MSU Women Beat Nebraska in Final Seconds of Ranked Matchup
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Michigan State women's basketball picked up a huge victory on Thursday that came down to the final buzzer.
The 15th-ranked Spartans played host to No. 24 Nebraska. Despite trailing in the final minutes, MSU surged at the very end to take a dramatic win at 73-71. Juliann Woodard hit a pair of free throws with five seconds remaining to give Michigan State the lead.
This is MSU's third ranked victory of the season, joining a neutral court victory over then-No. 15 Ole Miss back on Dec. 22 and a road victory at then-No. 23 Washington last Thursday. Last year's team that became a seven seed in the NCAA Tournament had two all season.
The Spartans now move to 17-1 on the season, the best start in program history, and 6-1 during Big Ten play. That's in spite of the fact that Michigan State dropped its Big Ten opener to Wisconsin back on Dec. 7; it's won nine straight overall since and six consecutive conference contests. MSU's next game will be another serious challenge, as it will travel to 11th-ranked Iowa on Sunday (8 p.m. ET, BTN).
More on Thursday's Game
The drama in East Lansing began to ramp up during the final two minutes, as Nebraska took a 69-66 lead. Michigan State then got the first of a couple clutch plays, as Jalyn Brown hit a three-pointer to tie the game up at 69 with 1:22 to go. The Spartans had struggled from three all night, starting 2-for-16 from beyond the arc, but they made the final one that mattered the most.
Nebraska had a response, as the Cornhuskers' Britt Prince made a mid-range jumper with 44 seconds remaining to give the road team another lead. MSU, again, responded, as Rashunda Jones drew a foul and made both of her free throws.
Michigan State got the stop it needed this time. Brown came through again, this time on defense, by staying in position and forcing Nebraska's Logan Nissey to lose it out of bounds. On the other end, Jones missed a layup, but Woodard came flying in for the offensive rebound and got bumped as she tried to put it back up. She converted her shots at the charity stripe, and then MSU got the final stop.
What's some added intrigue is that Woodard and Brown had relatively quiet games, otherwise. Woodard finished with four points, and Brown finished with five. The Spartans' top scorer was Grace VanSlooten, who put up 22 points on 8-for-14 shooting from the field and a 6-of-8 night at the line. Jones had 15 points, five rebounds, and five assists. Kennedy Blair also had 14 points, six rebounds, and six assists.
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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