Michigan State women’s basketball returned to the court after its gut-wrenching loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes, courtesy of a Caitlin Clark buzzer beater. The opponent this evening was the 10-win Maryland Terrapins, who MSU defeated in a down to the wire battle, 74-69.

The win improves MSU to 12-3 on the season and 2-2 in Big Ten action. The Spartans have now won five of their last six, building on the momentum this promising season has delivered thus far.

UMD falls to 10-5 on the season (2-2 in the conference). This meeting will be the sole matchup between the two programs this season, and snaps a seven-game losing streak in the series for Michigan State.

"Brenda [Frese] is one of the best coaches in the country," MSU head coach Robyn Fralick said in regards to the team's win over Maryland after the game. "She has had success for a long period of time. Coming into the league, she has been very warming, welcoming, and helpful all the time. I've seen her out recruiting. I have a ton of respect for her. She has won a national championship. The game isn't me versus her, but I have a ton of respect for her and for what she has done at Maryland for a long time."

Julia Ayrault shined bright tonight, posting a 20-point, 10-rebound double double - along with three assists for good measure.

"She's been dynamite on both sides," Fralick said of Ayrault's perforamnce in the past six-seven games. "I think that double-double tonight and I think her rebounding is so important for us. As we all know we have been an undersized team though the season and her ability to defensive rebound for us has been critical. I think offensively she's a mismatch, she's tough, she can slip, she can pop, she can post up and switch with smaller players, I have been really proud of her ability to identify that. She creates a lot of offense for us because she is such a tough matchup."

Team scoring leader Moira Joiner pitched in 20 points, four boards, and four assists, continuing her stellar campaign this season.

Despite uncharacteristic shooting struggles Tuesday, Deedee Hagemann dished out seven assists in 36 minutes of action.

Theryn Hallock provided much needed offense off the bench, adding an efficient 14 points in 23 minutes of play.

Maryland's Shyanne Sellers led all scorers with 23 points, and added nine rebounds. She was averaging 16.6 points per game on the season coming into Tuesday night's matchup.

This game was the story of two halves for the Spartans. The Terrapins defense smothered MSU early and often, creating six turnovers and holding the Spartans to 30% shooting from the field, and just 13% from three.

MSU scored only 22 first half points, and a paltry seven points in the second quarter.

"Credit to Maryland," Fralick said of the poor first half shooting. "They really came out in the first half and bothered us and got us out of rhythm. We made some adjustments at halftime and our kids did a really good job sticking to the game plan."

But a high-octane team like this can only be bogged down so long, and as poor as the first half was, the second was nothing short of spectacular. Ayrault and Joiner combined for 30 of MSU’s 52 second half points as MSU fought back and secured an all-important conference win.

At times when it felt like UMD could’ve extended the lead, MSU responded — every time.

Down seven points entering the third quarter, MSU quickly got things rolling, evening the score at 33-33 with 5:17 remaining in the stanza. The game from that point on was a rock fight, as Sellers and Ayrault traded buckets in the paint.

Everything popped offensively in the second half as the Spartans outscored their entire first half offensive production in both the third and fourth quarter, respectively. It appears first year head coach Robyn Fralick’s halftime adjustments were enough to alleviate the offensive woes. MSU shot 45.5% from three in the second half, along with 55.6% from the field.

The defining sequence in the game came with about 35 seconds left in regulation. Maryland had brought the score to within three, trailing 67-64. Hagemann dribbled at the top of the key, bleeding down the shot clock to just under 10 seconds remaining. She drove right, pivoted, and found Joiner cutting back door. The defense collapsed on Joiner as she finessed a dish to Ayrault, who quickly evaded the help side defense and put up a shot with a kiss off the glass and the score. It was the type of team chemistry play that makes this Spartans team special.

"Good passing teams are good scoring teams, and if you're a good passing team you are usually getting better shots," Fralick said of the team's passing skills after the win. "So we work on that a lot. It is also the way we play; we don't have one player that just dominates the ball or is an iso player, we have a team style basketball. We have to move it and we have to share it. I think when we do it we have to get better shots."

Back in the win column again, MSU looks forward with a trip to Columbus next on its slate. The Spartans take on No. 17 ranked Ohio State this Sunday. The Buckeyes are 11-3 on the season and 2-1 in the Big Ten.

The game will be on Big Ten Network, with start time set for 4 p.m. Eastern time. The matchup marks the last linear broadcast for MSU until next month.

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