EAST LANSING, Mich. – In a game that had 18 lead changes, the Michigan State women’s basketball team dropped an 84-81 heartbreaker to No. 10/9 Iowa on Wednesday night at the Breslin Center.
With the loss, Michigan State falls to 10-9 overall and 2-6 in Big Ten play, having dropped four-straight. Iowa improves to 15-4 overall and 7-1 in league contests. MSU falls to 0-3 in overtime contests this season.
For the first time this season, the Spartans had two players with double-doubles with senior guard Moira Joiner and sophomore forward Isaline Alexander both scoring 11 points and bringing down 10 board. Overall, MSU had four players in double figures with graduate guard Kamaria McDaniel leading the way with 23 points. Sophomore guard/forward Matilda Ekh also added 13 points, adding a season-high fiver assists.
The Hawkeyes were led by All-American Caitlin Clark who scored a game-high 26 points.
The Iowa offense got off to its typical fast start, taking a 12-7 lead before MSU responded to cut it to a 12-11 game with under five left in the first quarter. The Hawkeyes went over four minutes without a field goal before Monika Czinano beat the buzzer at the end of the quarter to lead 18-13. Czinano led all scorers with six points in the first period.
Michigan State fought hard in the second quarter staying within striking distance. Freshman guard Abbey Kimball had a solid first half for MSU with seven points. Michigan State used a 7-0 run to tie the score 29-29 with 1:17 left in the half after an Alexander layup. The Spartans took their first lead of the game, 32-31, with a McDaniel half court shot as time expired. Iowa was held without a field goal for the final 3:29.
Iowa hit back-to-back treys to tie the score 39-39 at the 7:13 mark in the third quarter. Michigan State made three of its last four baskets of the quarter to lead, 58-54, heading into the final period. The Spartan got balanced scoring throughout the third period with six different players scoring. Ekh went 2-for-2 from beyond the arc and 2-for-2 from the charity stripe to lead MSU with eight points in the stanza.
In the fourth quarter, Iowa used an 8-0 run to re-take the lead 64-62 before a Joiner bucket tied it again. Michigan State would take as big a lead as six points in the period, but the Hawkeyes didn’t go away. There were five lead changes in the period, as McDaniel nailed a pair of free throws to send the game to overtime.
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