With Lauren Betts out, No. 1 UCLA survives No. 22 Michigan State upset bid in thriller
Londynn Jones made a pull-up jumper.
Kiki Rice got a steal.
Janiah Barker scored a tough putback layup.
Rice hit free throws.
And then, Timea Gardiner hit the biggest three of the season for the Bruins with 44 seconds to go.
Top-ranked UCLA has proven to be one of the deepest teams in the nation, and they showed it again Sunday night, overcoming the absence of their leading scorer to defeat No. 22 Michigan State 75-69 in a March Madness-like thriller.
UCLA star center Lauren Betts did not play because of a foot injury. She wore an air cast during pregame warmups and is considered day-to-day, the team announced.
Making up for Betts' absence required a collective effort, and Janiah Barker did her part. One of her best plays came with just over a minute left before halftime when she stole the ball from Michigan State's Nyla Hampton and scored on an easy layup to put the Bruins ahead 41-28 with just over a minute before halftime.
Barker finished with 18 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Gardiner also had 18 points for the Bruins to go along with four rebounds. Rice's 16 points and seven assists were also crucial.
But UCLA (24-1 overall, 12-1 Big Ten) missed Betts' defensive presence — the Spartans scored 22 points in the paint in the first half.
Michigan State (19-6, 9-5) was the more physical team early in the second half, forcing five UCLA turnovers in the first five minutes. Theryn Hallock and Julia Ayralt led the way for Michigan State as they erased UCLA's eight-point halftime lead. The Spartans took the first lead late in the third quarter off a Jocelyn Tate layup and held a 55-53 lead going into the fourth.
Michigan State extended its lead with two free throws on the first possession and led for most of the fourth until Gardiner's three-pointer with 44 seconds left put the Bruins ahead by two.
Rice extended the lead to four after hitting two free throws following a Michigan State team technical foul. Rice hit two more free throws with 13 seconds left to secure the UCLA woin.
As time expired, Barker grabbed a missed layup from Grace Van Slooten and waved to the raucous Pauley Pavilion crowd.
The Bruins will play host to Illinois on Thursday.
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
Key contract detail suggests Adam Nightingale will be with MSU hockey for long haul
Key contract detail suggests Adam Nightingale will be with MSU hockey for long haul Michigan State hockey head coach Adam Nightingale officially signed a new deal with the program on Friday, and there's a new detail in the contract that should help keep in East Lansing, Mich. for the long haul. Nightingale has experienced a ton of success in a short amount of time at Michigan State, winning the Big Ten regular season and conference tournament titles in back-to-back seasons, which resulted in No. 1 seeds in each of the last two NCAA Tournaments as well. That kind of success has resulted in some (including myself) worrying he may be a target for a NHL coaching position in the near future. Good news for Michigan State, though, is that his new contract extension (which is through 2030) has a greatly increased buyout should someone want to poach him away. Connor Earegood of The Detroit News posted on social media platform X on Friday that Nightingale's buyout over the next three years has more than doubled to $2 million. The buyout from there will drop but still a notable amount throughout most of his contract. You can see the exact numbers in Earegood's post below: This is the type of move from both Michigan State and Nightingale that shows he plans to be with the Spartans hockey program for a longtime. Which is really good news for Spartans everywhere. Michigan State will enter next season as a preseason top five team, with some already pegging them as the No. 1 team in way-too-early rankings. So, it's safe to say things are great for Michigan State hockey right now, and the news out of Friday only furthered those positive vibes for the Spartans. Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on X @RobertBondy5.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Rocket Classic field 2025: Who is playing in PGA Tour's Detroit stop
Cam Davis is the undisputed king of the Rocket Classic. The Australian is the only person to ever win the tournament twice. It's also the only place he's ever won on the PGA Tour. Davis will look for a third title and his second in a row at the 2025 Rocket Classic, when the PGA Tour returns to Detroit Golf Club for the seventh time June 26-29. Advertisement Though the tournament has only existed since 2019, it has already featured two playoffs. In 2021, Davis defeated Tony Merritt and Joaquín Niemann to claim his first title. In 2023, Rickie Fowler birdied the first hole of the playoff to hold off Collin Morikawa and Adam Hadwin. All prior champions of the tournament, with the exception of Bryson DeChambeau, who joined LIV Golf, have announced their participation in the tournament. The PGA Tour has been announcing new entrants as we get closer to tournament time. Among the commitments is Ryan Brehm, from Mount Pleasant, who helped Michigan State win three Big Ten championships from 2004-08. Advertisement Another Spartan also received a berth in the field as senior Ashton McCullough earned a sponsor's exemption to play in the tournament. McCullough is the career leader in scoring average for the Spartans with a mark of 71.59. Fans can purchase tickets at Grounds tickets start at $65 per day. Children ages 15 and under are free with ticketed adult (no more than four per adult). Rocket Classic 2025 field commitments list Keegan Bradley Ryan Brehm Brian Campbell Patrick Cantlay Luke Clanton Domonic Clemons (sponsor's exemption) Joel Dahmen Cameron Davis Tony Finau Matt Fitzpatrick Ricky Fowler Lucas Glover Ben Griffin Lanto Griffin Garrick Higgo Joe Highsmith Rasmus Højgaard Nicolai Højgaard Max Homa Zach Johnson Michael Kim Si Woo Kim Tom Kim Kevin Kisner Kurt Kitayama Michael La Sasso (sponsor's exemption) Nate Lashley Min Woo Lee Ashton McCulloch (sponsor's exemption) Collin Morikawa Aaron Rai Brandt Snedeker J.J. Spaun Jhonattan Vegas Karl Vilips Morikawa is the highest-ranked player in the field, No. 4 in the world. Follow more golf in Michigan at Stay connected and stay informed. Become a Detroit Free Press subscriber. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Rocket Classic 2025 field in Detroit: Who is playing in PGA Tour stop
USA Today
5 hours ago
- USA Today
Spartans listed as new favorite to beat out Wisconsin for priority 3-star WR prospect
Spartans listed as new favorite to beat out Wisconsin for priority 3-star WR prospect It's a battle between Michigan State and Wisconsin for a notable wide receiver prospect right now, and it appears things may be swaying in the Spartans' favor all of a sudden. A few weeks ago it looked like three-star wide receiver Zachary Washington was heading to Madison, Wisc. to continue his football career, but the latest intel from On3 suggests things may have shifted in the Spartans' favor. While Washington -- who hails from Wheaton, Ill. -- still has crystal ball predictions in favor of Wisconsin on 247Sports from last week, the Spartans are now listed as the clear-cut favorite to land his commitment on competitor recruiting site On3. On On3, Michigan State currently holds an 85% chance to land his commitment, while Wisconsin is only at 8% and West Virginia at 3%. Washington is a three-star prospect with an 87 recruiting rating on 247Sports. He ranks as the No. 111 wide receiver in the class and No. 883 overall prospect in the country. He is considered one of the top priorities at wide receiver for the Spartans in the 2026 class. Michigan State hosted Washington for an official visit last weekend, which came one week after he visited Wisconsin. He will reportedly take an official visit to West Virginia this weekend as well. There is no known commitment date for Washington at this time, but it sounds like these are the three teams he is focused on within his recruiting. So with all three official visits completed after this weekend, we could certainly see a college announcement coming in the next few weeks. Michigan State has been hot on the recruiting trail lately with eight commits since the start of June. The Spartans have seen their class move up the charts thanks to this latest flurry with Michigan State now ranking No. 34 nationally at the posting of this article. The addition of Washington to this class would only further this surge from the Spartans on the recruiting trail. Stay with Spartans Wire for additional updates and coverage on Washington's recruitment. Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on X @RobertBondy5.
