Clouden sparks Mich. State in 63-57 win over No. 4 Michigan

Posted February 10, 2022 6:00 am

By JAYNA BARDAHL

Michigan State's Taiyier Parks, center, and Michigan's Maddie Nolan, left, and Emily Kiser (33) vie for the ball during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022, in East Lansing, Mich. (AP Photo/Al Goldis) The Associated Press

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Nia Clouden spurred a third-quarter comeback, and Michigan State stunned rival No. 4 Michigan 63-57 on Thursday night.

One person was 'œnot surprised,'ť and that was Michigan State coach Suzy Merchant.

'œNia has been a great leader and she wasn't going to step off this floor without taking a win,'ť Merchant said.

The Spartans (13-10, 7-5 Big Ten) snapped the Wolverines' eight-game win streak. Michigan (20-3, 11-2 Big Ten) shot 40.4% from the field, its lowest since losing to Nebraska on Jan. 4. The Spartans finished with a 46% mark.

Naz Hillmon had 27 points and nine rebounds for the Wolverines, who played their second straight game without senior leader Leigha Brown. Danielle Rauch finished with 12 points as the only other Wolverine to score in double digits.

No bench players scored for Michigan compared to the Spartans' 15 points off the bench.

'œWe're trying to find our identity,'ť Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico said. 'œWe lost an all-conference player for the second game, who is our leading guard scorer and is a dynamic player. I think we're trying to figure out where we can make up 15 points per game.'ť

Clouden was the Spartans' leading scorer with 20 points, while Tamara Farquhar had 11 points and Dee Dee Hagemann had seven rebounds and nine assists.

At the half, Michigan held the 29-26 edge. Clouden came out hot after the break, scoring 13 in the third quarter alone.

After a cold 0-for-6 start, Matilda Ekh sealed Michigan State's win by going 2 for 2 for the 3-poin line in the fourth quarter.

STAT OF THE NIGHT

It was Michigan State's first win against an AP top 5 team since Dec. 9, 2018, when the Spartans beat then-No. 3 Oregon.

UP NEXT

Michigan State: At No. 7 Indiana on Saturday.

Michigan: At Northwestern on Sunday.

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More AP women's college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

Michigan State's Nia Clouden, right, drives against Michigan's Laila Phelia during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022, in East Lansing, Mich. (AP Photo/Al Goldis) The Associated Press

Michigan State's Alisia Smith, left, and Taiyier Parks, center, knock the ball away from Michigan's Naz Hillmon, right, during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022, in East Lansing, Mich. (AP Photo/Al Goldis) The Associated Press

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