EAST LANSING -- After a 2-5 start to the Big Ten women's basketball season, Michigan State is a half game out of second place after beating Penn State, 65-44, on Thursday night at Breslin Center.
It was the fewest points the Spartans have held an opponent this season and the fewest Penn State, which beat MSU, 68-60, on Jan. 17, has scored.
The win was the fourth in a row for the Spartans (15-7, 6-5 Big Ten), who clamped down on the conference's second-leading scorer, guard Tyra Grant, who entered the game averaging 19.5 points.
Grant finished with 13 points on 3-of-13 shooting, but none of the baskets were scored when MSU point guard Brittany Thomas was guarding her.
"I don't have to score to have a major impact, but I wished a few more shots would have fallen," said Thomas, who finished with three points.
"We knew they like to cram it down your throat, so we had to slow them down. And we did that, which helped us on the other end of the floor.
In the second half, Thomas was assigned to guarding Alex Bentley, who scored 11 first-half points but went scoreless in the final 20 minutes.
"We knew Grant can hurt you if you let her go middle because it's hard to help from that angle," Thomas said. "She's going to drive and she's going to shot, so we forced her to the baseline and challenged her shots without fouling.
"We have great defensive stoppers on this team and we're more aggressive all-around. We feed off each other with our defensive play."
Leading 42-32 three minutes into the second half, MSU pulled away by holding Penn State to four points in the next 7 minutes.
The Spartans held a big advantage in points off the bench (35-to-7) behind Lauren Aitch's 14 points and Kalisha Keane's 12.
MSU starter Aisha Jefferson had 12 points, and Allyssa DeHaan finished with eight points and six rebounds and blocked six shots.
"The last four games, we have tightened up (the defensive end). It's something we take a lot of pride in," MSU coach Suzy Merchant said.
"From our guards to our post, Allyssa has had 11 blocks the past two games. She has been really aggressive going after people and their shots, and it's really great to see that because she's such a major factor."
DeHaan, a senior center, is six blocks from tying the NCAA record of 480, set by TCU's Sandora Irvin.
MSU made 50 percent of its attempts in the first half (14-of-28) but cooled off in the final 20 minutes, making 29.6 percent (8-of-27).
The Lady Lions (15-7, 7-5 Big Ten) shot 26.2 percent from the floor (16-of-61) and 20 percent in the second half (6-of-20).
"We were disappointed Bentley and Grant had 18 of their 27 points at halftime," Merchant said. "But Thomas, Cetra Washington and Lykendra Johnson really did a great job defensively on those two. Brittany definitely needs to be recognized for her defense for sure."
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