EAST LANSING — Michigan women’s basketball coach Kim Barnes Arico sat down in her seat on the Wolverine bench with about a minute left in the game and looked out onto the court.
Her team had just held off its in-state rival, Michigan State, and won in East Lansing for the first time since 2001.
And 30 minutes after the game, Barnes Arico was still riding the excitement of the historic win.
“I’m still holding my breath,” Barnes Arico said.
In early January, Michigan (6-5 Big Ten, 14-8 overall) utilized a suffocating full-court press to force 24 Michigan State turnovers en route to a 74-65 win at Crisler Center.
One month and a short trip up I-96 later, the two teams were at it again Thursday night in East Lansing at the Breslin Center.
This time, the script was a little bit different, but the result stayed the same as the Wolverines triumphed, 72-59, over the Spartans. The win marked the Wolverines’ first season sweep of the Spartans since the 1999-2000 season.
Michigan scrapped the full-court press just six minutes into the game, but it didn’t matter, as Michigan State (3-9, 11-12) shot just 33.3 percent — 26.7 percent in the first half — and scored just 21 points, its second-lowest scoring output in a half this season.
But even with their poor shooting, the Spartans almost completed the comeback.
Once down 22 points, Michigan State found life with about 11 minutes remaining.
Behind the improved second-half shooting of forward Aerial Powers and guard Tori Jankoska, the Spartans were able to cut the deficit to as little as six points. But that was as close as they got, as Michigan did just enough at the end of the game to hold them off.
“We knew it was only a matter of time before they got good looks,” Barnes Arico said. “Our kids did a great job of sticking together, holding together and making plays down the stretch when we needed to.”
The first half, though, was a completely different story.
An almost six-minute Michigan State scoring drought, coupled with a Michigan 20-2 scoring run, gave the Wolverines all they needed in the game.
Early on, senior forward Cyesha Goree had her hands full inside with forward Becca Mills. Mills held Goree to just three points and three rebounds before two fouls forced Spartan coach Suzy Merchant to sub her out. Without Mills on the floor, Goree thrived inside, scoring four points and three rebounds, taking almost half the time it took her to post the statistics with Mills in the game.
“(Mills) was being really physical and pushing me out a lot,” Goree said. “I just had to make sure I was balanced and drew fouls and drew a little bit more contact.”
The first half also saw Michigan effectively shut down Powers and Jankoska, the Spartans’ two leading scorers. Powers was held to six points, while Jankoska was held scoreless entirely.
“We just denied Jankoska and Powers the ball,” Barnes Arico said. “We face guarded them the entire time, and we said we were going to make the other (players) have to make shots.”
After combining for 43 points the last time the two teams met, the Spartan duo was held to just 31 points. The poor Spartan shooting carried into the start of the second half, as Michigan State didn’t record a bucket until 15:46 into the period.
The Wolverine 3-point shooting was especially potent in the game, as Michigan shot 50 percent from beyond the arc. Sophomore guard Siera Thompson finished the game 4-for-8, while freshman guard Katelynn Flaherty finished the game shooting 3-for-4. The duo finished with 16 and 17 points, respectively.
Goree finished the game with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
“(Flaherty)’s just getting better and better as the season progresses at figuring out how to get her shot off and how to read a defense and get open,” Barnes Arico said. “Tonight, she shot the ball exceptionally well, and she didn’t turn the basketball over, which was tremendous.
“Siera’s one of the best shooters we have and one of the best 3-point shooters in the country last year. I think our team did a good job of finding her and making extra passes to get her some really good looks.”
With the win, the Wolverines move back over .500 in the Big Ten.
But more importantly, Michigan gained a win on the road, where it has won just twice this season, and pulled out a historic victory over a team that has gotten the best of the Wolverines in recent years.
“When I first got to (Michigan), Michigan State was always the team in our state,” Barnes Arico said. “For our kids to come here and, for the first time since 2001, sweep them, it’s a great accomplishment for our seniors and the players in our program.”