No. 1 UCLA bounces back from 1st loss of season to edge No. 22 Michigan State 75-69 without Betts

LOS ANGELES — Timea Gardiner hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 44 seconds remaining to help top-ranked UCLA avoid its second loss of the week by edging No. 22 Michigan State 75-69 on Sunday night.

Michigan State’s Nyla Hampton appeared to get fouled by Kendall Dudley late, but there was no call. An angered Spartans coach Robyn Fralick was called for a technical with 17 seconds left.

Kiki Rice hit both free throws to give UCLA (24-1, 12-1 Big Ten) a 73-69 lead. She made two more foul shots in the closing seconds and finished with 16 points and seven assists. Gardiner also scored 18 points.

Theryn Hallock scored 19 points to lead Michigan State (19-6, 9-5) and Julia Ayrault added 18 points. The Spartans fell to 1-6 against No. 1 teams.

The Bruins were without starting center Lauren Betts, who wore a boot on her injured right foot. Janiah Barker started in place of the Big Ten’s second-leading scorer and had 18 points and 12 rebounds.

UCLA’s 23-game winning streak was snapped 71-60 by JuJu Watkins and sixth-ranked USC on Thursday.

Takeaways

Michigan State: The Spartans led by four with under 4 minutes to play but managed just two free throws the rest of the game.

UCLA: The Bruins steadied themselves after trailing by four points in the fourth. They outscored the Spartans 12-2 down the stretch.

Key moment

The Spartans outscored the Bruins 22-12 in the third when they rallied from 10 points down to lead for the first time and were up 55-53 going into the fourth. UCLA was 3 of 10 from the floor and went 4:09 without a basket. They stayed close by making all six of their free throws.

Key stat

UCLA edged the Spartans on the boards, 32-28.

Up next

Michigan State visits No. 6 USC and Watkins on Wednesday night. UCLA hosts Illinois on Thursday night.