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Sports

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Spartans smash Northwestern 76-57 on road

The MSU women’s basketball team collected a solid 76-57 victory at Northwestern to improve their NCAA Tournament résumé. Heading into Sunday’s game, head coach Suzy Merchant warned her team that its six wins in the last seven games would be meaningless if MSU didn’t finish the regular season strong.

ICE HOCKEY

Hockey splits with Notre Dame, finishes fifth in CCHA

South Bend, Ind. – In a weekend that the No. 13 MSU hockey needed to pick up a pair of road victories to keep pace in the CCHA standings, the Spartans will have to settle for one. Coming off of Friday’s 2-0 loss at the hands of Notre Dame, the Spartans — led by a 27-save performance by sophomore goalie Will Yanakeff — rose to the occasion in the rematch and beat the Fighting Irish, 4-2, Saturday at Compton Family Ice Arena in South Bend, Ind. With the win, the Spartans improve to 19-13-4 overall with a 14-11-3-2 mark in the conference.

BASKETBALL

Spartans prepare for Nebraska, control championship fate

With three regular season games remaining for the No. 6 MSU basketball team, the word “championship” is floating around Breslin Center more and more. The Spartans, who narrowly beat Minnesota 66-61 Wednesday in Minneapolis, have a one-game lead on No. 8 Ohio State and No. 11 Michigan in the Big Ten standings, putting MSU in control of its own destiny.

BASKETBALL

Women's basketball takes down No. 23 Nebraska 73-53

In their final home game as Spartans, senior guard Porsche Poole and senior forwards Taylor Alton and Lykendra Johnson created a moment they’ll always remember. The MSU women’s basketball team (18-10 overall, 10-5 Big Ten) dominated No. 23 Nebraska (20-7, 9-6) winning, 73-53.

ICE HOCKEY

MSU takes on Notre Dame in last regular season series

Entering the final regular season series of the year, the No. 13 MSU hockey team must maintain composure with the CCHA Tournament in sight. The Spartans (18-12-4 overall, 13-10-3-2 CCHA) open up a two-game series with Notre Dame (16-15-3, 11-12-3-0) starting Friday (8:35 p.m., CBS College Sports) and close out the regular season Saturday (7:35 p.m., Comcast) in South Bend, Ind.

SPORTS

Spartans hope to repeat high scores with Ball State at home

One week removed from its highest score of the season, the MSU gymnastics team is prepared to keep its momentum going when it welcomes Ball State to Jenison Field House on Friday night. The Spartans (3-2-1 overall) are riding a three-meet home winning streak, and last Friday’s mark of 195.175 kicked the season average up to 193.118.

BASKETBALL

From grief to glory

Running up and down the basketball court, her brother stopped, and in that moment, so did her world. Lykendra Johnson and her big brother, Homer, always played basketball together, but one January day in 2001, the fun and games turned fatally serious.

BASKETBALL

MSU, Nebraska play first game on Senior Day

It’s time to say goodbye. Before the MSU women’s basketball team (17-10 overall, 9-5 Big Ten) takes on No. 23 Nebraska (20-6, 9-5) on Thursday at 7 p.m., the Spartans will honor senior guard Porschè Poole and senior forwards Taylor Alton and Lykendra Johnson for Senior Day.

Samantha Radecki ·
BASKETBALL

Spartans prepare to face Gophers

One year ago, the MSU men’s basketball team was in a much different position than it is now. With four games left in the regular season, the Spartans held a 15-11 record and were clinging to their NCAA Tournament hopes.