MSU redshirt sophomore guard Kennedy Blair (35) goes for a shot against Nebraska at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, MI, on Jan. 15, 2026.
After being fouled, junior guard Rashunda Jones calmly knocked down both free throws to tie the game at 71-71 with 39 seconds remaining — 39 seconds that felt like an eternity for everyone inside Breslin Center.
That short stretch featured three possessions, four timeouts, two Nebraska turnovers and the final two points that sealed a 73-71 win for No. 15 Michigan State over No. 25 Nebraska, securing the best start in program history at 17-1 (6-1 Big Ten).
“What I shared with the team after the game was as we continue evolving, as we continue to become a better team, you just find ways to win,” MSU head coach Robyn Fralick said. “We know moving forward, we got to regroup, we got to reset, we got to re-energize.”
One way to describe the physical, weekday ranked Big Ten matchup would be back-and-forth, as the teams traded blows for most of the contest. That changed in the closing seconds, once the score reached 71-71 and MSU’s defense stood its ground.
Following a Nebraska timeout, the Cornhuskers ran the play they believed would give them the lead, but senior guard Jalyn Brown had other plans. When junior guard Logan Nissley drove toward the baseline, Brown stood her ground and forced a turnover as the ball flew out of bounds.
The defensive stop erased a key scoring opportunity for Nebraska and gave the Spartans a chance to win with 27 seconds remaining.
After two more timeouts, Fralick’s play call came to life as Jones held the ball at the top of the key. The clock trickled down from 27 seconds to 20 before Jones began to dribble. When it hit 10, teammates shuffled into position and the play finally unfolded.
Jones drove into the paint and missed, prompting a brief moment of silence before sophomore forward Juliann Woodard grabbed the rebound. Woodard went back up and missed again but was fouled.
She stepped to the line unfazed, swishing both free throws — the biggest shots of the night — to give the Spartans a 73-71 lead with five seconds remaining.
“That’s Juliann. She’s a winner, she’s someone that you can count on throughout a whole game, but she’s got a fearlessness to her,” Fralick said. “Juliann got the biggest one [rebound] of the night and made some big time free throws.”
The two makes were massive but did not seal the game. Nebraska called a final timeout to draw up one last chance.
With five seconds left, the Cornhuskers inbounded the ball and dribbled into the corner before attempting a bounce pass inside to sophomore guard Britt Prince, who was charging toward the basket. The pass would have tied the game, but Brown made the play again, stretching out her arm to knock the ball out of bounds.
Brown played a pivotal role down the stretch, making two defensive stops and hitting a game-tying 3-pointer with 1:22 remaining, showcasing her maturity and experience as a player — a trait many of the athletes share.
“A lot of our team has experience,” Fralick said. “That’s something we feel good about, is we do have a lot of kids who’ve been in these moments.”
Nebraska lobbed in the final inbound with 1.4 seconds left, but the ball never reached a Cornhusker. Jones leaped with one hand to deny the pass, sealing the victory before falling to the floor in celebration.
At the end of the day, a win is a win — especially in a conference as tough as the Big Ten. Still, Fralick acknowledged her team struggled and had to dig deep to find a way through.
“I didn’t feel like we had our same energy, for whatever reason,” Fralick said. “So I’m just so proud of our group, because you’ve got to find ways to win the game in front of you.”
The most notable struggle came from beyond the arc, where the Spartans finished 3 of 17 from 3-point range, including just one make in the second half. It was a concerning stat, but one Fralick was able to find positives in after the win.
Senior forward Grace VanSlooten led MSU with 22 points, Jones added 15 and redshirt sophomore guard Kennedy Blair chipped in 14 as the Spartans found other ways to score.
“What I love about our group is there isn’t one particular way we have to win,” Fralick said. “It’s not like we have to make this many threes or we have to shoot this many free throws. We’ve just kind of found a way within the game.”
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Since taking the head coaching job in East Lansing, Fralick has compiled a dominant 35-4 record at Breslin Center, highlighting the advantage of playing at home. It is a benefit MSU will look to lean on, with four top-15 teams still set to visit East Lansing later this season — a stretch Fralick hopes will bring more fans to games.
“The people that were here, they were awesome. And I’m going to challenge more people to come because we had a huge top 25 matchup tonight, and we’re going to continue to have those,” Fralick said. “Bring a friend and tell a friend and bring an aunt and bring a cousin.”
Unfortunately for the Spartans, not all ranked matchups will come at home, as their next test arrives Sunday at 8 p.m. against No. 11 Iowa in Iowa City. The game will air on Big Ten Network.
