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Sports | Basketball

BASKETBALL

Women's basketball upsets Rutgers 70-60

Zach Libby
February 22, 2015

Tears were shed and standing ovations were received before the opening possession occurred on Sunday.  Battling with an ACL on both of her knees, redshirt senior Madison Williams has spent the entirely of this season sitting on the bench, cheering for her teammates day in and day out.  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.  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.  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.

BASKETBALL

Halftime: Women's basketball leads Rutgers 27-20

Zach Libby
February 22, 2015

The Spartans supporters rose to their feet on two separate occasions before a single point was even scored.  Both times for a player who made her first appearance on the court this season.  Madison Williams, the senior who has been battling an ACL tear on both of her knees, got the start at center on Senior Day.

BASKETBALL

Tickets go on sale for Big Ten women's basketball tournament

Zach Libby
February 21, 2015

A complete turnaround for the Spartans since the end of last year has finally taken shape with three games remaining of the regular-season.  And it's not for the better.  Unlike the 2014 program who fought their way to the second round of the NCAA tournament before falling short to North Carolina, MSU's long and treacherous journey in hopes of receiving a bid at The Big Dance starts at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Ill, the site of the 2015 Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament.  If the season ended today, Suzy Merchant's squad would face last place Penn State in the first round as an 11th seed.

BASKETBALL

Women's basketball ready to welcome No. 19 Rutgers to Breslin Center

Zach Libby
February 19, 2015

To put the Rutgers' season into perspective, read the plot line of the Friday the 13th movie.  Rutgers, otherwise known as Jason Voorhees, the hockey mask wearing serial killer who stalks and torments camp counselors, is the metaphor to how well the first-year Big Ten conference participant have performed since joining the conference.    Just like Voorhees, the body count is towering this year for the Scarlet Knights, winners of eight of the last 10 games.

MEN'S BASKETBALL

Halftime: men's basketball leads U-M 38-23

Omari Sankofa II
February 17, 2015

Ann Arbor, Mich. It took MSU five 3-point tries before their first make. But when senior guard Travis Trice sank a triple with 13:46 seconds left in the first half, the proverbial lid came off for MSU. The Spartans made 5-of-13 3-pointers and shot 59.3 percent in first half against rival U-M Tuesday night and lead 38-23 at halftime.

BASKETBALL

Women's basketball comes close to pulling off upset, still falls to Maryland

Zach Libby
February 16, 2015

Before the opening tip off, sophomore forward Aerial Powers was gven 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.  "I was very excited," Powers said when asked to describe the emotions he felt during the pregame ceremonies.

BASKETBALL

Women's basketball drops game to Maryland 75-69

Zach Libby
February 16, 2015

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.

MEN'S BASKETBALL

It's ValenTIME

John Neidhart
February 16, 2015

After missing a game-winning point against Illinois, junior guard Denzel Valentine found redemption in a 3-pointer against Ohio State — appropriately enough on Valentine's Day.

BASKETBALL

Aerial Powers on midseason watch list for Dawn Staley Award

Zach Libby
February 15, 2015

15 other players are in the running for the award, but Aerial Powers' dominance on the basketball court in recent weeks will give her the necessary boost to claim the hardwood at the end of the season.  Powers, who became the 24th Spartan in history to record over 1,000 points on Wednesday following the road victory against Penn State, was named to the midseason watch list for the Dawn Staley Award earlier this month. Given to the most outstanding collegiate guard in the country who exemplifies the skills that Staley endowed during her career, including ball handling, scoring and the ability to distribute the basketball. The Detroit native is one of four players from the Big Ten who were named to the watch list, along with Ohio State's Kelsey Mitchell, Rutger's Tyler Scaife and Samantha Logic of Iowa.  The sophomore's 26-points in Happy Valley puts her 33-points behind Liz Shimek (2002-06) for the MSU single-season scoring record.

BASKETBALL

Aerial Powers records 1,000 career point in win over PSU

Zach Libby
February 12, 2015

Two remarkable events occurred on Wednesday night with 9:27 left on the clock in the second half. Standing at the free throw line as the screams from the home crowd in Happy Valley echoed throughout the arena, Aerial Powers drained her first free throw after taking a foul from Penn State's Kaliyah Mitchell.  Despite having her second charity shot failing to fall through the net, the lone point was good enough for the Detroit native to break the tie en route to MSU snapping their three-game losing streak while also recording her 1,000 career point. Finishing the evening with 26 total points while also grabbing nine rebounds and two assists, Powers is now the second player this season to reach the milestone, as Becca Mills surpassed the 1,000 point mark last Wednesday at home against the Michigan Wolverines.  The 26 recorded points also gives Powers 564 points on the season, jumping her to second on the MSU all-time single-season scoring list.  She needs just 34-points to surpass Liz Shimek, who spent two seasons in the WNBA with the Chicago Sky and with the Spartans from 2002-06, to break the scoring record team record. 

BASKETBALL

Women's basketball tops Penn State 74-67

Zach Libby
February 11, 2015

If there was one program in the Big Ten who the Spartans could bully around and pick up an effortless victory on the road, it would be Penn State.  The Nittany Lions, plagued with the second-worse scoring offensive in the conference with 63.3 points per game, have sat at the bottom of the standing for longer than they'll admit.  Walking in to Happy Valley riding a three-game losing streak, with their most recent loss coming at the hands of Minnesota this past Sunday, an opportunity to pummel last year's regular-season champions fell into the lap of MSU, only for the matchup to go down to the wire.  Aerial Powers, the Big Ten's second-highest points scorer, once again dominated on the offensive side of the glass, totaling 26-points en route to a 74-67 win on Wednesday.  It appeared that the Spartans were hungry enough to put Penn State out of their misery early on in the first half, increasing their lead to as high as 12 with less than six minutes into the contest.  They would later deflate the momentum from the Penn State early on in the second half when a Powers triple from beyond the arc would heighten the MSU lead to 14.

BASKETBALL

Following loss to U-M women's basketball prepares to face Penn State

The media room for silent this past Thursday following MSU's crushing defeat to Michigan at the Breslin Center when Suzy Merchant sauntered to the podium.  Standing with her head held up high, trying her best to hold back tears, providing no opening statements and going right into the questioning period.  A sense of frustration and feeling conquered dwelled upon her that couldn't be overlooked as the veteran head coach went further into detail on what everyone else, fans and media members a like, have been thinking this season.  A lack of depth due to an horrendous amount of injuries and a lack of contribution from a majority of the eight players that Merchant is down to is the dark cloud that hangs over the head of the women's basketball team.  Even while being equipped with two of the top five players in scoring in Aerial Powers (No.

BASKETBALL

Women's basketball falls to 11-13 with loss to Minnesota

Zach Libby
February 8, 2015

The Spartans saw a major contribution from a player outside of Aerial Powers and Tori Jankoska, two of the top five leading scorers in the Big Ten.  Lexi Gussert, who got the start in replacement of Anna Morrissey on Sunday against Minnesota, recorded a career-high 20-points, 16 of which came in the first half.  The freshman was responsible for the first 13-points of the afternoon for MSU (11-13, 3-10 Big Ten) before Kennedy Johnson's jumper botched the streak at the 12-minute mark.  Gussert's electrifying performance was good enough for the Spartans to go up as high as 10 midway through the first half, but a resurgent effort by the Golden Gophers extends MSU's losing streak on the road to six straight games, falling short at Williams Arena, 86-79.  Powers, the redshirt sophomore from Detroit, fell short of reaching her 20th straight double-double game, recording a team-high 31-points who also grabbing nine rebounds in the process.  Jankoska followed suit with 21-points and eight rebounds.

BASKETBALL

Michigan leads women's basketball 37-21

Zach Libby
February 5, 2015

Michigan hasn't swept the Spartans in regular-season play since the 1999-00 season. But after the first half of play, the Wolverines will have an easy road to squander the 14-year streak.  Both Katelynn Flaherty and Siera Thompson lead the maize and blue with 12-point to give the team a 35-18 lead heading into the locker room.  Michigan has managed to have a field day on the offensive side of the glass, converting 60-percent of their shots from beyond the arc while shooting 50-percent from the floor.