The snow made it hard for the players to stay on their feet. The Hawkeyes almost scored a goal early in the period when, on a penalty corner, they fired a shot toward Spartans goalkeeper Elissa Unger, who stopped the initial shot but slipped on an attempt to corral the rebound before a teammate cleared the ball out of the circle.

With 27:45 left in the second half, the field covered in a thick layer of snow and event staff frantically shoveling the boundary lines to keep them visible, officials called a timeout to announce a delay so they could try to wait out the storm.

During the break, the goals were pulled off the field and a plow tried to clear the snow, though the turf was again layered just moments after each pass of the plow.

After 15 minutes without a break in the weather, fans fleeing the stands for the warmth of their vehicles and both teams in the locker rooms, the decision was made to postpone the game and hope for better weather today.

But the weather wasn’t that bad for the entire game.

The snowless first half was just as close as two previous overtime matches between the two teams would suggest.

From the opening whistle until the time it was called, the game was deadlocked in a battle between teams that already have prepared for this game twice.

Neither team was able to mount an attack on the other goal, with both defenses keeping the game between the 25-yard lines.

At halftime, there were four total shots between the teams, with even fewer scoring opportunities. The best chance MSU had to score was when freshman forward Chantae Miller passed to senior forward Michelle Ciliberti at the top of the circle on a 2-on-1 breakaway, but the shot went over the cage, ending the drive.

The Spartans haven’t had luck in extra sessions against the Hawkeyes this season. They’ve lost twice in overtime.

In the first match, played in East Lansing, MSU had to come from behind twice to force overtime, only to be outhustled in the extra session after expending most of its energy in the second-half comeback.

The second match in the Big Ten Tournament was the exact opposite. It was the Hawkeyes that needed to come back twice, only to score on a penalty corner in overtime.

The winner of this game will play Maryland on Friday in the Final Four in Louisville, Ky.

The Terrapins – who earned the top seed in the tournament by going 18-2 in the regular season and winning the Atlantic Coast Conference – defeated Duke 8-5 to advance to the Final Four.

Also playing in Louisville will be Syracuse and Wake Forest, both teams that MSU lost to in the regular season.