RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Grace VanSlooten had 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Michigan State beat Harvard 64-50 in the women’s NCAA Tournament on Saturday.

Jocelyn Tate had 13 points as the seventh-seeded Spartans (22-9) advanced to the second round for the first time since 2019. Theryn Hallock added 10 points.

“The thing we’ve been talking about a lot is real confidence comes from toughness, not whether or not the ball goes in or not,” Michigan State coach Robyn Fralick said. “I thought we had that.”

Michigan State meets second-seeded N.C. State (27-6), a 75-55 winner against Vermont, in the second round on Monday.

Harmoni Turner had 24 points for 10th-seeded Harvard (24-5), which topped two Big Ten teams in November but couldn’t pull off another victory against a power conference opponent.

“This game does not define our season,” said Harvard coach Carrie Moore, who directed the team to the Ivy League Tournament title and an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament. “This game does not define who we are.”

The Spartans scored the game’s first 11 points. Harvard closed to 26-25 in the third quarter, but back-to-back 3s from Ines Soltelo and Tate helped the Spartans bounce out to a 37-25 lead.

“I think we dodged a bullet early and then settled in,” Fralick said.

Takeaways

Harvard: Turner, who was averaging 31.3 points in four March games coming into the day, didn’t have enough help on offense. Saniyah Glenn-Bello was shut out and fouled out with more than six minutes left. Lydia Chatira and Gabby Anderson combined for two points.

Michigan State: It was a big contrast for the Spartans, who a year ago fell into a big hole and lost 59-56 to North Carolina in the first round at Columbia, South Carolina.

Key moment

VanSlooten’s three-point play early in the fourth quarter extended the Spartans’ lead to 49-35 and pinned the fourth foul of the quarter on Harvard.

Key stat

Michigan State collected 15 fast-break points to help make up for some rebounding issues. The Crimson grabbed 22 offensive rebounds.

For the fun of it

VanSlooten is a transfer from Oregon who appeared in her first NCAA Tournament game.

“Just had a lot of fun,” she said. “Like I said, I’ve never been to the NCAA Tournament so I was really excited coming into this game.”

It was her sixth double-double of the season.

Defense delivers

Michigan State rotated three players on Turner in an effort to slow the high-scoring senior. Turner got free for 22 shots from the floor, but her 2-for-10 mark on 3-pointers kept her below her average of 2.5 made 3s per game.

“We are fortunate we went in the game knowing Jaddan (Simmons), Jocelyn (Tate) and Nyla (Hampton) could guard her,” Fralick said.

The Crimson didn’t adjust in time to the Spartans’ defensive strategy.

“That defense tonight looked a little bit different than what we’ve seen consistently throughout the season,” Moore said.

Up next

Michigan State’s second-round assignment comes in a building where N.C. State is 17-0 this season.