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Comeback falls short for Michigan State's women's basketball team in loss to No. 4 USC

Comeback falls short for Michigan State's women's basketball team in loss to No. 4 USC

USA Today20-02-2025

Comeback falls short for Michigan State's women's basketball team in loss to No. 4 USC
A late push came up short for Michigan State's women's basketball team Wednesday night as they dropped the finale of their California road trip at No. 4 USC, 83-75.
The No. 21-ranked Spartans were held off by the Big Ten-leading Trojans, falling to 19-6 overall and 9-5 in the Big Ten three nights after losing to then-No. 1 UCLA.
After trailing by as much as 21 in the second half Wednesday, MSU got within six with 4:01 to play during a fourth quarter in which the Spartans forced 11 USC turnovers and outscored the Trojans 26-15.
"We crawled our way back into the game in the fourth quarter and gave ourselves a chance, but a lot of credit to USC," MSU coach Robyn Fralick said. "(They're) a really, really good team. Their size, they just have so many weapons."
Grace VanSlooten matched a career-high with a game-high 29 points to lead the Spartans. She scored nine of those points in the fourth quarter. The 29 points tied a career high set in December 2022 while playing at Oregon. VanSlooten was 9-of-18 from from the field and converted 11-of-12 free throws.
MSU's Julia Ayrault had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds and Theryn Hallock added 12 points for the Spartans. MSU's Jocelyn Tate reached the 1,000-point milestone for her career while finishing with six points.
Star JuJu Watkins had a team-high 28 points and eight rebounds and Kiki Iriafen had 24 points and 10 rebounds to lead USC (24-2, 14-1).
USC built a double-digit lead during the second quarter and kept it there until MSU's push in the fourth quarter. MSU was within 11 in the middle of the third quarter after a 7-0 run, before the Trojans scored 10 straight to build a 21-point advantage that proved to be too much to overcome.
Watkins and Kennedy Smith, who finished with 13 points, each had key baskets to help USC fend off MSU.
MSU hosts Indiana at 2 p.m. Sunday at Breslin Center.
Contact Brian Calloway at bcalloway@lsj.com. Follow him on X @brian_calloway.

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