The opening minutes of the game on Saturday would set the back-and-forth tone for the rest of the afternoon. MSU opened up scoring on the day with a layup by center Hines and junior guard Aerial Powers would follow up with a three-pointer to gain an early 5-0 lead, but the Buckeyes would rebuttal. With 6:06 left in the first quarter, OSU guard Ameryst Alston would bank a shot from three-point range to give the Buckeyes their first lead of the afternoon. By the end of the first quarter, OSU led the Spartans by a score of 20-17.

OSU would go on the offensive again early in the second quarter, going on a 9-2 run beginning with an Asia Doss three-pointer. That run would give the Buckeyes an eight point lead, the largest of the first half. MSU would come back, however, and made the score even at 34 points a piece at halftime.

It was only fitting that on senior day Hines would carry the Spartans in the first half. She led the offense with 17 points, going 7-for-9 from the field. Hines also had one block and one steal. The Buckeyes did a great job of limiting offensive contributions from Powers and junior guard Tori Jankoska, who combined for only seven points, shooting just 2-for-19 from the floor.

Powers and Jankoska would finally find their offensive stride in the third. The Spartans would start the third on an 8-3 run with all eight of those points being scored by the two guards. Jankoska would score 11 of MSU’s 23 points in the third. The Spartans would take a slim 57-55 lead into the fourth quarter.

Powers would start the fourth with five points for the Spartans to establish a 62-55 lead to start the fourth quarter. As the clock began to wind down, the fourth fouls would become more and more prevalent. OSU would go on an 8-1 in the middle of the final quarter to tie the game before Morgan Green laid one up to put the Spartans on top 65-63 with 3:53 to play. The Spartans and the Buckeyes would continue to match each other’s performance and would eventually head to overtime.

Overtime was equally as back and forth. Hines made six of MSU’s 11 in the extra period, including a layup with eight seconds left to even the score at 83, which would send the two teams into double-overtime. Double-overtime was just as back-and forth. All hope had seemed lost when MSU was down with less than 15 seconds in the period, but Jankoska nailed a shot from 3-point land to even the score and send the two teams into triple overtime.

The game on Saturday was MSU’s first triple-overtime appearance since 1991. Both teams would fight tooth and nail from the free-throw line but in the end, Jankoska’s three pointer with 39 seconds left in the period would be the final nail in the Buckeye’s coffin.

Hines would finish with 36 points, a career-high, and 11 rebounds. Powers finished with 23 points and 16 rebounds and Jankoska finished with 20 points, going 6-for-16 from the floor.

Saturday’s win for MSU cemented their bid for the third seed in the Big Ten Tournament. The tournament will begin for MSU on Friday, March 4.