Grace VanSlooten shined on the big stage once again.
And she was a key reason the Michigan State women’s basketball team survived an upset bid by Colorado State.
VanSlooten had a double-double as the No. 5 seed Spartans held on for a 65-62 victory over No. 12 seed Colorado State in an opening-round NCAA tournament game Friday, March 20, at the University of Oklahoma.
Colorado State (27-8) missed the potential game-tying 3 as time expired.
“It was a heck of a game,” MSU coach Robyn Fralick said. “I’m proud of our group, We really didn’t get any momentum. We didn’t shoot the ball well. We didn’t shoot free throws well. We’ve been a good free-throw shooting team. We didn’t get discouraged. I’m proud of our group for when the game was unrhythmic for grinding out a tough win.”
VanSlooten had 18 points and 10 rebounds for her third career double-double in her third NCAA tournament game while helping MSU (23-8) advance to face either Oklahoma in the second round at 8 p.m. Sunday, March 22. It marks the second straight season the Spartans have won their opening-round NCAA tournament game.
Kennedy Blair had 18 points and Jalyn Brown finished with 13 points for MSU, which won overcame a night where it shot 39.7% from the field, 19% from 3-point range and 61.1% from the free-throw line to extend its stay in the NCAA tournament.
MSU, which played from behind for a large stretch, took the lead with 9:01 remaining on a 3-pointer by Brown. That gave the Spartans their first lead since the middle stages of the second quarter and they maintained it the remainder of the way. The Spartans led by as much as six in the fourth and got big baskets by Blair and Ines Sotelo and a key free throw by VanSlooten over the final 3:22 while securing the win.
“They just were a really scrappy team,” VanSlooten said. “I think they came out and kind of punched us first and it took us a while to get back on our feet. They just obviously really wanted it.
“Once we decided to guard and decided that we wanted it more than them that’s kind of when the game turned.”
Brooke Carlson had a game-high 26 points to lead Colorado State, which played without leading scorer Lexus Bargesser. Kloe Froebe was also in double figures with 12 points for the Rams, which entered the matchup on a nine-game winning streak.
“Congrats to Michigan State, I thought they played a tough fourth quarter,” Colorado State coach Ryan Williams said. “I couldn’t be more proud of my squad. Holy cow did we battle. They did everything that we asked them to do tonight. Just a few plays here or there and we’re probably having a different conversation.”
Contact Brian Calloway at bcalloway@lsj.com. Follow him on X @brian_calloway and Bluesky @brian_calloway.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: MSU women’s basketball survives upset bid, tops Colorado State
Reporting by Brian Calloway, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
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