Or, the team comes onto the court energized and ready with a good gauge on their opponent and long-range, buzzer-beating three-pointers to keep the scoring deficit slim, like the one freshman forward Matilda Ekh knocked back at halftime.

For the Michigan State women's team (10-8, 4-3 Big Ten), by the grace of the basketball gods, it was the latter in this afternoon's matchup against Minnesota (9-11, 2-6 Big Ten). The Spartans buried the Gophers 74-71 after an insane fourth quarter revival.

The Gophers and the Spartans have been having similar seasons in terms of their win-to-loss ratios, but they both also carry a fire in their bellies and a desire in their hearts that's equivalent to that of a top-5 team.

When you used to think of MSU's lady Spartans, senior guard Nia Clouden would probably be the one to come to mind first, rightfully so. Clouden came into today's matchup averaging 21.3 points per game and nearing the 50-40-90 club on shooting range.

However, the birth of a new era seems to be on the horizon for Head Coach Suzy Merchant's prized program and it's being carried on the shoulders of the freshman class. More specifically, freshman guard DeeDee Hagemann and the Swedish superstar, freshman forward Matilda Ekh.

Despite their continued struggles with consistency, Hagemann and Ekh have been able to produce massive feats for the green and white, as well as for their personal careers in their first season. They've shown that the program will be passed down, in due time, to hard working hands.

In today's game, Ekh led MSU with 23 points, five rebounds and six assists on her own. Things got a tad scary as she was whistled for a third foul at the start of the fourth quarter. However, she and the team prevailed.

Ekh's efforts were backed up by Clouden and junior forward Taiyier Parks, who combined for 36 additional points, nine rebounds and six assists. Clouden and Parks also collected a combined fourt steals that favored the green and white in the intense final 10 minute stretch.

Graduate guard Tamara Farquhar and graduate forward Alisia Smith were the definition of power forward/center today, handling the defensive side of the ball with ease and collecting 21 of MSU's total 39 rebounds.

The fourth quarter alone deserves an entire front page for itself. Between back-and-forth timeouts, bonuses at the line to shoot two, numerous whistles blown and fouls called, it seemed to be a never-ending story.

Ekh rebounded the ball with 10 seconds left in the fourth, connected two at the beloved stripe and all but sealed the deal. Minnesota graduate guard Deja Winters responded with a three-pointer, but it wasn't enough with only two seconds left on the game clock. Clouden then went to the line to finish what they started, wrapping up the afternoon in a nice green and white bow.

Of course, the Gophers didn't go down without a fight. They were led by junior guard Sara Scalia, who raked in 31 points, and Winters, who tacked on an additional 17.

The Spartans have nine games left in the 2021-22 regular season.

They will be seen on the East Coast for their next two games, hitting University Park to battle Penn State first on Thursday, Jan. 27 at 8 p.m. and then circling over to Piscataway to duel Rutgers second on Sunday, Jan. 30 at 2 p.m.