UK defeats MSU in Freedom Hall 70-52

Victoria Dunlap dropped 21 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in the 70-52 UK win. Not bad for someone who wasn't feeling very well. She transfered her illness to Michigan State...who heads home.

It was supposed to be the marquee matchup in the middle. 6'1" Dunlap vs. 6'9" Allyssa DeHaan. The defensive player of the year in the Big Ten against the Cats leading scorer for the season. Michigan State using a size advantage to overcome a quick and ball-hawking UK pressure defense.

It never materialized. Even with Dunlap feeling ill this morning when she woke up, she took the fight to the Spartans and held DeHaan to 4 points and 1 rebound in 19 minutes of play for the tall senior. Back up center Lauren Aitch actually did better for the Spartans but in the end it was too much UK defense, too little Spartan shooting accuracy and a going away win for UK.

Give MSU credit for fighting early, leading by 5 at one point in the first half and staying within four points of UK at halftime. The Cats used an 8-0 run late in the first twenty minutes, though....in front of a pro-UK crowd of 3361 to take the lead for good at 30-28 on a Lydia Watkins layup. The Cats took a 35-31 lead to the locker room and gradually pulled away from MSU in the second half, leading by 20 at one point before finally advancing to the Sweet Sixteen by 18.

Dunlap wasn't alone in securing the Cats' victory. Guard Keyla Snowden added 10 points and A'dia Mathies contributed eight points after sitting the final 7:38 of the first half because of foul trouble. UK used their pressure defense and aggressive rebounding to limit MSU to 34.5% shooting for the game. The Cats dominated the taller Spartans inside with a 36-18 scoring advantage in the paint and a 40-37 edge in rebounding. UK created 14 steals against the Spartans and turned the ball over only 11 times.

For Dunlap, a celebratory Sprite and round of soda crackers. For Freedom Hall, a final look at women's basketball for the foreseeable future. And for UK, a trip to Kansas City on Sunday to face #1 seed Nebraska in the regionals. Not much Cardinal red or Spartan green in the venerable old Hall this evening, but a rowdy blue clad crowd rattled the rafters as their undersized but overacheiving Lady Kats live to play another day. Ironic that the last fight song of the season in Freedom Hall was the UK pep band (much better behaved this evening) playing "On, On UK" and that the Wildcats' cheerleaders and players serenaded the crowd with "My Old Kentucky Home" while standing on the Denny Crum signature on the court.

A special thank you to the NCAA and the kind and helpful organizers and Cardinal staff in Freedom Hall who made it possible and quite enjoyable for CARDINAL COUPLE to report on the event.

Written by Paul
3/22/10

For Merchant, the merchandise is moving well.

Michigan State head women's basketball coach Suzy Merchant faces a tough University of Kentucky hoops squad Monday night at 7:30 in Freedom Hall in the second round of the Women's NCAA Tournament.

Know your foe. During tournament time, it can be a difficult task given the short turnaround time between first and second round games. For Suzy Merchant, it was a trip to the courtside media table after her post game interviews following Michigan State's 72-62 first round win over Bowling Green. Not for face time or congratulatory greetings from fans...along with members of her staff, the popular Spartan coach was scouting the two teams vying to play the Spartans.

What she saw was a UK team that used excellent guard play to pull away from Liberty in the second half and advance to the next round for a match up against Michigan State.

The similarities between Liberty and Michigan State are remarkably similiar. Both teams have imposing front lines. 6'9" MSU center Allyssa DeHaan will tower over UK center Victoria Dunlap. Both MSU and Liberty place a priority in outscoring opponents in the paint and winning the rebounding battle. MSU has a balanced scoring attack and six players scored eight or more points against Bowling Green Saturday.

How will Michigan State succeed where Liberty failed...stopping UK freshman point guard Adia Mathies? Part of the answer may actually come from how well the Spartans can advance the ball against UK's devastating press. UK and Mathies used the defensive pressure to create turnovers and easy baskets for Mathies and her teammates. MSU will need to find a way to circumvent the intensity and advance the ball into the front court to set up the front line. The Kentucky press is susceptable to over the top passing to create mismatches and breakaway situations. It was something Liberty had limited success with but the athletic MSU guards and superior front line height should fare better.

The guards will be the key for MSU in foiling the UK full court pressure attack. Earlier in the season, in a game I got to see in person against Louisville, the Wildcats had a superior tactical advantage in quickness and experience against Louisville's weak backcourt and had a field day in netting points off turnovers. MSU guards Brittany and Jasmine Thomas (no relation) only had four turnovers, created five steals and scored eleven points each in 63 total minutes against Bowling Green. They're a bit more athletic and quicker that the Liberty guards Kentucky faced and the matchup should be a fun and interesting component of the game.

Another factor for Merchant and her team to deal with will be the pro-UK crowd in the Hall. At times, Liberty appeared slightly rattled by the noise level and fervor the UK fan base created from the Freedom Hall seats. The Spartans had a decent turnout for their game against Bowling Green but it is expected that the Big Blue Nation will take advantage of the short drive west to Louisville and pack the stands tonight. Wildcat fans are among the best in the nation at following their teams on the road and women's basketball is no exception. Their numbers should far exceed the Spartan fans in attendance tonight.

We'll have full postgame coverage of tonight's matchup here at CARDINAL COUPLE shortly after the action. Good seats remain for the game.

Written by Paul
3/22/10

UK, Michigan State advance in 1st round at Freedom Hall

6'9" Michigan State center Allyssa DeHaan grabbed 11 boards (most of them pretty easily) and added eight points in the Spartans 72-61 win over Bowling Green in the first game on Denny Crum Court this afternoon.

The Michigan State Spartans roared out to an early 8-0 lead against the Bowling Green Falcons and seemed to be able to score anytime they wanted in the paint with Haan and forwards Aisha Jefferson and Lykendra Johnson. In a half that featured several swings in momentum, though, Bowling Green fought back to tie the contest with 15:30 remaining and used a 15-0 run to take a 15-8 lead with 12:13 remaining. Bowling Green negated the Spartans powerful inside game with some spectacular three point shooting and with Tracy Pontius canning four trifectas in the first twenty minutes they battled to a 36-36 tie in the first half. Pontius's twelve points led all scorers and the Falcons went 8-16 from three-point range in the first half. It was clear that Michigan State needed to continue to use their inside advantage in the second half to gain some momentum in this game. They had 18 points in the paint compared to just 2 by Bowling Green.

The Spartans started the second half strong and used a 9-3 early run to lead Bowling Green 45-39 with 15:58 to go. Although Bowling Green would stay close for most of the rest of the final half, they could get no closer that four the rest of the way. Despite Lauren Prochaska's 11 second half points, Bowling Green goes home. Michigan State held Pontius to only 3 second half points and forced the Falcons into 16 turnovers while committing only 10 themselves.

Jefferson (17 pts.) led the Spartans in scoring. Four Michigan State players reached double figures. Suzy Merchant's team scored 22 of their points off turnovers and added 12 2nd chance points. Bowling Green returns Prochaska and Pontius next year and head coachCurt Miller is in an ideal spot to make a nice run with the Falcons again in the 2010-11 season.

By the time the second game between Kentucky and Liberty started, Freedom Hall had turned into a lower arena sea of blue. Liberty came out undaunted, though and scored the first six points of the contest. Using a decided height advantage, the Flames built a 12-4 lead with 16:46 to go in the first half. UK head coach Matthew Mitchell needed a way to spark his team and he found the fire by putting the Wildcats in a full court press. It spurred UK to a 15-1 run and the Cats, led by Adia Mathies and Amani Franklin took a 19-13 advantage with 11:20 to go. Liberty was not done just yet, though, and battled back to lead the Wildcats 28-25 with 3:39 remaining in the first half. A basket plus one by Liberty forward Kylee Beecher gave the Flames a 35-33 edge at the half. 31 of Liberty's first half points came from their tall front line and the Flames held a 24-14 advntage in points in the paint. They outrebounded UK 23-14 in the first twenty minutes but had no answer for Mathies and her 14 points.

Mitchell went back to what worked in the second half and UK defensive pressure allowed them to put together a 7-2 early in the second half and lead 40-37. Liberty fought back to regain the lead 48-45 with 15:03 to go but UK used three point shooting from Keyla Snowden and Mathies to surge past the Flames and led 58-52 with 11:15 left. Liberty would manage to cut the lead to six on a couple of occasions but could stop the explosive show from Mathies and took the loss 83-77.

Mathies was spectaular for the Wildcats this afternoon with 32 points. The Louisville native obviously enjoyed the soft rims in Freedom Hall...going 9-15 from the floor and 12-17 at the charity stripe. Keyla Snowden (15 pts,) and Victoria Dunlap (15 pts.) joined her in double figures. The Cats forced Liberty into 22 turnovers but lost the battle on the boards 38-26 and were outscored in the paint 54-30. They'll need a stronger effort on the boards Monday night to contend with MSU.

From my vantage point on press row, I had the dubious fortune of being right next to the UK pep band. Although quite entertaining with their musical selections, they kept up a constant and somewhat annoying banter directed at the Liberty players. Cheering for your team is one thing and quite acceptable, but personal insults and snide remarks about opposing players' physical apperances and hair styles is going over the edge. A potentially serious off court entanglement by Liberty's Devon Brown with the support behind the basket while going for a loose ball was met with rude comments and laughter. No need for such sophomoric and crass responses.

I guess they were mad that they didn't get to go to New Orleans to watch the UK men's team as members of the main pep band. Or maybe they're just loud-mouth, obnoxious jerks...

The second round game between Kentucky and Michigan State will be played Monday at 7 p.m. in Freedom Hall. Plenty of good seats are still available.

Written by Paul
3/20/10