Coverage of MSU loss

The Michigan Daily:

As you might have seen after the Michigan women's basketball team blew a 20-point second-half lead to Wisconsin about a month ago, Michigan coach Kevin Borseth usually has something to say in postgame press conferences.

But yesterday's 45-40 loss to Michigan State (10-8 Big Ten, 22-13) in the quarterfinals of the Women's National Invitation Tournament took the punch out of Borseth.

"I don't really know what to say, so," Borseth said, trailing off. "I'll let you guys ask questions."

The Wolverines went scoreless for 10:51 through the end of regulation and most of overtime.

"It wasn't what they did, it's what we did to ourselves," Borseth said. "They say, 'You don't mind getting beat but you hate losing.' That's how I feel right now."

With six minutes left in the game, Michigan led 37-30. But the Spartans outscored the Wolverines 15-3 in the final eleven minutes, including overtime, to secure a victory.

For the game, Michigan shot just 13-for-61, including 4-for-33 on 3-pointers. It was the Wolverines' worst shooting performance of the season.

The Ann Arbor News/Mlive.com:

"Not to take anything away from them, but this is two times now that we've been here, and we let one slip away," he said.

Michigan's season, which some might call a resounding success considering the Wolverines' four-year record of 35-83 under Cheryl Burnett, ended at 19-14.

Junior guard Jessica Minnfield, who led the Wolverines with 12 points despite 2-of-13 shooting, summed up the turnaround by saying, "we're not losing (to MSU) by 10, 20 points anymore. Now we're losing by 3, 4, 5 points."

Added Borseth: "I really thought we were playing our best basketball at the end of the year. ... So it was, all in all, a pretty good year. We're a formidable team."
First-year Michigan State coach Suzy Merchant agreed. She said the Wolverines have enough talent "to beat anybody" and that she expects "a lot more battles in the future."

The only Big Ten teams alive in postseason action went toe-to-toe for the third time this season in a game that both coaches described as ugly.

Michigan State shot 29.2 percent, there were 37 combined turnovers and several airballs throughout the game by both teams.

The Detroit Free Press:

The last time the Michigan and Michigan State women's basketball teams met at the Breslin Center, U-M squandered an eight-point lead in the final seven minutes and lost by three.

The stage was bigger this time, as the teams faced off in a Women's National Invitation Tournament quarterfinal Sunday afternoon, but the result was almost the same.

The Wolverines built a 10-point lead in the second half, then went scoreless from the field for the final 6:26 of regulation and all of overtime. Meanwhile, the Spartans rallied to tie and scored eight points in overtime for a 45-40 victory.

Also, the Michigan Daily live blogged the game and coverage from mgoblue.com.