Spartan Women Beat Tough Opponent

Coming off a great win on Thursday, the Spartan ladies came out ready to take on another victory. The Dayton Flyers were a tough opponent, but the Spartan women won 96-89 in a Sunday afternoon game.

The Spartans started off a little weak with Dayton scoring high in the start of the game, but started to work the defense. They did not let the slow start keep them down and got back in the game. The Spartans ran into some fouling trouble in the first half, allowing the Flyers to keep the game tight. Tori Jankoska was a great asset to MSU with numerous three pointers.

“I think our team showed a lot of fight which we haven’t shown yet,” Jankoska said.

Jankoska, along with Aerial Powers led the team with 24 points each, followed by Annalise Pickrel with 21 points and Kiana Johnson with 14.

The Flyers took the lead in the second half. MSU ran into foul trouble once again and Kiana Johnson fouled out toward the end of the game.

“We have to keep our hands up and stop reaching”, Powers said regarding foul problems.

With numerous foul calls from both teams, the game remained tight. The game was tied at 78 at the end of regulation after Powers hit a game-tying layup with nine seconds left to send the game into overtime, and the Spartans won in overtime, 96-89.

“We got down by a few points, but we never gave up,” stated by Jankoska said.

Despite the foul trouble, coach Suzy Merchant liked how her girls played in Sunday’s game. She seemed very confident having her freshman in the game and with her team as a whole.

Not completely satisfied with the game against Canisius Thursday and the loss to Notre Dame last week, Merchant sees how the team has grown in this game.

“I thought our team really learned from our first two games… I look at a team that grew up today,” she said

The Spartans play the Detroit Titans here in East Lansing this Wednesday. Tip-off is at 7:00 p.m. Hopefully fans will continue to see growth.

 

Jennifer Aldridge is a multimedia journalist for Impact Sports.

Photo: Jennifer Aldridge