MSU turned the ball over on the opening possession, but quickly recovered as Mills scored the first two baskets of the game and blocked a layup attempt by Wisconsin sophomore guard Dakota Whyte. A layup by senior guard Klarissa Bell and 3-pointer by Jankoska followed, and the Spartans had a 9-0 lead to start the game.

Wisconsin didn’t have the answers on offense early, whistling a 30 second timeout eight minutes into the first half after a Jankoska floater gave MSU a 13-3 lead. The Badgers were 1-of-10 from the field at that point.

Junior guard Kiana Johnson checked in after the second media timeout and scored her first bucket, a layup, with about nine minutes to play to give MSU a 21-9 lead. Redshirt junior center Madison Williams blocked a shot on the next possession.

Wisconsin got within six behind the strong play of Michala Johnson before the third media timeout with 3:29 to play, 25-19. The Badgers began going inside to create easier looks and it paid off, scoring ten straight in the paint.

Michala Johnson scored in the paint once again for Wisconsin to cut it to two, 25-23, with under two minutes remaining. After a couple swapped buckets, Pickrel nailed a 3-pointer to stretch the lead to five.

Michala Johnson struck again for the Badgers seconds later, hitting a bank shot to narrow it to three heading into halftime.