MSU women's basketball win streak halted at Rutgers

Michigan State women’s basketball had its two-game winning streak halted with a 62-58 loss to Rutgers at the RAC Saturday afternoon.

With 48 seconds remaining, Kandiss Barber of Rutgers connected with a fast-break layup to put the Scarlet Knights up 57-56. The Spartans retook the lead with 37 seconds to play on a pair of free throws by senior guard Tori Jankoska that gave MSU the slight edge, 58-57.

Rutgers scored the final five points of the game to seal the 62-58 win. The Scarlet Knights outscored MSU, 21-13, in the final 10 minutes of the game, including 15-2 over the final five minutes.

Once again, Jankoska led the Spartans with 20 points, six rebounds and seven assists. Senior forward Taya Reimer added eight points, while junior guard Lexi Gussert and sophomore forward Jenna Allen both scored seven points off the bench.

Rutgers was led by 20 points from Shrita Parker, who also added seven rebounds. Barber added 15 points, including the go-ahead basket with 21 seconds remaining.

With the loss, MSU falls to 13-5 overall and 3-2 in Big Ten action. Rutgers improved to 6-13 overall and 3-3 in league play, winning three of their last five games.

After the Scarlet Knights got off to a fast start in the first quarter, Michigan State went on an 8-0 run to take a 14-9 lead with under five to play in the period. The quarter remained close with the Spartans leading 21-18 at the end of the period. Michigan State was shooting 67% from the field after the first 10 minutes.

The Spartans were hampered by 11 first-half turnovers, but took a 36-31 lead in to the locker room at halftime. After 20 minutes, Jankoska was the Spartans’ leading scorer with 13 points, while Allen added seven points.

Both teams started the second half slowly with only 13 total points scored through the first eight minutes of the quarter. Rutgers outscored MSU, 10-9, in the third quarter.

The Spartans hit three straight 3-pointers to start the fourth quarter and took a 54-44 lead with 7:44 left. The Scarlet Knights began to chip away at the lead from there. A layup by redshirt freshman Victoria Gaines with 5:44 remaining was the final field goal for MSU.

The Spartans conclude the two-game road trip on Tuesday, Jan. 17 against Northwestern at 9 p.m. (ET). The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network.

- MSU Athletic Communications