Michigan State women's basketball takes down Penn State to extend win streak

A balanced attack helped the Michigan State women’s basketball team extend its winning streak.

Nia Clouden had a team-high 16 points while helping the Spartans open an eastern road swing with a 79-58 victory over Penn State on Thursday evening.

The win was the third straight for the Spartans since suffering back-to-back losses to Purdue and Ohio State earlier this month.

"It's good to be on the road and get a win on the road," said MSU coach Suzy Merchant, who thought her team had one of its best efforts on both ends of the court. "Penn State is a difficult team to play because the pace they play. I thought we did a great job in transition defense and didn't give up a lot of easy opportunities for them. I thought we did a great job there and one the boards."

Matilda Ekh and Taiyier Parks each added 15 points for MSU (10-8, 5-3 Big Ten). DeeDee Hagemann added 13 points and nine assists and Alisia Smith scored 12 for the Spartans.

Makenna Marisa had a game-high 19 points to lead Penn State (9-9, 3-5).

MSU pulled away with a strong finish to the third quarter. Penn State was within five after Marisa hit a pair of free throws with 4:55 left in the quarter. A 3-pointer by Clouden kicked off a 17-4 run to close the period for the Spartans.

Ekh had eight points during the run, while Clouden had six points to help MSU gain control.

More: Matilda Ekh continuing to grow game in strong debut season for Michigan State women's basketball

Contact Brian Calloway at bcalloway@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @brian_calloway.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Michigan State women's basketball tops Penn State for third win in row