"For our kids to come in and sweep them since 2000 back when they were in elementary school is a great accomplishment," Michigan head coach Kim Barnes-Arico said. "I'm really proud that we were able to do that."

Despite being loaded with two of the top five leading scorers in the Big Ten in Aerial Powers (No. 2) and Tori Jankoska (No. 5), the duo was held to a combined 31-points, 25 of those coming from Powers. 

Scoring 19 of her points in the second half, the Country Day graduate mentioned that she changed her tempo in the locker room while being down by 16 , switching to a more aggressive style of basketball to generate a comeback. 

"I told my team at the end of the half that I was going to be way more aggressive because we weren't hitting our shots," Powers said. "I was going to be aggressive but still look for them to make shots."

Jankoska, who is the reigning Big Ten player of the week after scoring a career-high 28-points last week against Indiana, shot a mere 2-of-8 from the floor, failing to sink her first field-goal until the 10-minute mark in the second half.

"We started the game with Shannon Smith on [Jankoska] and just not letting her touch the ball and face guarding her," Barnes-Arico said. "We thought that would be a pretty game plan and Shannon really loves that challenge in stepping up to that."

Michigan's last win outside of Ann Arbor was back in January, 17 against Northwestern. Even with the odds stacked against them, a 20-2 run in the first half was enough to hold MSU's resurgence late in the second, led by Powers.

The Detroit native, who sat on the bench for just two minutes due to a lack of numbers on the bench for head coach Suzy Merchant, was able to keep the motor running, cutting the deficit to as low as nine with more than four minutes remaining.

Anna Morrissey, the 5-foot-10 senior guard, followed suit by pulling up for a wide opened three from beyond the arc to decrease the Wolverines' lead to six two minutes later, her only bucket of the evening.

It's been a continuous pattern for the Spartans, failing to find more contributors outside from the "Big Three" in Powers, Jankoska and Becca Mills to win close games down the stretch. 

Merchant says that there should be more chances for others to convert field-goals as their top scorers are almost always garnering double teams from opponents. 

"We have got to get more people to make some shots," Merchant said. "People are just double teaming Aerial and Tori every time they get the ball. I mean, Becca isn't really a factor in terms of what they're doing to her, but you have to put five people out there."

Powers also led the Spartans in rebounds (15) and finishing second behind Jankoska in assists (four).

Katelynn Flaherty and Cyesha Goree were the leading scorers for the Wolverines, finishing with 19 and 17-points each. Goree also led the maize-and-blue with 10-rebounds. Mills contributed 10-points, seven of which came in the first half.

The frustrating loss at the Breslin Center for the Spartans ends their two-game home win streak, which began with a victory over Wisconsin on the 25th of last month.

They'll have a couple days off before hitting the road to face Minnesota, who have lost just twice this season in front of the home crowd.

"I'm just thinking about this game to be honest with you," Merchant said when asked about preparing for the Golden Gophers. "It was a disappointing night tonight."