But on the final home game of the year for the Spartans, Williams would get the nod from head coach Suzy Merchant to be slotted into the starting lineup. 

Along with Williams, Kendra Lumpkin, seniors Kendra Lumpkin, Kelsey Kuipers, Anna Morrissey and Becca Mills were honored after the weekend matinee.  

Having her name called by the public address announcer brought the crowd to their feet in support of Williams, one of five seniors honored at the Breslin Center on Senior Day, a day that would see an MSU upset of No. 19 Rutgers 60-50.

"I didn't tell anyone, even my parents," Williams said about her role in the starting lineup. "But something about wearing the Spartans across your chest and having your numbers and your name, to me, it means something."

Despite losing the opening tip off and being immediately taken out by freshman Lexi Gussert, it was the one shining moment that Williams deserved after not seeing the court all season. 

Still searching for that first quality win since their Dec. 21 victory against then No. 22 ranked Syracuse, first-year Big Ten participant and No. 19 Rutgers stood in the way of MSU finishing their final home stand with a win. 

Almost knocking off No. 5 ranked Maryland at home this past Monday, the Spartans would capitalize on scoring opportunities and not letting Rutgers to gain ground late in the second half.

"I thought [Rutgers] did a good job in turning up the heat on us in the second half and causing us a little bit of ruckus," Merchant said. "I'm proud that our kids stayed in the fight and found a way."

The Spartans stormed out right of the gates with a head of steam by garnering their largest lead in the first half of eight at the 10:50 mark, following sophomore Tori Jankoska's second converted three-pointer. 

Leading in the points column for almost 18-minutes in the first half, Rutgers would cut the deficit to as low as one following Syessence Davis' wide opened triple at the top of the arc. MSU would later go on an 9-2 run to give them an 17-9 advantage. 

Jankoska's free throw with 3:41 left in the second half providing the team with a 14-point lead, their largest of the afternoon. It would be a sizable enough cushion for MSU to stay on top, despite Rutgers going on a 9-1 run shortly after to cut the lead to six with 1:48 remaining. 

Jankoska led the Spartans in points with 21 while also grabbing eight rebounds. She was 2-of-7 from behind the three-point line but was 7-of-8 from the charity stripe, an area that proved to be detrimental during MSU's loss to the Terrapins. 

"We were playing with nothing to lose," Jankoska said. "I don't think we felt pressure because we don't play very well under pressure We just have the mentality of refusing to lose, we come out and give it our best shot and hope that it can happen."

Forward Aerial Powers broke former WNBA standout Liz Shimek's single-season scoring record (597) at the 2:06 mark in the second half after converting a free throw. 

It would be one of two accomplishments achieved by the Detroit native. The sophomore also broke the single-season double-double record with 20 after recording 18 points and 18 rebounds. 

"I get mad at myself because there was two games in which I could have did it before" Powers said in response to breaking the double-double record. "But I'm still happy."