it pretty well, honestly.”

Michigan State came into the game ranked No. 3 in the nation in scoring offense at 92.5 points per game and No. 3 in three-point field goals made per game. And the Spartans do it with quickness, sharp skills and a fabric of togetherness which enables the Spartans to rank No. 4 in the nation in turnover margin. 

IT WAS OVER WHEN …

In the final seconds, Clark worked and worked without the ball to get open against the dogged defense of Michigan State graduate guard Moira Joiner. 

Clark finally received the ball, and executed a step-back move to shoot it from 30-plus feet. The ball had barely left her hand when the buzzer sounded. 

“Mo Joiner was unbelievable,” Fralick said. “She guarded her heart out. Caitlin Clark is an amazing player and I thought Mo made her really, really work throughout the whole game.

“I thought our team as a whole really guarded well.”

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

Clark scored 40 points, but needed 34 shots to do it – going 14-of-34 from the field and 8-of-20 from 3-point range. She had five assists and six turnovers.

Julia Ayrault (6-2, Grad., Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.) led Michigan State with 16 points. The undersized center was terrific in the first half but sat for most of the third quarter with foul trouble. Her third foul was a questionable whistle, and the Spartans missed her presence when she went to the bench.

Ayrault was a big factor in the fourth quarter. With 1:23 remaining, she drove for a glasser which tied the game at 71-71.

Michigan State point guard DeeDee Hagemann (5-7, Jr., Detroit) was outstanding off the dribble, and with acrobatic finishes in the paint. She finished with 14 points and four assists.  

Hagemann’s crossover, double-clutch lay-up tied the game at 73-73 with :23 seconds left, setting things up for Clark’s buzzer-beater.

Tory Ozment (6-1, Grad., Buford, Ga.) scored 10 points, including a crossover and spin move which cut Iowa’s lead to 71-69 with 2:08 to play. 

CAITLIN CLARK GAME WINNER 🔥😱

(📺 NBC Sports) pic.twitter.com/blVRwAbkBl

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 3, 2024

CONTROVERSIAL MOMENT

Prior to Hagemann’s double-clutcher, Iowa’s Molly Davis was awarded three free throws with :29 seconds left and the score tied at 71-71.

Davis’s pump fake sprung Hagemann into the air and drew a foul. An official ruled that Davis was in the act of shooting, when in actuality Davis was in the act of dribbling. 

The foul should have resulted in an in-bound play for the Hawkeyes, and the game tied with :29 seconds remaining. Instead, Davis was awarded three foul shots. She made two of them.

Hageman answered with her driving, double-clutch lay-up. 

And then Clark hit the game-winner.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Michigan State has a week off prior to facing Maryland at home on Jan. 9. 

“I think we’ve got a lot to learn,” Fralick said. “There were a few moments when we lost some composure. We have to learn from that moving forward but I’m really proud of our team. 

“I think we’ve got a lot of heart and a lot of togetherness. Those things matter a lot. Those are things you can’t see on a stat sheet, but the spirit of the team really matters and I love our spirit. I thought our competitive spirit was excellent.

“It just gives you a lot of confidence. We were possession-for-possession with a team that was in the National Championship Game last year. One thing I liked is we had a lead, and when we lost the lead we always fought our way back into the game. We never let the game get out of hand. I thought we played our hearts out.”

HOW IT WENT DOWN

Michigan State led 8-0, but fell behind 25-15 late in the first quarter.

The Spartans outscored Iowa 20-10 in the second quarter to take a 37-35 lead at halftime. 

Iowa led 66-57 with 5:13 to go. But Michigan State stormed back with a 3-pointer in transition from Abbey Kimball (66-60) and a 3-pointer from Ayrault, which cut it to 68-67 with 2:57 left.

“I think offensively we got a little bit out of rhythm,” Fralick said. “I think part of it was because we were working so hard defensively. They were pressuring a little more than they normally do up top. I think we will learn to play a little bit more fluid. 

“Any time we took a bad shot, it usually led to them scoring. Those are things we can learn from. But we had some guts and some heart and some toughness and togetherness. We had some adversity and a number of things not go our way and I loved the way we continued to fight back.

“I liked the way we stayed together and we have to be able to continue to do that.”

WHAT IT MEANS

This wasn’t a moral victory. The players were ticked off about the loss. But this performance has no indications of being a one-off outlier. Michigan State, which missed the NCAA Tournament in each of the past two years under Suzy Merchant, is capable of replicating this performance and making it a habit.

Michigan State was quick, skilled and exquisite with its unselfish style of play in this game.

The Spartans have no starter taller than Ayrault at 6-foot-2, but they share the ball well and at times put five players on the court who can all drain the 3-pointer. This puts a lot of pressure on an opposing defense.

Michigan State has good athleticism and maturity, and features several players who can create their own shot with use of the pivot foot and step-through moves in the lane. 

Defensive communication was good against Clark, and her supporting cast.

“They played us really well,” Clark said. “I kind of struggled there. I got a little hot, got a little cold, especially to start the second half. I subbed myself out to get a little breather.”

Michigan State held a 39-38 edge on the glass.

“A season is about who gets better,” Fralick said. “We’re going to watch film and when we got onto the next game we can’t make some of the same mistakes that we made in this game. We have to be a team that gets better as the season goes along. That sounds easy to do but you’ve got to be a good learner, you’ve got to continue to practice at a high level.”