East Lansing, MI (My Sportsbook) - Aisha Jefferson scored 20 points in leading the ninth-seeded Michigan State Spartans to a 60-59 win over the eighth-seeded Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Kalisha Keane added 13 points and Cetera Washington scored 12 for the Spartans (21-10), who will face top-seeded Duke in the second round.

Alysha Clark led Middle Tennessee (28-6) with 34 points, but she was held scoreless over the final 11 minutes and fouled out with less than two minutes to play.

Clark shot 10-of-17 from the floor in the first half, helping spot the Blue Raiders a six-point halftime lead.

Middle Tennessee led by seven with three-and-a-half minutes remaining in regulation. But Michigan State rallied back, eventually taking the lead on a three-pointer by Mia Johnson with 1:10 left to play. The Blue Raiders never got a shot off during their final possession.

The Spartans are back in the tournament for the sixth time in the last seven seasons, after missing the field last year in coach Suzy Merchant's first season. A second-round matchup with Duke pits the Spartans against former head coach Joanne P. McCallie, who left to coach the Blue Devils two years ago.