EAST LANSING, Mich. -  Second-half scoring troubles hampered the Michigan State women's basketball team, falling to No. 18/19 Michigan, 77-67, in front of overall 9,000 fans at the Breslin Center on Sunday afternoon on National Girls and Women in Sports Day.

MSU's celebrated its field hockey, cross country/track & field, gymnastics, women's soccer, volleyball and cheer and dance teams at half time.
 
Michigan State played their third-straight game without head coach Suzy Merchant, who missed the game due to a medical incident.
 
The Spartans have now lost three-straight games, falling to 11-12 overall and 3-9 in Big Ten action. Michigan improved to 19-5 overall and 9-4 in conference play.

Three Spartans reached double figures led by 12 points from both senior guard Moira Joiner and sophomore guard/forward Matilda Ekh. Joiner also set a new career high with six steals. Sophomore guard DeeDee Hagemann had another solid game with 11 points, a season-high nine assists and a career-high six steals.

Michigan was a led by Leigha Brown who had a double-double with 29 points and 12 rebounds.
 
Michigan State scored the first 10 points of the game highlighted by 3-pointers from Ekh and Joiner, leading to an early U-M timeout at the 7:04 mark. A 3-point play from senior guard Tory Ozment at the 3:38 mark gave MSU as 12-point advantage, which was its biggest lead of the game. The Wolverines battled back from the slow start and cut it to a 21-15 game by the end of the first quarter. Joiner led the Spartan with seven points in the first 10 minutes.  

In the second quarter, the Spartans went over two minutes without a field goal and Michigan cut it two a two-point game 25-23. As the Michigan State offense went cold, the Wolverines used a 6-0 run over 1:42 to tie the score for the first time since the start of the game. MSU was able to return the favor at the end of the half scoring the final six points to lead 40-33 at the midway point.

The Wolverines scored eight of the first nine points of the second half to tie the game. A Brown 3-pointer gave Michigan its first lead of the game with 5:57 remaining in the period. U-M took as big a lead as four points, but MSU kept finding a response. The Wolverines dominated the third period out-scoring the Spartans 23-15 in the period, but MSU only trailed 56-55 heading in the fourth quarter after a Hagemann half-court shot at the buzzer.

In the fourth quarter, the Wolverines scored the first 10 points of the period to put the game away. Michigan took as big a lead as 13 points, and MSU couldn't find an answer to the combination of Brown and Maddie Nolan. The Spartans shot only 21.7 percent in the fourth period going 5-for-23 from the field. 

Michigan State hits the road to take on Wisconsin on Wednesday, Feb. 8 at 7:30 p.m. (ET).
 
Michigan State Women's Basketball Post-Game Notes: vs. Michigan
 
• Sunday's Spartan starting five of graduate guard Kamaria McDaniel, sophomore guard DeeDee Hagemann, sophomore guard/forward Matilda Ekh, senior guard Moira Joiner and sophomore forward Isaline Alexander was the fourth-straight game that MSU started with that line-up and are now 1-3 with that line-up to open the game ... overall, it was one of MSU's seven different line-ups this season.
 
• Sophomore guard DeeDee Hagemann played all 40 minutes of regulation on Sunday, the first time a Spartan player has done so this season excluding games that went to overtime. 
 
• In the Spartans' 12 losses this season, nine of the 12 defeats have come by a margin of 10 points or less. Despite a seven-point halftime advantage, MSU was defeated by Michigan on Sunday, Feb. 5 by a score of 77-67. 

• Sophomore guard DeeDee Hagemann tallied a season-high nine assists during Sunday's contest. 
 
• With a trio of three-pointers on Sunday, sophomore guard/forward Matila Ekh moved into 11th all-time at Michigan State with 126 career baskets from beyond the arc, passing Branndais Agee (124, 2013-18). Next up for Ekh is No. 10 Annalise Pickrel (138, 2010-14), who currently serves as the team's strength & conditioning coach. 

• Senior guard Moira Joiner and sophomore guard DeeDee Hagemann each registered a career-high six steals against Michigan on Feb. 5 as the Spartans forced the Wolverines into 20 turnovers. Michigan State tallied 17 steals, the third-most in a game for the Spartans this season and the second-most in Big Ten contests behind an 18-steal performance against Nebraska on Feb. 2.