No. 19/21 Spartan Women Head to Loyola Chicago Sunday
12/11/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
EAST LANSING, Mich. - No. 19/21 Michigan State will play its second-straight road game, taking on Loyola Chicago on Sunday, Dec. 14 at 3 p.m. ET. The Ramblers and the Spartans will meet Gentile Arena in Chicago. MSU looks to rebound after a 69-60 loss to No. 16 Georgia on Dec. 7.
| #19/21 Michigan State (5-2) at Loyola Chicago (2-5) | |
| Date | Sunday, December 14 |
| Time | 3 p.m. ET |
| Location | Chicago, Ill. | Gentile Arena |
| Tickets | Click To Purchase |
| Television | None |
| Radio | WJIM 1240AM | SpartanSportsNetwork.com |
| Game Notes | Michigan State | Loyola Chicago |
| Statistics | Michigan State | Loyola Chicago |
| Internet Coverage | Watch Live (Fee Required) | Live Stats |
| Social Media | @MSU_WBasketball  | Facebook  |
ABOUT LOYOLA CHICAGO
The Ramblers are 2-5 this season entering the match-up with the Spartans. Loyola has lost its last two game against Missouri and MSU's Big Ten foe Northwestern on the road. The Ramblers and the Spartans have had one common opponents, as Loyola also took on Georgia Tech on Nov. 14, falling 92-57 in Chicago. In its last outing, Loyola fell to Northwestern, 70-33, in Evanston, Ill. Redshirt-freshman guard Tiana Karopulos was the leading scorer for the Ramblers with eight points. Sophomore guard Taylor Johnson is the leading scorer through seven games this season, averaging 13.4 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. Senior forward Simone Law is second in scoring, averaging 12.0 ppg. As a team, Loyola averages 52.1 ppg, while allowing 65.0 ppg. The Ramblers are coached by women's basketball legend Sheryl Swoopes, who is in her first season. Swoopes is a WNBA, NCAA and Olympic champion.
FROM THE LAND OF LINCOLN
Michigan State has four players overall from Illinois, including two on the Spartans' active roster in senior guard Anna Morrissey (Lincolnshire/Stevenson HS) and freshman guard Jasmine Lumpkin (Bolingbrook/Joliet Catholic Academy), as well as Lumpkin's sister, senior forward Kendra Lumpkin (Bolingbrook/Joliet Catholic Academy) and freshman guard Kiara Carter (Homewood/Homewood Flossmoor HS), who are injured and not active.
MICHIGAN STATE VERSUS THE MISSOURI VALLEY
While Sunday is the first meeting between MSU and Loyola Chicago, the Spartans are a combined 21-10 against current teams of the Missouri Valley Conference. Michigan State is 12-8 against Illinois State, 4-0 versus Indiana State, 1-0 vs. Drake, Evansville and Northern Iowa and 2-2 against Southern Illinois. In addition to Loyola, MSU has yet to play Wichita State, Bradley and Missouri State.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
The Spartans are getting in touch with their inner Willie Nelson and heading back on the road after last playing on the road at No. 19/23 Georgia. Sunday is MSU's second road game of the season. Michigan State is playing back-to-back non-conference road games for the second year in a row, after playing at Florida State and at Virginia Tech last year.
IN THE MONTH OF DECEMBER
The Spartans are 156-89 (.637) all-time in the month of December. Under Coach Merchant, Michigan State is 39-19 (.672) in the 12th month of the calendar year. The Spartans have won 11 of their last 17 games in December. Michigan State is playing on Dec. 14 for the first time since the 2008-09 season. Overall, MSU is 4-1 on Dec. 14.
WOODEN WATCH
Michigan State sophomore Aerial Powers was named to the John R. Wooden Women's Preseason Top 30 on Monday, November 24. She was one of five players in the Big Ten. The list is comprised of 30 student-athletes who are the early front-runners for college basketball's most prestigious honor. The list was chosen by a preseason poll of national women's college basketball media members.
QUICK HITTERS FROM SUNDAY (No. 19/23 Georgia 69, 16/16 Michigan State 60)
• Michigan State is now 26-18 in its first true road game of the season, along with 22-22 overall in their first road game away from home.
• The Spartans have started the same starting line-up of sophomore guard Tori Jankoska, senior guard Anna Morrissey, freshman guard Jasmine Lumpkin, redshirt-sophomore forward Aerial Powers and senior forward Becca Mills in all seven games this season ... Mills started for the 76th time in her career, while Powers made her 40th career start and Jankoska started her 24th game of her career ... Morrissey and Lumpkin both made their seventh-straight starts of their careers.
• Powers had her streak of six-straight double-doubles snapped as she came up one rebound shy of a double-double with 18 points and nine rebounds.
• Mills led MSU with 10 rebounds Sunday, her first double-digit rebounding outing of the season and fifth of her career.
• MSU is now 11-23 in match-ups as a ranked team against fellow ranked teams.
OFFENSIVE START
Both sophomore Tori Jankoska and Aerial Powers have been off to a fast offensive start over the season's first seven games. The Spartan duo both rank in the top-5 in the Big Ten in scoring, as Jankoska is fourth with 19.1 points per game and Powers is close behind at fifth with 19.0 ppg. The duo was also the first pair to reach 20 points in the first two games in program history. Powers also tallied double-doubles in the first six games, the first Spartan to have accomplished that feat, before having that streak halted with 18 points and nine rebounds at Georgia. She is second in the Big Ten and fourth in the NCAA with six double-doubles. Powers also is second in the conference and eighth in the country in overall rebounds with 12.6 rebounds per game, as well as also second in both the league and NCAA in defensive boards with 9.4 per game. Over her last 13 games, Powers has posted 10 double-doubles. During that stretch, Powers is averaging 16.6 points and 11.5 rebounds. For her career, Powers has 16 double-doubles. Dating back to last season, Jankoska has scored in double figures in 23 of her last 28 games, averaging 14.9 points during the stretch. MSU is 10-0 in her career when she leads the team in scoring as well as 24-6 in the 30 games in which she scores double digits.
MORE AND MORE MORRISSEY
Senior guard Anna Morrissey has gone from walk-on to starter for the Spartans as the former walk-on has played in 219 minutes this season after only logging 60 minutes in her first three seasons combined at MSU. Morrissey has made the most of her increased playing time, as she has played in 258 minutes (36.9 mpg) and netted 49 total points this season (7.0 ppg) including 28 in two games against Oakland and Miami (Ohio), after just 23 total points in her first three seasons in a Spartan uniform. She scored double-figures for the first time in her career with 11 points against Oakland on Nov. 26, before netting a career-high 17 points by draining a career-best four three-pointers against Miami (Ohio) on Nov. 30.
GUARDING THE THREE
Michigan State has been stingy in guarding behind the arc so far this season. Spartan opponents have made only 31 three-pointers so far this season, which leads the Big Ten, as well as allowing only 4.4 three-pointers per game, which is second in the Big Ten, while shooting 27.9 percent, which is fourth in the conference.
CRASHING THE BOARDS
The Spartans finished the 2013-14 season second in the Big Ten and 23rd in the nation in rebound margin (+7.3) and are off to a good start in 2014-15, as MSU is currently second in the Big Ten at +11.3. MSU has been top-40 in the nation in rebound margin in each of Merchant's seven seasons. The Spartans have led the Big Ten in four of the last six seasons.
MSU has out-rebounded the opposition in all seven games this season as part of 106 of its last 131 opponents (80.9%). The Spartans currently lead the Big Ten and 15th in the NCAA with a +12.4 rebound margin on the season and are the only Big Ten team with a double-digit rebounding margin. MSU has had a double-digit margin in each of the last three games as part of four of the six games this season.
Individually, three Spartans are in the top-15 in the Big Ten, as Aerial Powers is second in the league with 12.6 rebounds per game. Powers is also second in the conference and fourth in the country in defensive rebounds with 9.4 rebounds per game. Senior center Jasmine Hines is 14th in the Big Ten with 7.1 rpg, along with ranking fourth in the league in offensive boards (3.6). Senior forward Becca Mills is 15th in the league with 6.9 rpg, as well as 13th in offensive boards with 2.7 rpg. Throughout their careers, both Powers and Hines have been efficient rebounders, as Powers is averaging 12.9 rebounds per 40 minutes and Hines is averaging 10.7.
Suzy Merchant RADIO SHOW
The Suzy Merchant Radio Show is typically held on Wednesdays if no conflicts, from 12-1 p.m. at Reno's East on Abbott Road. It can be heard locally on WVFN 730AM or at SpartanSportsNetwork.com. The tentative schedule for the remaining shows is: Dec. 15 (Mon.), Jan. 7 (Wed.), Jan. 14 (Wed.), Jan. 21 (Wed.), Jan. 28 (Wed.), Feb. 4 (Wed.), Feb. 9 (Mon.), Feb. 18 (Wed.), Feb. 23 (Mon.), March 4 (Wed.). Note that there will be no show on Dec. 24 and Dec. 31.
