The first true road game for the Michigan State women’s basketball team ended with its first setback of the season.
The No. 20-ranked Spartans opened Big Ten play by suffering a 78-64 loss to Wisconsin on Sunday, Dec. 7 at the Kohl Center.
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MSU trailed 55-51 after the third quarter before being outscored 23-13 by the Badgers in the fourth. The Spartans shot just 31.3% (5-of-16) from the field in the final quarter.
“There’s a lot to learn,” MSU coach Robyn Fralick said. “You can learn when you’re winning, but when you lose and you lose like this I think it gets everybody’s attention and mostly mine. The biggest responsibility comes back to me so I’ve got to figure out how to get our team better and more ready for the next game.”
MSU (8-1, 0-1) was within three after a basket inside by Isa Alexander with 6:44 remaining made the score 61-58. But Wisconsin (7-3, 1-0) followed with a 10-2 run over the next four minutes to extend its lead to double figures which is where it stayed the remainder of the game. The Badgers shot 61.5% from the field (8-of-13) in the final quarter.
Kennedy Blair led the Spartans with a game-high 16 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Alexander was the lone other player in double figures and had 12 points and seven rebounds off the bench for MSU, which played a second straight game without injured starting guard and 2025 second team All-Big Ten selection Theryn Hallock.
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Kyrah Daniels and Gift Uchenna each had 14 points to lead a balanced attack for Wisconsin, which shot 45.8% (11-of-24) from behind the 3-point arc. Daniels knocked down 4-of-5 from the 3-point line. The Badgers, who outscored MSU in every quarter but the third, ended a two-game losing streak, bouncing back from losses to Ole Miss and James Madison to earn their first victory over a ranked opponent under first-year coach Robin Pingeton.
“Our toughness wasn’t good enough,” Fralick said. “Our ability to sit down and get stops and finish plays, grab rebounds — it wasn’t good enough. That’s what’s required over 40 minutes and we’ve got a lot of growth to do in that.”
The Spartans continue their six-game road swing and return to action at DePaul on Sunday, Dec. 14.
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Contact Brian Calloway at bcalloway@lsj.com. Follow him on X @brian_calloway and Bluesky @briancalloway.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Michigan State women’s basketball upset by Wisconsin in Big Ten opener
