Michigan State women upset No. 4 Michigan at the Breslin Center

The Spartan women's basketball team came up with a huge home upset of the rival Wolverines

Michigan State's women's basketball team continued the university's recent run of success against the rivals from Ann Arbor, as the Spartans knocked off No. 4 Michigan, 63-57, on Thursday night.

Michigan State senior guard Nia Clouden led the way for the Spartans with 20 points on 7-of-15 shooting, while adding two rebounds, four assists and a steal.

Trailing 29-26 at halftime, the Spartans used a huge third quarter to seize control of the game, outscoring the Wolverines 23-11 in the frame. Clouden closed the quarter with a buzzer-beating triple to give Michigan State a nine-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Michigan closed to within two points in the final quarter, 49-47, with eight minutes left, but Spartan freshman Matilda Ekh hit a big three-pointer as the shot-clock expired to put MSU back up four points.

That wasn't the last big shot for Ekh. After the Wolverines had cut the gap back to one point again, 56-55, the freshman hit another dagger with 1:13 left in the game to put MSU back up by four. That appeared to be the killing blow for the Spartans, who closed out the final minutes and put the upset victory on ice.

A matchup of two of the best players in the Big Ten lived up to the hype, with Michigan State's Clouden doing her thing and Michigan's Naz Hillmon responding with 27 points, nine rebounds, two steals and a block. Still, the Spartans made Hillmon earn every one of those points, holding the Wolverine star to a 12-for-25 shooting performance.

Michigan State starting guard Tamara Farquhar finished with 11 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals. Starting forward Isaline Alexander, who was tasked with guarding Hillmon, had seven points, four rebounds, three blocks and a steal.

This marks the first win over an Associated Press Top 5 opponent for Michigan State women's basketball since Dec. 9, 2018 when they defeated No. 3 Oregon. The Spartans improve to 13-10 overall and 7-5 in Big Ten play after handing Michigan just its second loss in conference this season.