Michigan women’s basketball falls to MSU on the road

Three days after earning the highest AP Poll rank in program history, the Michigan Wolverines fell to the Michigan State Spartans on the road, 63-57.

This was a bit of a letdown for the Wolverines, who picked up a big win in their last game against Caitlin Clark and the No. 25 Iowa Hawkeyes.

Senior forward Naz Hillmon led the way for the Wolverines with 27 points and nine rebounds, While she flashed some amazing foot work and had some impressive moves in the post, the Spartan’s post defenders were able to force some key misses.

The Spartans used a 16-4 run in the third quarter to jump out to a nine-point lead after the third quarter. The Wolverines opened the final quarter with a 7-0 run of their own, with a huge Danielle Rauch three (12 points, five assists) forcing an MSU timeout with the lead cut to two.

The Wolverines weren’t able to keep up with Spartans in that fourth quarter. After struggling to score all game, Matilda Ekh hit two huge threes in those final 10 minutes, with Nia Clouden leading the way down the stretch (20 points, four assists) icing the game.

This is only the Wolverines’ third total loss and second loss in the Big Ten this season, the first coming to Nebraska in early January.

With the loss, the Wolverines (20-3, 11-2) fall to second place in the conference and now sit behind the Indiana Hoosiers (17-3, 9-1), who they beat on Jan. 31.

The Wolverines close out the week with a road game against Northwestern on Sunday. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. with the game being broadcast on B1G+.