– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN — The match-up between rivals of the Wolverine State, no matter the sport, is special on its own. Having the women’s basketball teams meet as two of the Top 25 teams in the nation made it extra special on Saturday afternoon. What the Spartans did, especially in the second half away from home, turned the game into one of the most memorable wins in school history.
Theryn Hallock scored 23 of her 25 points in the second half while Julia Ayrault had 18 points and 13 rebounds as No. 21 Michigan State routed No. 24 Michigan 88-58 inside Crisler Center, the Spartans’ fifth consecutive victory. Michigan State shot 51 percent from the field and a scorching 61 percent in the second half (22-for-36) as the Spartans, who outscored the Wolverines 59-25 in the game’s final 20 minutes, recorded the biggest-ever win against Michigan in Ann Arbor in school history.
After trailing by four points at halftime, Michigan State caught fire early in the third quarter, making three 3-pointers in a 15-0 run in the first 4 1/2 minutes. The Spartans led 44-33 before Jordan Hobbs made two free throws for Michigan and 45-35 before the Wolverines made their first field goal of the third quarter.
Hallock made two layups and Ayrault and Grace VanSlooten also scored was the Spartans scored the next eight points for a 53-38 lead. Hallock hit a 3-pointer with 1 1/2 minutes to go in the third and her layup with four seconds left gave Michigan State a 60-45 lead before outscoring Michigan 28-13 in the fourth quarter.
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Saturday afternoon’s game, with photos taken by ALOST staff photographer Aaron J. Thornton. After clicking on a photo to enlarge the picture, press the left and right arrow buttons on either side of the caption to scroll through the rest of the pictures that appear on the first page. Also, click on the numbers and/or arrow appearing immediately below the picture grid to load the next set of photos. There are 15 pictures in total.
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