Michigan State University
3-0,0-0Big Ten
#15 Notre Dame
2-2,0-0ACC
Team Stats
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
Clouden Navigates No. 16 Michigan State To Knock Off No. 15 Notre Dame, 72-69
11/14/2019 10:52:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Sophomore guard nets career-high 28 points
NOTRE DAME, Ind. (AP) -- Nia Clouden scored a career-high 28 points and No. 16 Michigan State held off No. 15 Notre Dame's late rally for a 72-69 victory on Thursday night. The Spartans led wire-to-wire.
The sophomore guard Clouden made four 3-pointers and was 9-of-21 from the field. Taryn McCutheon added 12 points for Michigan State, which improved to 3-0 with the win.
Sam Brunelle and Katlyn Gilbert scored 19 points apiece to lead Notre Dame (2-2), which has lost two straight games.
The Irish rallied from a 13-point deficit late in the third quarter, using a 15-5 run to pull to 58-57 with 5:30 to play. Victoria Gaines made a layup and Tory Ozment added a 3 and to stretch the Spartans' lead to 63-57 with about three minutes remaining in the game.
The Spartans missed their first four shots before a Clouden trey gave MSU a 3-0 lead. The sophomore would hit three-straight 3-pointers to give MSU the 9-2 lead with 7:22 left in the first quarter, as the Irish called an early timeout. MSU took its first double-digit lead after an Ozment trey to give the Spartans a 15-4 advantage. The MSU run increased to 8-0 and 14-2 over 4:05. The Irish fought back and ended the quarter on 6-0 run to trim the MSU lead to 17-10. Michigan State made five treys in the first quarter.
A Katlyn Gilbert bucket  made it a 21-20 game mid-way through the second period, but MSU scored the next five to take a 26-20 lead. In the second quarter, the Irish out-scored the Spartans 16-15, but MSU led after 20 minutes 32-26.
In the third quarter, Clouden started much like in the first with six points in the first four minutes. MSU took its first double digit lead of the second quarter after a pair of Clouden free throws 45-35. Brunelle hit one of her two clutch 3-pointers with 30 seconds left in the third to keep Notre Dame within striking distance, 53-44.
The Irish chipped away at the Spartan lead in the final stanza, getting the deficit down to one on two different occasions. A 3-pointer by Brunelle got the Irish within 70-69 with 10 seconds left, but McCutcheon made a pair of free throws to seal it for the Spartans.
Post-Game Notes vs. Notre Dame
• Sophomore guard Nia Clouden set a new career high with 28 points in the win. Her previous high was 27 in a win against Iowa on Dec. 30, 2018. She also set a new career high with four three-pointers. She also added three rebounds and three steals.
• This was Michigan State's first win against Notre Dame since an 82-73 overtime win in South Bend on Dec. 2, 2004. Overall, the Spartans trail the series 11-10 and snapped a seven-game losing streak.
• MSU won the battle of the boards, 39-30 led by six from seniors Nia Hollie and Victoria Gaines.
• The Spartans reached double digits in steals for the third-straight game with 17 against Eastern Michigan (Nov. 5), 19 against Detroit Mercy (Nov. 8) and 12 against No. 15 Notre Dame.
• MSU has won 140 of its last 158 games when scoring at least 70 points, and MSU is 158-27 under head coach Suzy Merchant when hanging at least 70 points on the scoreboard.Â
• The Spartans start the season 3-0 for the fifth-straight season. During the 2013-14 and 2014-15 season, Notre Dame was the team that handed Michigan State its first losses of the season.
• The Spartans have been extremely effective closing out games over the last couple years, winning 196 of their last 208 games (.942) when leading with five minutes left, including 146 of their last 160. In Coach Merchant's tenure, Michigan State.Â