The last time the two teams played, the Spartans struggled from behind the three-point line throughout the game and let Nebraska's center Alexis Markowski get hot in the fourth to eventually lose 80-74.

This time around, the Spartans won the tip thanks to the extra effort from graduate student guard/forward Julia Ayrault and after back-to-back missed possessions from both teams, it would be Ayrault to get the first points on the board with a quick jump shot. 

Ayrault and junior guard/forward Jocelyn Tate got things going for the Spartans on both sides of the ball as they combined for an early eight points. On the defensive end, Tate handled the perimeter while Ayrault honed in on Markowski. 

The aggressive defense worked early on, but it resulted in Ayrault picking up two early fouls, forcing head coach Robyn Fralick to pull her for the rest of the quarter. 

Because of this, the Cornhuskers were able to make a late first quarter comeback, mostly because of their offensive rebounds and putbacks. What was once a six-point lead for the Spartans quickly turned into just a one-point lead at 22-21 as the horn sounded to end the first quarter.

Not even two minutes into the second quarter, Nebraska had already secured 10 offensive rebounds in the game. Markowski was the biggest contributor not only to the offensive rebounds but also to the Cornhuskers' offense, as she went a perfect 6-for-6 in the quarter. 

Similar to their first matchup against Nebraska, the Spartans could not find the bottom of the basket in the second quarter, as they shot a mere 21.4% from the field and went 0-for-3 from the three-point line. Their struggles in tandem with Markowski’s 12-point quarter left Michigan State in a seven-point deficit as the team was down 36-29 heading into halftime. 

Early on in the game, and early on in their first matchup of the season, the Spartans were able to contain Markowski, but similarly to their first matchup, Markowski began to find ways to score inside the paint. 

Unlike their first matchup, the Spartans would still have an entire half to adjust to Markowski’s game and try to re-contain her. Because of this, the Spartans had to find a way to produce effective offensive possessions coming out of the locker room.

However, whether or not the Spartans planned for Markowski, the Cornhuskers decided to come out with a barrage of three-pointers in the third quarter, hitting six in the quarter. 

The Spartans found some success from the three-point line momentarily as graduate student guard Moira Joiner was able to hit back-to-back three-pointers after going scoreless in the first half. Unfortunately, Michigan State's offensive success was short-lived as Nebraska went on a 14-2 scoring run to close the third quarter with a 62-42 lead.

While the Spartans were able to make a late run and threaten Nebraska's lead, they ultimately were unable to close the 20-point gap as they fell to the Cornhuskers 73-61 in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament. 

After the game, head coach Fralick gave a lot of credit to Nebraska for the effort put into rebounding in the first half from the Cornhuskers.

“I mean a lot of credit to Nebraska, I thought they played a really good game," Fralick said. "Clearly, they really hurt us on the glass especially early in the game when we had some good momentum.”

Ayrault finished the game as the only Spartan to surpass double-digits with 25 points and she also tagged along five rebounds and three blocks. Ayrault was responsible for a late push made by the Spartans but she and the rest of the Spartans were ultimately outmatched by Markowski and the Cornhuskers. 

“Obviously (Markowski's) a tremendous player so we tried to take some of that away and try to focus on forcing her out a little bit, but she had a great game,” Ayrault said post-game.

While the loss was "disappointing,” as Fralick said, she is ready to learn from this loss and use it as a way to fuel this team as she is confident the Spartans will have much more basketball to play. 

“You know, for us (it's) disappointing," Fralick said. "But, I think (there's) a lot to learn from it and we feel encouraged that we still have a lot of meaningful basketball left in front of us."

The Spartans will now have to wait for Selection Sunday next week on Sunday, March 17 to see if their efforts this season will be enough to rely on to earn them a spot in the NCAA Tournament. 

The Spartans will have much more confidence this time around compared to last season when it came to making the tournament. Although they aren’t able to grab a higher seed placement with a Big Ten championship, they are still coming off of a top-tier season.

Michigan State’s “unexpected” season currently has them ranked No. 22 in the NCAA’s Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings. 

Some of the notable wins for the Spartans this season that add to their tournament resume include an 83-76 win over Richmond back in December, a team that currently ranks No. 55 in the NCAA’s NET Rankings. 

Another notable victory is Michigan State's 98-87 win over Penn State on Dec. 30, a team that is currently ranked 25th in the NCAA’s NET Rankings.

The Spartans also swept their in-state rivals Michigan both times the two teams played this season. The Wolverines are currently ranked 49th in the NCAA’s NET Rankings.

NCAA's Selection Sunday starts on Sunday, March. 17 at 8 p.m. It will be available to watch on ESPN.