Michigan State three-headed monster leads dominant second-half performance against Michigan

It was a tale of two halves.

In the first half, the No. 24 Michigan women’s basketball team went blow for blow with visiting No. 21 Michigan State, exiting a choppy, foul-ridden first half with a four-point lead.

But in the second half, the Spartans flipped the script — and their experienced upperclassmen took center stage. Guards Theryn Hallock and Julia Ayrault, as well as forward Grace VanSlooten put Michigan State on their shoulders, combining for 47 of the Spartans’ 59 second-half points on their way to a 30-point blowout win.

“Michigan State had an awesome second half,” Wolverines’ coach Kim Barnes Arico said. “I thought they played exceptionally well. They made play after play on both the offensive and defensive end.”

Michigan State kicked off the second half with a bang from outside as Ayrault nailed a triple from the corner on the opening possession. Then Hallock hit a 3-pointer following an offensive rebound less than a minute later, putting the Spartans in the lead for the first time since late in the first quarter.

That was just the start of Michigan State’s scoring barrage, as it began to get out in transition. After the two threes, Hallock leaked out on a Michigan missed shot, beating the Wolverines down the court before getting fouled on a layup attempt, and she nailed both free throws to put the Spartans up four. 

Already out to an early surge, Michigan State began pressuring the Michigan’s guards full-court, flustering its inexperienced ball-handlers and forcing turnovers, which led to easy buckets. Ayrault, mismatched on junior center Yulia Grabovoskaia after a turnover, went straight to the cup for an easy bucket, putting the Spartans up six on a 10-0 run. 

“We knew they were going to get uncomfortable with our pressure,” Hallock said. “(Guards) Jaddan Simmons, Nyla Hampton and Jocelyn Tate do a terrific job of ball pressure. … They get on their ball handlers good, and we use those deflections and capitalize on them.”

That was just the start of Michigan State taking advantage of a mismatch against Grabovoskaia, who struggled to stay with the Spartans’ ball-handlers. The following possession, Ayrault again found Grabovoskaia guarding her, and once again, went straight to the rim. This time around, Michigan sent a help defender to stop Ayrault, so she kicked to the corner for a wide-open Michigan State three. After a slow first half, Ayrault — an All Big Ten First-Team honoree last season — scored five points and recorded an assist in the first few minutes of the second.

And less than a minute later, VanSlooten — an athletic forward with guard-like skills — got in on the action as well. Taking Grabovoskaia to the rim, she saw a help defender coming towards her, then found an open teammate cutting to the basket for an easy layup. VanSlooten proceeded to get hers as well, getting fouled on a drive and nailing a sweet post fadeaway to add to her point total. She’d finish with 18 points on a hyper-efficient 8-for-10 shooting, 

“VanSlooten became a really tough matchup,” Barnes Arico said. “We thought we could go to Yulia. That was a hrd matchup for her. She’s a guard in a post’s body. … Then, I thought we over-helped, because she was hurting us inside, and they skipped the ball for a three.”

After the Spartans took time dismantling Michigan’s defense, they got back out on the fast break. Michigan State forced turnovers on three consecutive possessions, leading to three consecutive easy layups — two for Hallock and one for Ayrault. Just like that, the Spartans were up 53-38, having forced a 19-point swing in under 10 minutes of play.

From there, the Spartans kept their foot on the gas, preventing the Wolverines from gaining an ounce of momentum that could get them back in the game. Michigan State outscored Michigan 28-13 in the fourth quarter, once again led by their trio. Hallock finished with a game-high 25 points — 23 of which came in the second half — while Ayrault added 18 and a game-high 13 rebounds.

The Wolverines remained neck and neck with the Spartans for a half, but Michigan State’s upperclassmen rose to the occasion in the second half of the rivalry game.

Dominating Michigan in all facets of the game, Ayrault, Hallock and VanSlooten propelled Michigan State to a 58-point final half and 30-point win over its in-state rival.

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