Friday, March 29, 2024

Women's basketball ready to welcome No. 19 Rutgers to Breslin Center

February 19, 2015
<p>Sophomore forward Aerial Powers looks to rebound Feb. 16, 2015, during the Play4Kay Breast Cancer Awareness game against Maryland at Breslin Center. The Spartans were defeated by the Terrapins, 75-69. Hannah Levy/The State News</p>

Sophomore forward Aerial Powers looks to rebound Feb. 16, 2015, during the Play4Kay Breast Cancer Awareness game against Maryland at Breslin Center. The Spartans were defeated by the Terrapins, 75-69. Hannah Levy/The State News

Photo by Hannah Levy | The State News

Rutgers’ last victory was at home in Piscataway, New Jersey, where they steamrolled Illinois.

Rutgers has done more than what was expected since leaving the Big East conference, generating the most successful invasion of any sport in the Big Ten.

But they’re not perfect.

Garnering four losses in conference play, including two against Maryland, double-digit defeats to the Terrapins and a 17-point slaughter by the hands of Ohio State in Columbus has the No. 19-ranked team in the country sitting third in the conference standings.

Averaging 70.4 points per game while reaching the 20-win mark for the 15th time underneath head coach C. Vivian Stringer’s tenure, the Scarlet Knights will conclude the season by traveling to East Lansing.

When they get here, they’ll face a Spartan squad haunted by a depleting roster with a superstar in the making.

Sophomore forward Aerial Powers’ ability to score from anywhere and her aggressiveness as a rebounder has impacted the Spartans so immensely that without her, MSU wouldn’t be in the current situation that they’re in.

Without Powers, who was named the 24th Spartan in the program to record her 1,000 career point, there wouldn’t be a possible NCAA tournament bid, there wouldn’t be a possible national invitation tournament bid and there wouldn’t be a possible Big Ten tournament run.

As a team, Spartans have showed supporters this season that they can battle through adversity and run with the best of the best in the conference.

That was seen at Breslin Center this past Monday when they nearly caused a court storming after knocking off the No. 5-ranked Terrapins.

Troubles from the charity stripe would lead to the six-point loss after failing to convert 11 missed free throws, six coming from Powers, but she did finish the night with a team-high 18 points.

Searching for that first quality victory since Dec. 21 when they took home a 89-76 win against then-No. 19 ranked Syracuse in the Florida Sunshine Classic, without a doubt, completing their last home game of the season with a win would give MSU the confidence they desperately need before traveling to Hoffman Estates, Illinois, for the conference tournament.

Betnijah Laney (16), Kahleah Copper (15.8) and Tyler Scaife (15.5) have combined for 47.3 points per game for the Scarlet Knights and should be a factor on the offensive side of the glass this weekend once again.

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