Last-Minute Turnovers Cost No. 24 Nebraska Women's Basketball at No. 15 Michigan State

Nebraska women's basketball came up just short on Thursday.

The No. 24 Huskers had a lead in the final minute of the game, but the No. 15 Michigan State Spartans closed on a 4-0 run to beat the Big Red, 73-71, in East Lansing. MSU improved to 17-1 overall and 6-1 in the Big Ten Conference, while NU fell to 14-4 on the year and 3-4 in the league.

Final pic.twitter.com/bKjmr5Fwtf
— Nebraska Women's Basketball (@HuskerWBB) January 16, 2026

Nebraska is now 0-4 against AP-ranked opponents this season.

The Huskers had to deal with foul trouble throughout the contest. Jessica Petrie has two fouls in the first two-and-a-half minutes. Britt Prince notched her third foul early in the third quarter. That sent both to the bench at times that they normally would have been on the floor.

Still, Nebraska never let circumstance keep the game from getting out of hand. The Huskers made five three-pointers in the first quarter to get by without Petrie. After the media timeout in the third quarter and Michigan State's largest lead of the game, Prince was able to return to action and not commit another foul in the contest.

Michigan State's Jalyn Brown moves the ball as Nebraska's Eliza Maupin defends. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In the fourth quarter, Michigan State held a 64-60 lead at the midway point. Nebraska answered with a 7-0 run and kept MSU without a point for nearly three minutes.

But the Spartans punched back with a 5-2 run, tying the game going into the final minute.

Britt Prince put Nebraska up 71-69 with 48 seconds to go. Nine seconds later, the Spartans were at the line, tying the game on two made free throws.

On the ensuing Husker possession, the ball was lost out of bounds. Nebraska managed to get Michigan State to miss the game-winning shot, but the Spartans grabbed the rebound and were fouled. Two makes later, and the home side was ahead by two points.

Nebraska's head coach Amy Williams claps after a play during the second quarter in the game against Michigan State. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Despite advancing the ball on a timeout and getting to inbounds under the basket, Nebraska got a shot off as the ball was stolen and time expired.

Those two turnovers in the final 30 seconds helped Nebraska finish with 22 in the game. Those led to 22 points for Michigan State, which had 15 turnovers.

The Huskers shot 51.0% for the game, including 7-of-20 on three-pointers. The Spartans made 50.0% of their shots, tallying just 3-of-17 from deep.

Michigan State's InŽs Sotelo and Nebraska's Jessica Petrie battle for control of the ball. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Amiah Hargrove scored a team-high 21 points off the bench. Britt Prince was the only other Husker in double figures, notching 16 points.

Nebraska stays on the road but gets some time off before the next game. The Huskers are at Wisconsin on Wednesday. Tip is set for 6:30 p.m. CST. The game will be streamed on B1G+.

Have a question or comment for Kaleb? Send an email to kalebhenry.huskermax@gmail.com.

Nebraska Women's Basketball 2025-26 Schedule

Oct. 24 Nebraska 104, Mount Marty 40 (Exhibition)
Nov. 3 Nebraska 103, Northwestern State 46
Nov. 8 Nebraska 80, Samford 46
Nov. 12 Nebraska 84, Creighton 50
Nov. 16 Nebraska 82, North Dakota State 70 (Sanford Pentagon)
Nov. 19 Nebraska 103, Oral Roberts 58
Nov. 24 Nebraska 80, Purdue Fort Wayne 57 (Emerald Coast Classic)
Nov. 25 Nebraska 91, Virginia 82 (Emerald Coast Classic)
Dec. 3 Nebraska 92, Bradley 53
Dec. 6 Nebraska 101, Penn State 83
Dec. 9 Nebraska 87 vs. Omaha 35
Dec. 14 Nebraska 85, Illinois State 44
Dec. 21 Nebraska 87, Cal Baptist 56
Dec. 29 74 USC, Nebraska 66
Jan. 1 Iowa 86, Nebraska 76
Jan. 4 Nebraska 78, Purdue 62
Jan. 8 Nebraska 78, Indiana 73
Jan. 11 UCLA 83, Nebraska 61
Jan. 15 Michigan State 73, Nebraska 71
Jan. 21 at Wisconsin 6:30 p.m. B1G+
Jan. 24 vs. Illinois 1 p.m. BTN
Jan. 28 vs. Northwestern 7 p.m. NPM/B1G+
Feb. 1 at Ohio State 5 p.m. BTN
Feb. 4 at Michigan 6 p.m. B1G+
Feb. 7 vs. Maryland 1 p.m. BTN
Feb. 12 at Minnesota 7 p.m. BTN
Feb. 16 vs. Iowa 11 a.m. FOX
Feb. 19 at Oregon 8 p.m. B1G+
Feb. 22 at Washington 2 p.m. BTN
Feb. 28 vs. Rutgers B1G+
March 4-8 Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis

Home games are bolded. All times central.

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