Before the opening tip off, sophomore forward Aerial Powers was giving a standing ovation in front of the home crowd for her career setting record this past Wednesday.
Standing alongside head coach Suzy Merchant on center court, Powers was given a commemorative basketball in recognition of her 1,000 point scored against Penn State, making her the 24th player in Spartan history to reach the milestone.
A memorable moment for the No. 2 ranked player in the Big Ten in scoring before faced with the task of knocking off the fifth ranked program in the country 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.
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.
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.
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).
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