Tuesday was a night filled with victory for MSU Women’s Basketball as senior guard Tori Jankoska became the program's new all-time leading scorer and the team defeated Ohio State University, 94-75.
Jankoska scored 42 points against the Buckeyes to overtake Ariel Powers' record of 1,817 career points. Janoska now has a total of 1,853 career points after the OSU game.
From the moment Jankoska stepped on the court, her accomplishing this milestone seemed inevitable. The team captain dropped two 3-pointers and a layup, and as of 6 minutes and 53 seconds left in the first quarter she bested Powers' record and was already the all-time leading scorer. The Breslin stood up in standing ovation for Jankoska, and her team surrounded and congratulated her during the timeout.
No. 11 Ohio State is known for their fast moving, scoring able offense, but the Spartan defense was putting in work. The Buckeyes had three turnovers in the first quarter that gave the Spartan offense opportunity to score the ball. Jankoska scored 19 points in the first quarter.
The Spartans didn’t let up in the following quarters, with the dominance of Jankoska the Spartan offense was thriving. Forward, Taya Reimer was big reason the defense was able to stop OSU from scoring. She had 4 defensive rebounds in the first half, accompanied by 2 blocks and a steal. Senior, Branndais Agee was a big help scoring as well with 16 points and 9 rebounds to finish the game.
MSU had a very accurate night for 3-point shooting. In the first half they successfully shot 62.5% from behind the arc. At the hands of Jankoska and redshirt freshman Victoria Gaines, they were 6-of-7 and 85.7% for 3-pointers in the first quarter. The Spartans hit 13 total 3-point shots. Gaines finished the night with 11 points, 5 rebounds and an assist.
The Spartans lead the game from the very beginning and even held a lead as big a 20 points during the third quarter. During the fourth quarter OSU tried to turn up the physicality with the Spartans by double teaming Jankoska and freshman, Taryn McCutcheon. During the last minutes, the referees seemed to be missing some key calls which worked in favor of the Buckeyes. Jankoska accomplished another milestone by breaking the record for most points scored in a single game with 42 points.
However, the deficit was too much to overcome, and the Spartans were able to down the Buckeyes. The Spartans are now 3-1 for Big Ten conference play, and they will play at Rutgers next Saturday at 12 p.m.
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