MSU junior guard Rashunda Jones stares down a UCLA opponent during the UCLA vs. MSU game at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan on Feb. 11, 2026.
The No. 13 Michigan State women’s basketball team knew the challenge in front of it Wednesday: No. 2 UCLA, one of the best teams in the nation. It was an opportunity to show that coach Robyn Fralick’s squad is ready for the next step — taking down a Final Four team from last season and the reigning Big Ten Tournament champion.
Instead, the message left inside the arena was clear: the Spartans aren’t there yet.
MSU (20-5, 9-5 Big Ten) was dominated 86-63 in a game that was never close from the opening tip. The experienced Bruins (24-1, 14-0 Big Ten), led by senior center Lauren Betts’ 22 points and senior guard Kiki Rice’s 18 points, controlled the contest from start to finish.
“I think we’ve got a lot of really good teams in our league and they’re a team that legitimately can win a national championship,” Fralick said. “The messaging I shared with the team was we were late to the fight. It’s a four-quarter game. Our second half, we played tougher, better, but you got to start.”
The Spartans struggled immediately, failing to find any offensive rhythm while also having trouble getting stops defensively. By the end of the first quarter, UCLA had opened a 23-9 lead.
The Bruins' defense limited MSU to poor looks early, as the Spartans shot just 22% from the field in the opening quarter and missed all five of their 3-point attempts. No player scored more than two points in the quarter.
Defensively, MSU held Betts to four points — a stat that would typically be encouraging — but other Bruins stepped up. Senior guards Gabriela Jaquez and Rice scored eight and six points, respectively, as UCLA’s offense moved like a well-oiled machine, scoring on its first six possessions.
MSU knew what to expect from UCLA’s offense and the variety of threats surrounding Betts, but slowing it down proved too difficult.
“At every spot they have really good players,” Fralick said. “They are really big, and they play through their posts, and they dominated us tonight on points in the paint. So we knew that was going to be tough. I was hoping we do it a little bit better, but moving forward we’ve got to find ways to minimize points in the paint.”
A 14-point UCLA lead after one quarter was intimidating, but not insurmountable. The trouble came when the Spartan’s struggles carried over into the second.
UCLA’s defense continued to smother MSU’s offense, which shot 23.5% in the second quarter. Meanwhile, the Bruins found their groove offensively. Betts scored nine points in the quarter to finish the half with 16, while Jaquez and Rice each added 13 as UCLA entered the locker room with a commanding 44-20 lead.
The 24-point deficit was ultimately too much for the Spartans to overcome. The Bruins’ lead never dropped below 21 points over the final 20 minutes.
“They have a lot of kids who’ve played meaningful basketball, and you can tell they’re very connected on both sides of the ball,” Fralick said. “There’s no margin for error.”
For one of the top offenses in the nation, MSU has shown an ability to fight back from large deficits and make games competitive late. This night was different. UCLA’s defense was simply too good.
Entering the game, the Spartans were shooting 49% from the field on the season, one of the best marks in the country. That efficiency never materialized. The Bruins contested nearly every shot, holding MSU to 30.9% shooting by the final buzzer — consistent with a UCLA defense that has limited opponents to 36% shooting this season.
Rebounding further widened the gap. UCLA outrebounded the Spartans 48-28, limiting second-chance opportunities while creating its own.
Because of the shooting struggles and rebounding disparity, the turnover margin never factored into the outcome. The Bruins committed 18 turnovers, but instead of changing the game, they became a learning point — even in a 23-point win.
“People ask me all the time about the NCAA tournament and March and where we want to be … I’m only focused on right now and relentlessly pursuing our growth and excellence today,” UCLA head coach Cori Close said. “I think every game shows you your areas that you need to focus on the most. And I think that taking care of the ball is probably the biggest one for us right now.”
A disappointing night got worse when junior guard Rashunda Jones went down with 4:12 remaining after a UCLA player fell on her back. She appeared to suffer a back injury, though the severity is unknown. Jones was MSU's leading scorer with 15 points.
“We got to just not do anything that we haven’t done, just do what we do well,” senior guard Emma Shumate said when asked how the team can regroup. “Stick together and trust our shots and stay in the gym.”
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MSU will look to regroup quickly as it prepares for round two against rival No. 7 Michigan (17-6, 5-6 Big Ten), this time in Ann Arbor. The game is set to tip off at 4 p.m. at the Crisler Center and will air on FS1.
