EAST LANSING, Mich. (WILX) – No. 24/21 Michigan State women’s basketball ended the 2025 portion of the schedule with a thrilling, 70-64, win over Rutgers in the Spartans’ Big Ten home opener on Sunday at a rowdy Breslin Center.Michigan State has now won four-straight games to improve to 12-1 overall and 1-1 in Big Ten contests. Rutgers falls to 8-5 overall and 0-2 in league play. Sunday was the first game at the Breslin Center in 35 days, last playing at home on Nov. 23 against Oakland. MSU welcomed back senior guard Theryn Hallock, who missed five games due to injury. Hallock returned in limited minutes, scoring nine points in 17 minutes of action. The Spartans had three players in double figures led by junior guard Rashunda Jones, who scored 14 points, going 6-for-6 from the charity stripe. After fighting off first-half foul trouble, she scored all 14 of her points in the second half, also adding a season-high five boards. Redshirt-sophomore guard Kennedy Blaire earned her fourth double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds to go along with a team-leading six assists. Sophomore center Inés Sotelo had her first double-digit scoring game of the season with 12 points and a career-high four assists.
While the Spartans shot a season-low 35.3 percent (24-for-68) from the field, they did have a season-best day at the free throw line, shooting 79.2 percent (19-for-24).Rutgers was led by a game-high 16 points from Nené Ndiaye. Both teams started slow from the field, with MSU starting 1-for-7 and Rutgers going 1-for-5. In her return to the lineup, Hallock led the way in the first period for the Spartans with four points, but Michigan State was hampered by four turnovers in two minutes. After 10 minutes, the game was tied at 15-15. In the second quarter, the Spartans scored the first 11 points of the period to jump out to a 26-15 advantage, which would be their biggest of the game. After MSU took its only double-digit lead, Rutgers continued to fight. Faith Blackstone led all scorers in the second quarter with seven points, while Grace VanSlooten and Sotelo both scored four for MSU. Michigan State leads at the break, 32-27. Rutgers scored six of the first eight points of the third period, leading to an early Spartan timeout, as the Scarlet Knights cut it to a 34-33 game at the 7:57 mark. Rutgers retook the lead 38-37 after a jumper by Kaylah Ivey with under six minutes left in the period. Michigan State went over three minutes without a basket but rebounded with a 6-0 run in 40 seconds to take a 46-42 lead. Despite being outscored
Both teams hit over two-minute scoring droughts in the fourth quarter to keep the game tight. In the final three minutes, Blair was a menace on the defensive end of the floor. She blocked a Blackstone 3-pointer to keep the Scarlet Knights off the scoreboard. After RU made it a 65-64 game with 57 seconds remaining, Jones hit a clutch jumper to make it a three-point game. With 13 seconds left, Blair’s steal led to two more MSU points to give MSU the five-point lead.
The Spartans will open the 2026 portion of the schedule, taking on Indiana on Thursday, Jan. 1, at 12 p.m. on BTN.
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