The Michigan State women’s basketball team visited Ann Arbor to take on archrival and No. 17-ranked Michigan on Saturday afternoon. Turnovers and poor shooting sent the Spartans heading home with a third-straight loss in a 70-55 defeat.

UM scored 22 points off of 22 Spartan turnovers on the day, while MSU had its worst shooting day from the floor (35.1%) on the season.

The Wolverines’ victory marked the first time in program history Michigan beat Michigan State five times out of the past six meetings as UM improved to 24-73 all-time against Michigan State. The Spartans drop to 10-8 overall and 2-5 in Big Ten play, while the Wolverines improve to 15-3 overall and 5-2 in league action.

Just one Spartan managed to hit double figures scoring on the day. Kamar McDaniel led Michigan State with 12 points, going just 1-of-5 from 3-point range and 4-of-16 from the field overall. Matilda Ekh scored nine points, making just three attempts from deep.

Moira Joiner scored five points, going 0-of-4 from 3-point range before fouling out. Joiner also led the team in helpers with just two assits and finished second on the boards with seven. Taiyier Parks led MSU on the glass with eight rebounds.

Michigan's Leigha Brown led all scorers with 17 points, and three other Wolverines finishing in double figures. Despite a dominating 12-5 advantage on the offensive glass over Michigan, MSU managed just two second chance points to UM's five.

The Wolverines also dominated the Spartans from 3-point range, shooting 45% to MSU's 15.8%. The game marked the third time this season Michigan State has shot in the teens from deep, managing just 11.1% in outings against Purdue Fort Wayne and Iowa State earlier this season.

Michigan State opened the game with a promising start. The Spartans managed to shoot 33.3% from the floor, including 2-of-5 from 3-point range in the opening quarter. MSU jumped out to a six-point lead in the first two minutes and led 8-4 by the first media timeout. Michigan battled back and the teams traded the lead three times before the end of the opening stanza with the Wolverines leading 14-11.

By the second quarter, the Wolverines managed to wake up on offense. After shooting just 37.5% from the field in the first period, UM shot 50% in the second. After the Spartans took a one-point lead at the 9:18 mark on a layup by Ekh, the Wolverines mounted as 12-3 run to open up a 24-16 lead by the 6:11 mark. I

n the closing minutes of the second quarter, Michigan was able to stretch its lead to 10 before MSU cut the deficit back to single digits. At the half it was a 35-27 advantage for Michigan.

Michigan State refused to go quietly in the third quarter. Four different times the Spartans were able to cut Michigan's lead to five points, but the Wolverines would find an answer each time MSU tried to spark a run. By the closing minutes of the third stanza, Jordan Hobbs hit a 3-pointer for Michigan to give the Wolverines the team's largest lead of the afternoon to that point, up 51-39.

The fourth quarter was all Michigan as the Wolverines never let the Spartans get within single digits. A 3-pointer by Abbey Kimball just a minute and a half into the final period was the high-water mark as MSU cut its deficit to 11. The Wolverines mounted an 8-2 run in response and opened up as much as an 18-point lead in the final minute before Michigan State was able to cut the final to 70-55.

The Spartans will host No. 12 Iowa on Wednesday, Jan. 18 at 7 p.m. Eastern Time. It will mark the third ranked opponent of the past six and second straight. Overall, the Hawkeyes will be the ninth ranked opponent MSU will face to date on the season.