Michigan State women’s basketball faced another ranked opponent on Thursday night, and came away with yet another victory, this time in thrilling fashion.
No. 24 Nebraska came to East Lansing looking for an upset of No. 15 Michigan State on Thursday night, but the Spartans were able to hold on for a thrilling win, 73-71, thanks to some huge free throws by Juliann Woodard in the final seconds to put the Cornhuskers away.
Nebraska got one more shot at tying the game up or winning it with a three, but Michigan State’s defense stole the ball in the final seconds, sealing the victory.
With the win, Michigan State improved to 17-1 on the year which is actually a historic start for the team — it’s officially the best start in program history, topping what Suzy Merchant’s Spartans did over a decade ago.
This win also improved the Spartans to 6-1 in Big Ten play, tying them for third in the conference with Ohio State and Michigan. They’re behind only UCLA and Iowa who are both 6-0 in the league, but Michigan State now has the best overall record in the conference. No other team in the Big Ten has 17 wins and everyone has at least one loss.
Robyn Fralick has this team humming right now, and the historic start is going to be tested big-time on Sunday night at No. 11 Iowa.
Michigan State has a chance to make another statement
The first statement that the Michigan State women made this season was against No. 15 Ole Miss, beating the Rebels by 17. Weeks later, the Spartans made another statement, winning at No. 23 Washington by 15. They then came from behind to beat Oregon on the road before taking down No. 24 Nebraska on Thursday.
The Spartans are 3-0 against ranked teams and now they have a chance to make another statement with a ranked road win on Sunday against Iowa.
The Hawkeyes are undefeated in conference play and they’re playing some of the best basketball in the country. This is going to be quite the test for Fralick and the Spartans.
If Michigan State can beat Iowa, it’ll build on that program-best start, and it likely will turn into a 20-1 start before facing Michigan on Feb. 1. That game would be a top-10 showdown and it will have major Big Ten title implications. The next game, Michigan State will host No. 12 Maryland. The Spartans will have No. 3 UCLA, No. 8 Michigan in Ann Arbor, and No. 14 Ohio State as the toughest games left after this next stretch.
Plenty of opportunities to make statements.