Women’s basketball’s first victory over a ranked program in more than two months couldn’t come at a better time with a week to go until the Big Ten tournament.
Currently sitting ninth in the conference standings and tied with Illinois after knocking off No. 20 Rutgers this past Sunday, the ideal scenario for the Spartans would be to receive an eighth seed in the tournament with two games remaining in the regular season.
The worst case scenario for MSU is to be forced on opening night at the Big Ten tournament at the , as an 11-14 seed March 4.
MSU did themselves a favor by coming away with the historic upset to garner the necessary confidence to end the year with a three-game win streak.
But first, they must topple the team who sits directly in the conference standings on Wednesday in Champaign, Illinois.
Sweep the season series against the Fighting Illini and the Spartans’ probability of storming the court next Thursday on the second day of action is lofty.
The schedule comes to a close this Saturday when MSU travels east to West Lafayette, Indiana, where they’ll visit Purdue, a likely first-day tournament participant, on senior day.
“Both are on the road and both are very tough places to play,” head coach Suzy Merchant said. “Your last one isn’t an indicator of your next one. Really, it’s just about we’ve got to finish strong. Illinois does a lot of really good stuff. They’re a tough matchup.”
The Illinois offense is anchored by a big three, that connected for almost 60 percent of the Fightining Illini’s total points per game this season.
AChatrice White (14.4), Kyley Simmons (10.2) and senior guard has been the go-to scorer and playmaker in the 22 games she has appeared in this season. Shooting 46 percent from the floor and 32 percent from beyond the arc, her 15.2 points a night is the highest total on the Illini and 12th in the Big Ten.
The Green and White will counter with Aerial Powers, the conference’s second-highest scorer, averaging 22.2 points a game. The sophomore forward would cement her credibility in the conference and on the national stage when she broke the MSU single-season scoring (600) and double-double record (20).
Powers is also averaging 11.9 rebounds per game. She was told following the upset victory against Rutgers that Scarlet Knights head coach C. Vivian Stringer admitted to a reporter that if she would do it all over again, she wouldn’t have showed much film on Powers, knowing that her players would be less intimidated before taking the court.
“Aerial Powers is an outstanding player. Just a great player,” Stringer said. “I think coach has done a great job utilizing her and (Tori) Jankoska. They complement each other very well, and she deserves all the credit.”
