How To Watch, Game Preview and Game Thread: #2 UCLA Bruins at #13 Michigan State Spartans
This evening, the #2 UCLA women’s basketball team will conclude their Michigan road trip when the Bruins visit the Michigan State Spartans. Tip-off is set for 5 pm PT and this evening’s game will be broadcast on NBC Sports Network (where available) and streamed on Peacock.
The Spartans are led by head coach Robyn Fralick. She’s in her third season at the helm for Michigan State. Fralick began her head coaching career a Division II Ashland in 2015. She led the Eagles to a remarkable 104-3 record over three seasons, which included a Division II Elite Eight and a 73-game winning streak. In her second season, the Eagles went 37-0 and won the Division II National Championship. In her final year, she brought them back to the title game, but that game ended the winning streak and denied the Eagles back-to back titles.
After three seasons with Ashland, Fralick moved on to Bowling Green for six seasons before taking the Michigan State job. The Spartans made it to the NCAA Tournament First Round in her first season in East Lansing and the Second Round last year.
So, clearly, Fralick is a very good coach who will have the Spartans ready to play tonight.
Last Time Out
Michigan State defeated Penn State on Saturday, 81-70. That win broke a two-game losing streak for the Spartans which saw the Spartans lose to Michigan and Maryland at home. The close Michigan loss came in overtime, 94-91, while they lost to Maryland by 16 points, 86-70.
Meanwhile, the Bruins won their 17th straight on Sunday against Michigan. It was UCLA’s closest win since their 82-75 win over Ohio State last month.
The Bruins suffered from a little bit of a slow start in the first quarter. With the score tied, 4-4, and 7:39 left in the quarter, the Wolverines went on a 6-0 run and soon, Michigan had a 10-4 lead. UCLA bounced back with a 7-2 lead of the own which cut the Wolverines’ lead to just a point with 1:22. Michigan’s Syla Swords hit a three with 40 seconds to go to stretch the lead to four, 15-11. Lauren Betts cut it back to two with the next bucket, and Mila Hollaway ended the quarter with a buzzer beater, giving Michigan a 17-13 lead after one.
UCLA won this game in the second quarter. In the first three minutes of the quarter, the Bruins eliminated Michigan’s lead to tie the game, 19-19. A layup by Betts gave UCLA the lead for good. When the half ended, the Bruins had 33-30 lead.
The second half saw UCLA outscore Michigan 21-15 in the third quarter and the Wolverines outscore the Bruins 21-15 in the fourth, which is why I wrote that UCLA won the game in the second quarter.
Of course, UCLA used the third to stretch their lead to as many as 13 when Gianna Kneepkens hit a jumper with 1:04 to go in the quarter. Though the Wolverines would cut the lead back to nine at the end of the third, 54-45.
The Bruins still had an 11-point lead with 2:24 to go. A 5-0 Michigan run cut the lead back to just six, 65-59 with 1:04 to left. With 43 seconds left, Kiki Rice was fouled and went to the line. After making the first free throw, she also landed the second. Ultimately, that second free throw would prove to be the game-winner, and it increased UCLA’s lead to eight points, 67-59.
Michigan’s Olivia Olson was fouled with 34 seconds left. While she made the first, she missed the second, and the Bruins led by seven. Rice was fouled again with 29 seconds left. Again, she was money, increasing the lead to nine.
Michigan added a three from Olson with the clock down to 23 seconds. Then, Rice turned the ball over leading to a Syla Swords three which cut the Bruin lead to just three with 16 ticks left.
After Olson fouled Gabriela Jaquez, Jaquez uncharacteristically missed both free throws even though she had only missed seven previous free throws this year.
That gave Michigan the ball with 13 seconds left. It was just enough time for Swords to try a three which would have tied the game, but it was no good and this one was over. UCLA had outlasted Michigan to take a two-game lead in the conference standings with five games including tonight’s game to play.
Four Bruins finished in double figures. Rice scored 20 to tie for the lead with Olson among all scorers and Betts added 16 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to earn the double-double. Jaquez put up 13 and Kneepkens scored 12.
Interestingly, Coach Close only used seven players in this game with Angela Dugalić and Sienna Betts being the only two bench players to see the floor.
It almost virtually assures the Bruins will win the Big Ten regular season title as both Michigan and Ohio State have two conference losses and UCLA beat both of those teams. So, the Bruins would have to lose three of the remaining five games in order to lose the conference title.
At the same time, if they were to lose three of five, they would almost certainly drop as from a likely #1 regional seed for the NCAA Tournament and, after the way they have played this season, it just seems unlikely.
Michigan State Spartans’ Starting Five
Fralick will probably start a lineup consisting of three guards and two forwards.
On the court, the Spartans are led by senior forward Grace VanSlooten, who is averaging 15.5 ppg. That’s good enough to rank 15th in the conference in scoring. She is second on the team in rebounds with an average of 6.8 rpg. The 6’ 2” VanSlooten also leads the Spartans in blocks with 24.
The other starting forward will be sophomore Inés Sotelo. She is the only Spartan starter who isn’t averaging in double figures. She averages jus 6.9 ppg.
All three guards are averaging in double figures. Redshirt sophomore Kennedy Blair leads them with an average of 13.7 ppg. She leads the team in rebounds with an average of 7.1 rpg despite being just 5’9” tall and a guard rather than a big. She is also fourth in the conference in assists, averaging 5.4 assists per game. Blair became a starter when Theryn Hallock went down with a foot injury earlier in the season.
Junior Rashunda Jones will also start at guard. She’s averaging 12.3 ppg and she is second in the Big Ten in steals with 58 this season. She is second on the team in assists with 90.
The final starter will be senior Jalyn Brown. She is averaging 10.9 ppg. She is the best three-point shooter among the starters. She’s made 19 of 50 attempts, giving her a three-point percentage of 38.0%. Her season-high 21 points came against Michigan.
Emma Shumate will likely be the first player off the bench for the Spartans. Not only has she played in every game, she is the reserve who averages the most minutes. While she only averages 6.9 ppg, she is deadly from long-range, from which she is shooting 43.6%. Her 51 threes and 117 three-point attempts are the most of any player on the Spartans’ roster.
Juliann Woodard and Marah Dykstra should also see significant playing time even though their contributions have been more limited.
Analysis
Since the Michigan loss was a rivalry game, the Penn State and Maryland games may be a better indicator of the Spartans “typical” games, both of which would seem to point to another double-digit Bruin victory.
After Sunday’s game against Michigan, the Bruins sure could use another 20-point win over a Top 15 opponent.
The big question here is: Which Spartan team will show up? Will it be the one that took Michigan to overtime before falling by three or will it be the one which lost to Maryland by 16, a team the Bruins beat by 30?
Personally, I think Coach Close will make sure the Bruins live up to “The Standard” and win this game big despite being on the road.
Watch and Listen to the Game With TMB
In addition to being broadcast on NBC Sports Network (where available) with Jen Cavnar and Kim Adams on the call, today’s game will be streamed on PeacockTV.com and the Peacock app. Of course, you can opt to listen to Dave Marcus with the audio call which will be streamed on uclabruins.com. To watch or listen online, just right-click on the links so that you can open up another tab and have it going while you chat in the comments below.
This is your #2 UCLA women’s basketball at the #13 Michigan State Spartans game thread. Here’s how to watch, listen and stream today’s game:
#2 UCLA Women’s Basketball (23-1, 13-0)
Opponent: #13 Michigan State Spartans (20-4, 9-4)
Series Record: Series tied, 2-2.
When: 5:00 pm PT, Wednesday, February 11, 2026
Where: Breslin Center, East Lansing, MI
TV: NBC Sports Network (where available) with Jen Cavnar and Kim Adams
Live Stream: PeacockTV.com and the Peacock App
Radio/Audio
Satellite Radio: Sirius Ch. 211 and XM Ch. 196 (UCLA Call)
Online: uclabruins.com with Dave Marcus
Live Stats: UCLA StatBroadcast
Game Notes:
UCLA
Go Bruins!!!
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Well, this posted much sooner than expected. I wasn't expecting it to post until 3:30 pm PT. Looks like it published at 3:30 pm ET instead. Most likely that's because I have been in DC the past few days. I just didn't think it would use local time. Oops! LOL
To nit pick, 7 TOs and no bench points.