Nebraska punished MSU on the boards early, grabbing four offensive rebounds in the the first five minutes of the game. But it did not translate into points as the Huskers shot 2-12 before the first media timeout.

MSU, however, had no trouble finding the bottom of the rim, building an 18-9 lead midway through the first half. Mills had her way in the post, scoring on a variety of moves and hitting her first four shots.

Nebraska trimmed the lead to five after a fast break layup by junior forward Emily Cady, but an 8-0 helped secure a halftime lead for the Spartans. Senior guard Klarissa Bell found Pickrel for a layup, who drained it as she was fouled. Pickrel knocked down an open 3 on the next possession to stretch the lead to 11.

With 20 seconds left, Jankoska went wide on a 3-point attempt with four seconds on the clock. But redshirt freshman guard Aerial Powers nabbed the offensive board and flipped it in as the game clock expired to push the lead to 13.