Comeback falls short for Michigan State's women's basketball team in loss to No. 4 USC
A late push came up short for Michigan State's women's basketball team Wednesday night as they dropped the finale of their California road trip at No. 4 USC, 83-75.
The No. 21-ranked Spartans were held off by the Big Ten-leading Trojans, falling to 19-6 overall and 9-5 in the Big Ten three nights after losing to then-No. 1 UCLA.
After trailing by as much as 21 in the second half Wednesday, MSU got within six with 4:01 to play during a fourth quarter in which the Spartans forced 11 USC turnovers and outscored the Trojans 26-15.
"We crawled our way back into the game in the fourth quarter and gave ourselves a chance, but a lot of credit to USC," MSU coach Robyn Fralick said. "(They're) a really, really good team. Their size, they just have so many weapons."
Grace VanSlooten matched a career-high with a game-high 29 points to lead the Spartans. She scored nine of those points in the fourth quarter. The 29 points tied a career high set in December 2022 while playing at Oregon. VanSlooten was 9-of-18 from from the field and converted 11-of-12 free throws.
MSU's Julia Ayrault had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds and Theryn Hallock added 12 points for the Spartans. MSU's Jocelyn Tate reached the 1,000-point milestone for her career while finishing with six points.
Star JuJu Watkins had a team-high 28 points and eight rebounds and Kiki Iriafen had 24 points and 10 rebounds to lead USC (24-2, 14-1).
USC built a double-digit lead during the second quarter and kept it there until MSU's push in the fourth quarter. MSU was within 11 in the middle of the third quarter after a 7-0 run, before the Trojans scored 10 straight to build a 21-point advantage that proved to be too much to overcome.
Watkins and Kennedy Smith, who finished with 13 points, each had key baskets to help USC fend off MSU.
MSU hosts Indiana at 2 p.m. Sunday at Breslin Center.
Contact Brian Calloway at bcalloway@lsj.com. Follow him on X @brian_calloway.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Celebrating USC football's All-Americans in honor of the Fourth of July
Friday marks the Fourth of July. 249 years ago, the founders signed the Declaration of Independence, marking the foundation of America. In honor of our county's birthday, let's take a look at some fun facts about All-Americans. USC football has produced 177 All-Americans in program history. The most recent Trojan to earn such honors was punter Eddie Czaplicki last season. USC's first All-American was guard Brice Taylor, all the way back in 1925. This year will mark the 100th anniversary of Taylor's All-American season. Of the Trojans' All-Americans, 84 have been Consensus All-American selections—having been voted a first-team All-American by at least three of the five main selectors. This ranks fifth among all schools, behind only Notre Dame, Ohio State, Michigan, and Alabama. Between 1962 and 1990, USC produced at least one first-team All-American in every season. In addition, from 1972 through 1987, the Trojans had at least one Consensus All-American every year.
USA Today
4 hours ago
- USA Today
USC football countdown to kickoff—Rey Maualuga in focus
The countdown to USC's 2025 football season is officially on! The Trojans kick off their new campaign 58 days from today. You need something to help you while away the days and hours in the spring and summer. This is one way to do so. In this new series, countdown to kickoff, we will be counting down the days by highlighting a notable Trojan who wore each number. Today, we look at former USC All-American linebacker Rey Maualuga. Position: Linebacker Years played at USC: 2005-2008 Career highlights: Maualuga was part of a historic linebacker room at USC that also featured stars Keith Rivers, Brian Cushing, Clay Matthews III, and Kaluka Maiava. In his four seasons playing for the Trojans, USC made the Rose Bowl all four years, winning it three times. Maualuga was named first-team all Pac-10 following the 2006, 2007, and 2008 seasons. As a senior in 2008, he was also a unanimous All-American, the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year, and won the Bednarik Award, given to the top defensive player in the country. To date, Mauluga is the only Trojan to have won the award. After USC: The Cincinnati Bengals selected Maualuga in the second round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He played nine seasons in the league—eight with Cincinnati and one with the Miami Dolphins. In 2011, Maualuga had three forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, and one interception. The following year, he recorded a career-high 122 total tackles. Unfortunately, Maualuga's career and early retirement were marred by several legal issues, including multiple DUIs. After a 2021 arrest, Maualuga entered a substance abuse program, and has been sober since.
USA Today
6 hours ago
- USA Today
USC kicker Caden Chittenden named preseason second-team All-American by Walter Camp
The start of the 2025 college football season continues to draw closer and closer. We have officially reached preseason awards season. This week, Walter Camp released their preseason All-American teams. Making the second team was USC kicker Caden Chittenden. Chittenden is entering his first season with the Trojans after transferring in from UNLV. As a true freshman with the Rebels last year, Chittenden quickly established himself as one of the top kickers in the country, being named a freshman All-American. Now, he heads to Los Angeles, where he will look to replace Michael Lantz, who started at kicker for the Trojans in 2024. Per USC's press release, "Chittenden, who transferred to USC in the spring of 2025 from UNLV, was one of the nation's top kickers as a freshman in 2024. He won a plethora of awards including being named First Team True Freshman All-American by 247Sports, Second Team Freshman All-American by The Athletic, College Football Network Honorable Mention All-American, College Football Network Freshman Specialist of the Year, College Football Network Freshman Kicker of the Year and Mountain West Freshman of the Year. "Chittenden earned placement on the All-Mountain West First Team and was the first freshman from UNLV named to the All-Mountain West First Team since 2006. He was also a semifinalist for the 2024 Lou Groza Award and a three-time Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Week, as well as a three-time Mountain West Freshman of the Week. "Chittenden shattered the Mountain West and UNLV single-season record for field goals by a freshman (26). He led the nation in scoring among all kickers with 133, which tied for the most in UNLV history. He tied the UNLV record for field goals in a season by making 26-of-33 attempts on the year. He also tied a school record 55-of-56 extra points. He hit a season-long 52-yard field goal in a rainstorm win at San Jose State. "Chittenden also handled kickoff duties. He finished the season ranked No. 2 in the nation in field goals per game (1.86), No. 7 in the nation in total points scored among all positions (133) and No. 11 in the nation in scoring (9.5)." Chittenden will suit up for the Trojans for the first time on August 30, when USC hosts Missouri State at the Coliseum.
