"I was very excited," Powers said when asked to describe the emotions he felt during the pregame ceremonies. "I don't know, I never thought that it was that big of a deal, I was just happy."

A memorable moment for the No. 2 ranked player in the Big Ten in scoring before faced with the task of knocking off the No. 5 ranked program in the nation at the Breslin Center. 

Maryland, who came into Monday night's contest undefeated in conference play and having losing just twice this season, would go on a 14-2 run midway through the second half to avoid the upset on the road, 75-69. 

"You can't shoot 39 percent from the free throw line (7-of-18) and leave 11-points against the fifth ranked team in the country and think you're going to win the game," Merchant said. "Have to step up there and knock them down. But that's a good team obviously."

MSU appeared to not be fazed from the last time these two programs squared off on the hardwood, with the Terrapins (23-2, 14-0 Big Ten) battling their way towards a 29-point margin of victory in College Park less than a month ago. 

The Spartans (12-14, 4-11 Big Ten) would garner three lead changes in the first half, with their first coming with 11:36 on the clock following an Anna Morrissey bucket from beyond the arc. 

They would go down as much as nine with 1:12 remaining after a Lexie Brown layup. Maryland would complete the half by going on a 11-3 before heading to the locker room. 

Brown, the 5-foot-9 sophomore guard, finished with 14-points and eight assists. Brionna Jones and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough each finished the game with a team-high 15-points for the Terrapins. 

"Not one of our better performances," Maryland head coach Brenda Frese said. "So I'm proud of the fact that we found a way to hang in there to be able to get a really difficult road win.

"The credit goes to Michigan State. I thought they were the more aggressive team and they played hard and were scrappy."

Six lead changes in the middle of the second half blew the roof off the arena, bringing a sense of optimism that MSU could run away with their first victory against a top 25 opponent since then No. 19 ranked Syracuse back on December, 21. 

It took Maryland just three-minutes to crush that hope after a Tierney Pfirman layup would give the first-year Big Ten participants their first double-digit lead of the night. 

They would command a comfortable lead until the final minute mark when a Becca Mills three-pointer cut the Maryland lead to five with 18 seconds remaining. Pfirman would later miss both free throws on the following possession, but a Laurin Mincy put back sealed the deal. 

Powers, the Detroit Country Day graduate, led the green-and-white in points (18) and rebounds (six) while finishing 8-of-21 from the floor and 1-of-7 from the free throw line. Mills and Tori Jankoska each posted 14-points on the night with Cara Miller recording 10. 

"Its a great feeling to have everyone contribute," Powers said. "And that's why it kind of stinks that we lost because we actually had people contributing."

MSU will get six days off before hosting their final home game of the season against No. 19 ranked Rutgers, who currently sits in third place in the conference standings (19-6, 10-4 Big Ten).