Freshmen lead No. 24 Notre Dame women past Michigan St 76-71

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Freshman Sonia Citron scored a career-high 29 points, classmate Olivia Miles missed a triple-double by two assists and No. 24 Notre Dame edged Michigan State 76-71 in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge on Thursday night.

Miles had 11 points and 11 rebounds for her third double-double for the Fighting Irish (7-1), who are 7-1 in the challenge and 12-9 against Michigan State. Dara Mabrey scored 10 points and Maya Dodson had six blocks. Citron was 9 of 12 from the field with three 3-pointers and 8 of 8 from the line.

Nia Clouden led the Spartans (6-3), who are 6-7 in the challenge, with 20 points for her sixth straight 20-point game. She also had six rebounds, six assists and three steals. Freshman Matilda Ekh added a career-high 17 points, Moira Joiner had 14 and Alyza Winston 12.

Winston and Clouden produced an 8-0 run to help Michigan State take a 23-21 lead after one quarter. Citron had a 3 in a 9-0 run and the Irish led 36-34 at halftime.

The lead was 55-50 after three quarters and Citron scored four points and Miles had a layup in a 6-0 run for a 65-55 lead midway through the fourth. The Spartans couldn't get closer than five after that as Citron hit a 3 and four free throws in the last 2 1/2 minutes.

Notre Dame had a 45-34 rebounding advantage and Michigan State, despite going 10 for 25 from 3-point range, shot just 36% after coming in making half its shots.

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