From the tip-off, both teams applied heavy defensive pressure, setting the tone for a scrappy, low-scoring game. A sea of Maize in the crowd energized the Wolverines early.

Much of the first half was a coaching duel in the midst of both teams’ scoring struggles. The Wolverines disrupted the Spartans’ usually strong inside presence, forcing them into early foul trouble. MSU struggled to find its footing, failing to secure key rebounds and trailing 33-29 at halftime.

"In the first half we actually got a number of stops but didn’t rebound," head coach Robyn Fralick said postgame. "So we would foul or they would score off of that, and that’s a frustrating way to play."

The story of the game was the second half, in which the game took a massive turn in favor of MSU.

The Spartans opened the third quarter with a 14-0 run, fueled by suffocating defense and efficient offense. The momentum shift was clear in Hallock and Ayrault's visible emotion during the comeback.

This emotion tied in with the philosophy of the second half of staying together, and continuing to play as a team despite the deficit.

"The way we play, you’ve got to stay with it," Fralick said. "It’s a 40-minute engagement and effort and effort and pressure and there’s time it’s better than others, but when you do it right and you do it together, it’s effective."

The players echoed Fralick’s sentiment, emphasizing the importance of teamwork in mounting a comeback.

"We always say (togetherness) is our superpower," Theryn Hallock said. "We showed that in the second half, we stayed together and trusted each other. We worked our butts off."

The players recognized the significance of this game beyond just staying composed during adversity. For those with deeper experience and history with the program, the game just meant more.

"These rivalry games have a lot more meaning than some of the other games, So I was just confident and played my heart out." Junior guard Theryn Hallock said.

The Spartans leading scorer was Theryn Hallock who tallied 25 total points, with 23 coming in the second half. Much of the intensity by the Spartans could also be attributed to graduate forward Julia Ayrault with 18 points and 13 rebounds, alongside junior forward Grace VanSlooten, who added 18 points off of the bench.

A key factor to the victory was found in VanSlooten’s performance in the second unit. Although finding herself in the middle of a double-team in the post, she found ways to create her own shot, whether by spinning to the rim or fading away.

"(Grace’s) rebound was unbelievable in both halves," Fralick said. "Her rebounding in the first half really kept us in it. When the game was a little bit choppy for us I thought she got us some really good extra possessions. She finished really well."

The rivalry duel is yet to be complete, however, as the Wolverines will travel to East Lansing on Feb. 9. Until then, the Spartans will prepare for the University of Oregon, who travel to Breslin Center on Jan. 30.