However, she was the only Spartan gymnast to place, as Pittsburgh rode the trio of Haley Sedgewick, Haley Bodenheimer and Alicia Talucci — all of whom scored 9.825 — to a 48.825-48.550 team score advantage in the event.

When MSU rotated to the uneven parallel bars, it made strides to catch up with the Panthers and took the event, 48.850-48.675.

Senior Jackie Berg placed first with a score of 9.850 and three Spartans tied for third. Freshman Alina Cartwright, sophomore Dani Levy and senior Daneen Haba all finished with scores of 9.775 to help the Spartan effort.

MSU’s chances at a comeback began to flicker when the Spartans hit the balance beam rotation, when their struggles with the event seemed to rear its ugly head once again. Levy kicked off the rotation with an otherwise strong routine before falling hard on her dismount. She finished with a score of 8.700, and it was left up to the other gymnasts to pick up the slack.

Levy’s teammates were able to step it up, as MSU finished with a team score of 47.950, just shy of their season-high of 48.000. Sophomore Alex Pace placed first with a score of 9.750, and once again, three Spartans tied for fourth place — all with scores of 9.650.

Heading into the final rotation, the Panthers were clinging to a 146.325-145.350 lead and MSU needing a strong showing on the floor rotation to steal the win. Behind performances from senior Alyssa Brennan, freshman Ashley Noll and Berg, the Spartans edged the Panthers 48.525-47.150 in the final rotation and came away with the victory.

MSU travels to Champaign, Ill. next weekend to compete against No. 19 Illinois.