EAST LANSING, Mich. - In an emotional return to the court, the Michigan State women's basketball battled but fell to No. 8/8 Maryland, 66-61, Saturday afternoon at the Breslin Center.
Saturday was the Spartan's first game back after their game against Purdue was postponed on Feb. 15 after a mass shooting on the East Lansing campus on Monday, Feb. 13, when three students were killed and five were hospitalized. Michigan State canceled classes this week following the deaths of the three students – juniors Arielle Anderson and Alexandria Verner and sophomore Brian Fraser. Saturday was also the Spartans' Pink Game honoring breast cancer awareness.
The Spartans fall to 13-12 overall and 5-10 in Big Ten action. Maryland improves to 22-5 overall and 13-3 in league play. Eleven of Michigan State's 13 losses have been by 10 points or less.
Redshirt-junior guar/forward led MSU with 15 points off the bench. She also added eight rebounds, two blocks and one steal. Sophomore guard/forward was also in double figures with 11 points and three rebounds. Sophomore guard tied a season high with nine assists.
Maryland was led by Diamond Miller, who scored 29 points and six rebounds.
After a slow start, the Spartans tied the score 5-5 after a Hagemann layup at the 5:01 mark. The Spartans went on a 7-0 run to open up a 12-7 lead before a pair of Pinzan free throws halted the spurt. Six different Spartans scored in the first stanza with the period ended with MSU leading 14-9.
In the second period, the Terrapins scored the first five points of the quarter to tie the score. After an Ayrault layup at the 4:14 mark, Michigan State took a six-point lead, 23-17. Maryland out-scored MSU 18 -12 in the period to lead at the break 27-26. The Spartans were led by six points apiece from Hagemann and Alexander.
Maryland scored nine of the first 12 of the second half to open up a 36-28 advantage, leading to a MSU timeout. A trey by Abby Meyers with 1:09 left in the period put UMD on top 54-13. The 16 point advantage was the biggest of the game of the game for Maryland. The Terps out-scored the Spartans 27-15 in the period. Miller scoered 11 points in the stanza and Maryland began to pull away.
In the fourth quarter, the Spartans offense came out fast cutting it to a 58-52 game with under seven minutes left after an jumper. With under a minute remaining, Ayrault drained back-to-back treys to make it a 63-60 game. Hagemann hit 1-of-2 from the charity stripe, as MSU got as close as two points. Maryland went 8-for-14 in the fourth quarter from the free throw line to seal the win.
Michigan State will celebrate Senior Day against Minnesota on Wednesday, Feb. 22 at 7 p.m.
Michigan State Women's Basketball Post-Game Notes: vs. Maryland
• Redshirt junior guard/forward finished as Michigan State's leading scorer on Saturday, scoring 15 on a 4-for-7 evening from the floor. Ayrault's scoring output surpassed her previous season high of 13 set against Detroit Mercy on Dec. 18. The Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan, native scored in double figures for the second time this season and 14th time in her career. Ayrault additionally matched her season high in blocks with two rejections against the Terrapins.
• Ayrault matched her career high in 3-point makes with a trio of field goals from downtown. Her previous career high was set against Detroit Mercy on Dec. 18.
• Sophomore guard dished out a season high-tying nine assists against the Terrapins, matching her previous mark set against Michigan on Feb. 5. The Detroit native also matched her career high with one block on Saturday.
• Sophomore guard/forward reached double figures for the 18th time this season and 37th time in her career, scoring 11 points and adding three rebounds and two assists.
• After a back-and-forth start to the contest, Michigan State embarked upon a 9-2 run beginning with a pair of free throws from redshirt junior guard/forward at the 2:37 mark of the opening period to take a 14-9 lead.
• Michigan State out-scored the Terrapins by a 29-10 margin off the bench, bringing MSU's record when defeating its opponent off the pine to 13-9.
• The Spartans published 18 assists on 19 made baskets, while Maryland dished out 13 assists on 19 makes of their own. Michigan State drops to 12-6 in games when recording more assists than its opponent.
• MSU scored 19 points off of 17 Maryland turnovers, while the Terrapins scored 11 off of 19 Spartan giveaways. The Green & White are now 12-6 when scoring more points off turnovers than their challenger.
• The Spartans utilized the starting lineup of , , , and for the seventh time this season (3-4).
In an emotional return to the court, the Michigan State women's basketball battled but fell to No. 8/8 Maryland, 66-61, Saturday afternoon at the Breslin Center.Saturday was the Spartan's first game back after their game against Purdue was postponed on Feb. 15 after a mass shooting on the East Lansing campus on Monday, Feb. 13, when three students were killed and five were hospitalized. Michigan State canceled classes this week following the deaths of the three students – juniors Arielle Anderson and Alexandria Verner and sophomore Brian Fraser. Saturday was also the Spartans' Pink Game honoring breast cancer awareness.The Spartans fall to 13-12 overall and 5-10 in Big Ten action. Maryland improves to 22-5 overall and 13-3 in league play. Eleven of Michigan State's 13 losses have been by 10 points or less.Redshirt-junior guar/forwardled MSU with 15 points off the bench. She also added eight rebounds, two blocks and one steal. Sophomore guard/forwardwas also in double figures with 11 points and three rebounds. Sophomore guardtied a season high with nine assists.Maryland was led by Diamond Miller, who scored 29 points and six rebounds.After a slow start, the Spartans tied the score 5-5 after a Hagemann layup at the 5:01 mark. The Spartans went on a 7-0 run to open up a 12-7 lead before a pair of Pinzan free throws halted the spurt. Six different Spartans scored in the first stanza with the period ended with MSU leading 14-9.In the second period, the Terrapins scored the first five points of the quarter to tie the score. After an Ayrault layup at the 4:14 mark, Michigan State took a six-point lead, 23-17. Maryland out-scored MSU 18 -12 in the period to lead at the break 27-26. The Spartans were led by six points apiece from Hagemann and Alexander.Maryland scored nine of the first 12 of the second half to open up a 36-28 advantage, leading to a MSU timeout. A trey by Abby Meyers with 1:09 left in the period put UMD on top 54-13. The 16 point advantage was the biggest of the game of the game for Maryland. The Terps out-scored the Spartans 27-15 in the period. Miller scoered 11 points in the stanza and Maryland began to pull away.In the fourth quarter, the Spartans offense came out fast cutting it to a 58-52 game with under seven minutes left after anjumper. With under a minute remaining, Ayrault drained back-to-back treys to make it a 63-60 game. Hagemann hit 1-of-2 from the charity stripe, as MSU got as close as two points. Maryland went 8-for-14 in the fourth quarter from the free throw line to seal the win.Michigan State will celebrate Senior Day against Minnesota on Wednesday, Feb. 22 at 7 p.m.• Redshirt junior guard/forwardfinished as Michigan State's leading scorer on Saturday, scoring 15 on a 4-for-7 evening from the floor. Ayrault's scoring output surpassed her previous season high of 13 set against Detroit Mercy on Dec. 18. The Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan, native scored in double figures for the second time this season and 14th time in her career. Ayrault additionally matched her season high in blocks with two rejections against the Terrapins.• Ayrault matched her career high in 3-point makes with a trio of field goals from downtown. Her previous career high was set against Detroit Mercy on Dec. 18.• Sophomore guarddished out a season high-tying nine assists against the Terrapins, matching her previous mark set against Michigan on Feb. 5. The Detroit native also matched her career high with one block on Saturday.• Sophomore guard/forwardreached double figures for the 18th time this season and 37th time in her career, scoring 11 points and adding three rebounds and two assists.• After a back-and-forth start to the contest, Michigan State embarked upon a 9-2 run beginning with a pair of free throws from redshirt junior guard/forwardat the 2:37 mark of the opening period to take a 14-9 lead.• Michigan State out-scored the Terrapins by a 29-10 margin off the bench, bringing MSU's record when defeating its opponent off the pine to 13-9.• The Spartans published 18 assists on 19 made baskets, while Maryland dished out 13 assists on 19 makes of their own. Michigan State drops to 12-6 in games when recording more assists than its opponent.• MSU scored 19 points off of 17 Maryland turnovers, while the Terrapins scored 11 off of 19 Spartan giveaways. The Green & White are now 12-6 when scoring more points off turnovers than their challenger.• The Spartans utilized the starting lineup ofandfor the seventh time this season (3-4).
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