She finished with a game-high 17 points and seven assists.

“Courtney really was spectacular tonight,” MSU head coach Suzy Merchant said. “She’s got great flow on both ends of the court and has really made a defensive effort lately. When we’re struggling, we usually turn to her.”

Sparked by a Davidson 3-pointer at the 1:26 mark, the Spartans came to within one point of tying. The Boilermakers would only get the opportunity to add one more point to the scoreboard, a free throw at the hands of guard FahKara Malone, before the Spartans put away four more points for a victory.

Purdue guard Kalika France took Purdue’s last shot in an attempt to force overtime. DeHaan altered it before it was pushed back to Thomas, who ran out the clock.

The matchup turned into a one-minute battle that the Spartans dominated, keeping Purdue off the scoreboard. The Boilermakers scored only five points – all free throws – in the last seven minutes.

Big Ten wins are not coming easy for MSU, as this marks the fifth conference game the Spartans have rallied in the closing seconds to win.

As for the first half, freshman guard Brittney Thomas started the game in Spartans favor with a layup in the first 20 seconds.

The Boilermakers then put together a 13-0 run that lasted just under five minutes.

When Merchant had the team switch from man-to-man to zone defense midway through the half, the tables turned in MSU’s favor.

During the run in which the Spartans remained scoreless, missing nine shot attempts, it took Merchant three timeouts to get her team in gear, and they went on a 16-2 run.

The Spartans grabbed enough baskets in their 10-minute run, sparked by a layup from sophomore center Allyssa DeHaan, to take the lead by three points.

MSU wouldn’t retain the lead for long, however, as Purdue went on to score seven points to MSU’s three to end the first half up by one point, 28-27.

The Spartans return to action against Indiana at 7 p.m. Thursday in Bloomington, Ind.