Kennedy Blair scores 22, No. 20 Michigan St. women beat Clemson, win Baha Mar Nassau Championship

CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Kennedy Blair had 22 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, Rashunda Jones scored 10 of her 16 points in the fourth quarter, and No. 20 Michigan State beat Clemson 72-64 on Sunday to win the Junkanoo Division at the Baha Mar Nassau Championship.

Kennedy made 9 of 15 from the field and 3 of 4 from 3-point range. for Michigan State (8-0). Grace VanSlooten added 15 points.

The Spartans, who went into the game leading the nation in assists per game (26.0), assist/turnover ratio (3.03) and turnover margin (plus-19.9), had a season-low 13 assists and committed 15 turnovers.

Rusne Augustinaite hit five 3-pointers and led Clemson (5-2) with 17 points. Demeara Hinds had 11 points and 10 rebounds, and Taylor Johnson-Matthews added 10 points.

Blair hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer and Jalyn Brown followed with another to make it 10-4 about four minutes into the game and the Spartans led the rest of the way. VanSlooten scored eight second-quarter points, which included a short jumper that capped a 12-3 run and stretched the lead to 16 points with 1:34 remaining in the first half before Augustinaite made two 3s in an 8-0 run that made it 38-30 at the intermission.

Augustinaite opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer, Rachael Rose scored in the lane and Mia Moore hit two free throws to make it a one-point game, but Michigan State scored eight of the next 10 points — the last four by VanSlooten. Alexander made back-to-back layups to push the lead back into double figures in the closing minute and Blair hit a 3-pointer that made it 55-44 going into the fourth quarter and the Tigers never again threatened.

The Spartans beat Temple 85-80 in the opening round and Clemson beat Western Carolina 77-44.

Up next

Michigan State: The Spartans open Big Ten Conference play at Wisconsin on Dec. 7.

Clemson: The Tigers play Thursday at Alabama as part of the ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge.

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