Columbus, Ohio — Welcome to the big time, Allyssa DeHaan.
Going toe-to-toe with Ohio State's two-time All-American Jessica Davenport, MSU's 6-foot-9 freshman center could have folded like an accordion.
But that's not her style.
Instead, DeHaan led the charge for No. 24 MSU, scoring 12 points in the final eight minutes, as the Spartans rallied from another second-half double-digit deficit to upset No. 4 Ohio State, 62-59, Sunday in front of 10,141 fans at Value City Arena.
With the win, the Spartans denied the Buckeyes a share of the Big Ten title. Ohio State still has one game at hand.
DeHaan, who started for the first time since Jan. 25, dominated on both ends of the floor, scoring 25 points with eight rebounds and five blocks.
"Allyssa DeHaan was the player of the game," MSU head coach Joanne P. McCallie said.
"She was the best player on the floor for 40 minutes."
"(The coaching staff) just told me to go out and have fun, that I'm a freshman and there's no pressure and just to go out and have fun," DeHaan said.
"And it was a fun game for the whole team."
DeHaan made her presence known early. On one of MSU's first possessions, she got the ball in the paint, made a move that put Davenport in another area code and hit a short jumper.
"We knew that Jess was a great defensive player," sophomore forward Aisha Jefferson said. "So we just had to keep attacking, and it was a total team focus."
Davenport battled back, scoring six of Ohio State's first 12 points, but MSU held tough and took an early 16-12 lead.
But the Buckeyes (24-2 overall, 13-1 Big Ten) ended the half on a 20-9 run to take a 32-25 lead into halftime.
Coming out of the break, the Spartans (21-6, 12-2) scored the first two buckets of the second half, but Ohio State then went on a 10-2 run to take a 42-31 lead with 13:44 to play, forcing McCallie to call a timeout.
MSU came out of the huddle a different team.
So did Ohio State.
Instead of getting contributions from the whole team like they did on the two big runs, the Buckeyes offense suddenly isolated on Davenport, while MSU started to get baskets from different players.
Jefferson asserted herself in this stretch, scoring eight of her 12 points in the final 13 minutes before giving way to DeHaan and senior guard Rene Haynes.
While DeHaan provided the force on the offensive end, Haynes, a Columbus native, stepped up her game on the defensive end.
After a basket by DeHaan gave MSU a 58-57 lead with 20 seconds left, Ohio State called a timeout.
On the ensuing inbound, Haynes knocked away the entry pass, recovered it and was fouled. She hit both free throws.
"That's vintage Rene," McCallie said of the steal. "She makes those plays all the time."
After an Ohio State basket with time winding down to bring the game within one, the Buckeyes fouled DeHaan. She hit both free throws, and there wasn't enough time left for Ohio State to get off a good shot.
"This was just a great game," Haynes said. "My teammates stuck in there, and it was a great game altogether."
MSU is off until Thursday, when it faces Illinois at 8 p.m.
