Michigan State women’s basketball holds off USC to remain perfect at home

EAST LANSING — Kennedy Blair and the Michigan State women’s basketball team have consistently found different ways to win while getting off to the best start in program history.

That trend continued Thursday, Jan. 22, at Breslin Center.

Blair had a key three-point play in the final quarter for the No. 15-ranked Spartans as they weathered a late USC surge for a 74-68 victory over the Trojans.

“There’s segments of the game where we played really well and there were segments of the game where we didn’t, but at the end of the day we found a way to beat a really good team in USC,” MSU coach Robyn Fralick said.

Blair finished with a team-high 21 points for MSU as it bounced back from its road loss to Iowa on Jan. 18.

USC went on a 10-0 run in the middle stages of the fourth quarter to cut MSU’s lead to 66-64. Blair ended the run when she hit a basket while being fouled after a Grace VanSlooten offensive rebound and then converted a free throw. She and Rashunda Jones hit free throws down the stretch to help the Spartans (18-2, 7-2 Big Ten) close out the win.

“That’s a really good piece of us is that we’re really gritty and we just want to win,” Blair said. ” I think that everybody’s here for the right reasons and that’s really important for us going into these next couple games. We’re now at the point where we feel confident when we’re down three and a minute left. We can execute and we can take care of the ball.”

VanSlooten had 16 points and nine rebounds and Jones also had 16 points for MSU. Ines Sotelo added 12 points and seven rebounds.

Michigan State’s Kennedy Blair, left, gets a steal against USC’s Kennedy Smith, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026, in East Lansing.

Kara Dunn had a game-high 23 points and freshman Jazzy Davidson scored 21 points to lead USC, which arrived in East Lansing at 3:30 a.m. on Thursday due to plane mechanical issues.

MSU gained some separation in the early stages of the fourth quarter when it went on an 8-0 run to stretch its lead to 12. The Spartans, who made just three 3-pointers, got 3s from Jones and Jalyn Brown during that run to extend the lead. But USC (11-8, 3-5) answered with its press and countered with a 10-0 run in 41 seconds. Following a timeout, MSU regrouped.

“What I was proud of is we didn’t collapse,” Fralick said. “A lot of time in a game when something like that happens against a really good team, the game can shift pretty quickly, but we got our composure back, put together some stops, made some big plays and figured out how to beat a really good team.”

VanSlooten agreed.

“I think we all just want to win really bad,” VanSlooten said. “It’s our main focus and we’re going to do anything we can. It’s different every night and different for whatever team we’re playing, but we’re going to find a way to win. I’m just really proud of this team and our fight.”

MSU next plays at Purdue on Thursday, Jan. 29.

Contact Brian Calloway at bcalloway@lsj.com. Follow him on X @brian_calloway and Bluesky @briancalloway.