Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
22-7,11-7Big Ten
No. 13/12 Ohio State
24-6,13-5Big Ten
No. 15 MSU Falls to No. 13 OSU in Regular-Season Finale
3/1/2026 4:19:00 PM | Women's Basketball
EAST LANSING, Mich. – In their regular-season finale, the No. 15 Spartan women's basketball fell to sharp-shooting No. 13 Ohio State, 87-68, at the Breslin Center on Sunday afternoon.
Michigan State ends the regular season with a 22-7 overall record and 11-7 in Big Ten play. Ohio State improves to 24-6 overall and 13-5 in league action.
The Spartans had three players in double figures led by 17 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three blocks from senior forward Grace VanSlooten. Off the bench, junior guard Rashunda Jones scored 16 points with two assists. Also off the bench, Inés Sotelo scored 11 points with a career-high four steals.
The Buckeyes are led by 33 points from Jaloni Cambridge. Ohio State set a program record with 18 made 3-pointers.
Ohio State jumped out to an early 9-2 lead, as the Spartans were cold from the field to start the game. The run increased to 11-0, as the Buckeyes took a 15-2 lead before a Jones 3-pointer broke the dry spell. Michigan State made only two field goals in the first quarter, as Ohio State pulled ahead 23-9.
In the second quarter, OSU continued to put its foot on the gas with a 7-0 run to make it a 30-11 game. The Spartans shooting woes continued in the second quarter, shooting 28 percent in the first half. Michigan State bounced back before half time with a 7-0 run of its own over 1:01 to make it a 49-26 OSU lead at the half. The Buckeyes made 11 3-pointers in the first half alone. VanSlooten led the way for Michigan State with eight points.
Michigan State continued to fight with an early third quarter 7-0 run. The Spartans never gave up, scoring six unanswered to make it a 62-48 game with less than a minute left in the period. Sotelo's fast-break layup made it a 14-point affair with 53 seconds left. MSU out-scored OSU 22-17 in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Spartans got as close as 13 points after a pair of Kennedy Blair free throws at the 7:50 mark, which was as close as they would get. VanSlooten and Blair combined for 11 of MSU's 20 fourth-quarter points.
Michigan State now awaits its seeding for the upcoming Big Ten Tournament March 4-8 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Michigan State Post-Game Notes
- The Spartans unveiled their eighth different starting lineup in Kennedy Blair, Sara Sambolić, Emma Shumate, Jalyn Brown and Grace VanSlooten.
- Junior guard Rashunda Jones returned to form after missing the Northwestern game and playing only four minutes at Minnesota. Jones was second on the team in scoring with 16 points off the bench, including going 4-for-7 from beyond the arc. Jones has reached double figures in scoring for the 19th time this season.
- The Spartans recovered from shooting only 14.3 percent from the field in the first quarter (2-for-14). In the second period, MSU shot 40 percent going 6-for-15. Ohio State shot 51.4 percent in the first half from the field and 69.2 percent from beyond the arc (6-for-7).
- Senior forward Grace VanSlooten led Michigan State in scoring with 17 points, seven rebounds and a team-leading five assists. VanSlooten has scored in double figures 27 times this season and 55 times since coming to Michigan State.
- The five assists for VanSlooten was a season high and just one shy of her career high of six assists.
- Redshirt-sophomore guard Kennedy Blair had her nine-game double-digit scoring streak stopped by Ohio State. Blair scored seven points with four assists and four rebounds.
