Michigan State senior forward Jocelyn Tate (11) reacts after a referee makes a call at the Breslin Center on Feb. 9, 2025. MSU fell to Michigan with a final score of 71-61.
In their first meeting of the season, Michigan State women’s basketball dominated rival University of Michigan with a 30-point victory.
The Spartans had the opportunity to sweep Michigan for a second straight season — the first time since 2017 — but second-year head coach Robyn Fralick suffered her first loss against U of M.
Michigan traveled to East Lansing for the final game of the series and secured a 71-61 victory, capitalizing on MSU’s struggles in nearly every aspect. The Wolverines' freshman duo of Syla Swords (19 points, six assists) and Olivia Olson (14 points, seven rebounds) led the way. The Wolverines’ defense stifled MSU, holding the Spartans to just 32% shooting accuracy.
Fralick believed the opportunities were there for MSU to win, but the team failed to capitalize.
“I thought we played hard, but didn’t play well,” Fralick said postgame. “Michigan played well, so we’ve got to be able to string together better consecutive possessions, and as we play in our conference, you can’t have stretches of disconnected basketball.”
A glaring issue was MSU’s inability to score on second-chance opportunities. The Spartans secured 18 offensive rebounds but failed to turn them into points.
“We had 18 offensive rebounds but didn’t finish,” Fralick said. “We’ve got to be able to convert off of that.”
Although many negative things can be said about the game for the Spartans, junior forward Grace VanSlooten was able to shine regardless of the struggles, serving as the major catalyst for these second-chance possessions.
VanSlooten led MSU with 15 points and 12 rebounds, including eight offensive boards. While VanSlooten remained consistent, junior guard Theryn Hallock and graduate forward Julia Ayrault struggled after strong performances in the first meeting.
MSU’s lack of veteran presence showed, as most of the roster outside Hallock and Ayrault consisted of transfers or freshmen. Experience often plays a key role in rivalry games.
Despite being new to the team, the rivalry feeling is starting to find a way to come alive in the newcomers.
“I would just say I can’t wait for next year,” VanSlooten said. “I’m hoping that it’s a better outcome than this year. It’s really something serious, but it’s a lot of fun.”
Even for players without future eligibility, rivalry games bring a different level of emotion.
Graduate guard Jaddan Simmons explained, “I always take every rivalry game like I’ve been a part of it for a while, so it does hurt to take that loss.”
For second-year coach Fralick, the frustration that comes with a rivalry loss was visible, using “disappointing” as the main way to describe the outcome.
“You feel disappointed,” Fralick said. “I feel mostly disappointed that we should’ve played better basketball.”
MSU shot just 21-for-66 and allowed 23 fastbreak points in an uncharacteristic performance. Ranked No. 20 and fourth in the Big Ten, the Spartans have now lost back-to-back home games following a defeat to Oregon.
MSU will aim to rebound on Wednesday, Feb. 12 at 6:30 p.m. against Wisconsin at Breslin Center, seeking to end its skid.
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