Down 16 in the first half, Robyn Fralick had to draw up something to get Michigan State women’s basketball back in the game at Oregon.
The Ducks are no slouches, sitting at 14-3 on the season and 2-2 in Big Ten play with two of their losses coming against top-six teams. They posed a tough test for Michigan State, mounting a 16-point lead in the first half before the Spartans stormed back to take the lead right before halftime thanks to a 17-0 run.
Whatever Fralick said to fire her team up worked, because the second half was more of Michigan State holding that lead, although Oregon did grab it back with about 3:30 left, but the Spartans were not to be denied on the road.
They stormed back to regain the lead and they never looked back, beating the Ducks 85-81 in a thriller, improving to 16-1 on the season and 5-1 in the Big Ten, tied for third place in the conference standings with Michigan and Ohio State.
What an incredible start to Fralick’s third season as head coach.
Robyn Fralick’s team is off to a historic start
According to Michigan State’s director of broadcasting Dalton Shetler who actually called the game on Sunday night, the women’s hoops team is off to its best start in 15 years.
That season, Michigan State raced out to a 16-1 start before losing its 18th game against No. 24 Ohio State on the road. The Spartans’ 18th game this season will come against No. 25 Nebraska, at home. The similarities are there, but Fralick is hoping to avoid that 18th game letdown like the one Suzy Merchant saw in 2010-11.
That 2010-11 team that started 16-1 finished 27-6 and lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Again, Fralick is hoping for better results.
It’s been an incredible season for the high-scoring Spartans. They average nearly 90 points per game and they’re undefeated against ranked opponents. Michigan State beat No. 15 Ole Miss by 17 and then No. 23 Washington earlier this week by 15 on the road.
This team is much better than a second-round exit in March.