“A tough game against a very good basketball team,” coach Jill M. Pizzotti said to open her press conference following a 90-46 loss to Michigan State. “I thought we got off to a little bit better start, but we just couldn’t really keep a lot of good, positive momentum going. Just felt like in areas we were kind of outmatched tonight.”

Pizzotti is accurate in both of her early assessments of DePaul’s sixth loss in seven outings. The Blue Demons’ 13-point first quarter was their second-highest scoring frame of the game behind only its final, but ultimately, Michigan State’s advantage down low proved to be too much to overcome for DePaul. In total, Spartan forwards Inés Sotelo, Isaline Alexander and Grace VanSlooten, who are all listed at 6-foot-3, combined for 34 points, 14 total rebounds and three blocks, making it difficult for the Blue Demons to find production or rhythm near the rim.

Instead, the Blue Demons opted for a more perimeter-centered attack, which was led by guard Shakara McCline’s four made three-pointers and a team-high 12 points.

“She’s a very talented basketball player who brings a lot of energy,” Pizzotti said of McCline. “She did a great job of coming off the bench and giving us a spark, and we just expect Shakara to continue to work hard and get better.”

McCline’s 4-10 shooting night from deep came in her second outing of the year after an injury kept her out of her team’s first 10 games. Nonetheless, the junior guard set a new personal record for made three-pointers in a game, eclipsing the total of three that she had met twice in her career previously.

While McCline’s performance was one of the few positives from the Blue Demons’ penultimate non-conference game, Pizzotti believes that her team is simply getting used to each other on the court following an overhauling offseason.

“We’ve learned a lot about our team that we didn’t know,” Pizzotti said of her squad’s performance after a dozen games. “When you’re putting seven new players together and then adding a couple of players who hadn’t ben able to play last year, I feel like we learn a lot every week. What has been a little unique, I think, this year is just a little bit of our injury challenges and then the inconsistency of lineups because of that.”

Granted, half of the Blue Demons’ opening night roster featured players new to the program, and the Blue Demons have had several injury problems — McCline and forward Meg Newman have only recently rejoined the team while graduate forward Kate Clarke will have to “see how it goes after the holidays” in order to return from her hand injury, according to Pizzotti. Still, the Blue Demons try to lean on their depth, highlighted by playing 10 players for 12 or more minutes each during the loss.

“I don’t feel like we’ve got a group where it’s obvious who should be starting, who’s coming off (the bench),” Pizzotti said. “It’s been a little bit game-to-game and seeing who’s got something to provide on any given night. And while all that’s happening, the expectation is that, defensively, you’re still staying after it and we’re rebounding the basketball. I feel like we’re still learning week by week.”

The Blue Demons’ final non-conference game comes in an intra-Chicago showdown against UIC on Dec. 17, with their full conference schedule tipping off a few days later on Dec. 20 in a road meeting with Creighton.

With 3:00 remaining and 48 points separating the two teams, both DePaul and Michigan State have emptied the benches, bringing fresh legs into the game for both sides.

The Spartans have five players in double digits to DePaul’s one, and it is all but certain that State will rebound from their sole loss of the season last weekend to Wisconsin, cinch their ninth win of the year and perhaps even improve upon their national ranking, which sat at 25 heading into the night.

DePaul’s scoring woes have become the norm over the past few games, and the Blue Demons will look to rebound against UIC before entering their full conference schedule.

The game may be out of reach halfway through the fourth quarter, but DePaul is yet to lose their intensity, highlighted by Alayna West’s made layup after missing her initial shot, grabbing her own rebound and following through with the bucket. West, who is now up to seven points on the night, has four total boards and is currently the team’s second-leading scorer behind Shakara McCline, whose 12 points have all come from deep.

DePaul trails 73-36 with 6:46 remaining.

After entering the second half with a 46-24 lead, the Spartans widened the gap in the third quarter, winning the frame 20-7. Over 78% of Michigan State’s scoring has come from the paint as the Spartans have made 20 out of 29 layup attempts, in large part due to their ability to pin down DePaul’s forwards in the paint and set up open looks for driving guards.

If the margin holds, it will be the Blue Demons’ fourth loss of 30+ points since Nov. 30, where they fell to Princeton 71-41.

Ojo currently averages 8.2 points per game.With the score 60-29 with about three minutes remaining in the third quarter, Michigan State is poised to tack on their ninth win of the season. The Spartans have had plenty of answers for a DePaul offense that has shot 31.6% from the field and 25% from deep while committing 17 turnovers, which have directly led to an additional 18 points for the visitors. Michigan State has converted 56% of their field goal attempts, and despite currently shooting under 50% from the stripe as a team, the Spartans’ offense shows no signs of slowing down.

Two minutes into the third quarter, the Blue Demons have yet to score in the second half, thanks in large part to missing their three shots of the quarter and turning the ball over to start the half. In the meantime, a trio of made layups by Michigan State has extended their lead to 28 points, with the majority of the damage coming from Grace VanSlooten, who has added four second half points, doubling her running total to eight points on the night.

Sumer Lee’s shot-clock-beating basket near the end of the first half cut DePaul’s deficit to 18 points before Michigan State made one of their two free throws on their penultimate possession of the period. Ally Timm tried to cut the lead further with a three-point attempt, but unfortunately for the Blue Demons, just enough time remained after Timm’s miss to allow a half-court heave from Ines Sotelo to extend Michigan State’s half time lead to 46-24.

DePaul has 10 makes on 31 attempts compared to Michigan State’s 19 makes on 31 attempts, and while the two teams are nearly tied from behind the arc, the Spartans have five makes from the charity line to the Blue Demons’ one.

Shakara McCline’s nine points, all of which have come from deep, lead DePaul’s scoring effort, while Michelle Ojo leads the charge on the boards with four total rebounds. For Michigan State, the bulk of the scoring have come from Isaline Alexander and Jalyn Brown, who are both in double digits after a half.

Finding a way to avoid foul trouble in the second half remains key for the Blue Demons, who have committed nine penalties as a team through 20 minutes.

A pair of made Shakara McCline three-pointers cut Michigan State’s lead to 15 points, and while the Blue Demons have seemingly found a rhythm from the perimeter, the mismatch down low remains a glaring problem for DePaul. Down 40-22 with just over two minutes remaining in the first half, the Blue Demons have forfeited 30 points in the paint, another six in transition and 20 total rebounds to the Spartans.

DePaul has been more active on the defensive end to start the second period, highlighted by three forced turnovers and a physical charging foul drawn by Meg Newman three minutes into the frame. A pair of turnovers on back-to-back inbounds passes, however, gave the Spartans an easy bucket from Isaline Alexander to extend their lead 29-15 with four minutes off the clock in the second quarter.

guarThe Spartans and Blue Demons exchanged made threes to end the first quarter, with Shakara McCline knocking down her second shot of the night. On the ensuing possession, a loose ball was tipped and chased around before falling in the hands of Kate Novik, who converted a jumper in the high paint to cut Michigan State’s lead to eight points.

The Spartans’ 13 points off the bench matches the Blue Demons’ team total, and DePaul must find a way to be more competitive down low, where they have allowed 18 of Michigan State’s 21 points.

With around two minutes remaining in the first quarter, DePaul trails 18-8 after starting the game off with two buckets in the first minutes. All of Michigan State’s points have come in the paint, with three players each scoring four points to lead the Spartans. Michigan State is edging out DePaul on the boards seven to six, and while the Blue Demons have been tenacious in their low-post defense, they need to find a way to force more misses and come away with the ball when they do so.

After winning the opening tip, the Blue Demons got an instantaneous bucket out of Devin Hagemann to start the game. Another bucket by Kate Novik earned DePaul a 4-0 lead before a couple of misfires on the defensive end gave the Spartans a trio of made baskets and a 6-4 lead. A personal foul on Grace VanSlooten was ruled a common foul after a lengthy review, giving DePaul a free timeout to reset, where Alayna West scored a put-back basket to tie the game with around 6:00 to play in the first quarter.

guaDePaul and Michigan State are set to tip off at Wintrust Arena, with DePaul opting for a starting lineup of guards Gina Davorija, Devin Hagemann, Natiah Nelson, Kate Novik and forward Meg Newman. Novik currently leads the team in minutes per game (28.8), points (141), assists (42) and total rebounds (73), and joins Nelson as the only two Blue Demons to start every game this season.

Michigan State’s starting lineup features guards Rashunda Jones, Emma Shumate and Kennedy Blair, alongside forwards Grace VanSlooten and Marah Dykstra. VanSlooten leads the way for the Spartans with 132 points, while Blair is the chief facilitator with a team-high 56 assists on the season.