Lansing Sun

The Michigan State women's basketball team, ranked 16th and 17th in national polls, will travel to face Northwestern on February 2 at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The game is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET and will be available for streaming on B1G+ with commentary from Adam Beck and Dylan Friedland.

Michigan State's recent five-game winning streak was halted by Oregon, who secured a 63-59 victory at the Breslin Center. The Spartans now hold a 17-4 overall record and are 7-3 in Big Ten play. They aim to secure their fourth consecutive road win in conference play.

Northwestern has struggled this season, holding a 7-12 overall record and remaining winless in league contests at 0-8. Their latest outing resulted in an 85-80 loss to Iowa on January 28.

Jocelyn Tate, senior guard/forward for Michigan State, continues to perform well defensively, achieving a new season high with six steals against Oregon. She ranks third in the Big Ten with an average of 2.3 steals per game.

Theryn Hallock contributed significantly with consistent scoring performances over recent games. She has scored double figures in nine of the last eleven games, totaling ten or more points in fifteen of the twenty-one games this season.

For Northwestern, Caileigh Walsh leads her team with an average of 11.4 points per game while Grace Sullivan follows closely with an average of 10.9 points per game. Despite their struggles this season, Northwestern is ranked fifth in blocked shots within the Big Ten.

Head coach Joe McKeown leads Northwestern into his seventeenth season with the Wildcats, possessing a career record of 775-426 across various coaching positions including George Washington and New Mexico State.

In terms of historical matchups between these teams, Michigan State holds an advantage with a series lead of 47-29 over Northwestern. The Spartans have won the last three meetings against Northwestern after previously losing three consecutive games in the series.

Julia Ayrault continues to ascend MSU's all-time charts having recently moved up both scoring and rebounding lists following her performance against Oregon where she scored fourteen points and collected nine rebounds.

Overall defensive strategies have been pivotal for Michigan State as they maintain strong rankings nationally and within their conference for steals per game (13.2) and assists (18.8).

As Michigan State prepares to face off against Northwestern once again, they look forward to bouncing back from their recent defeat while aiming towards another successful performance on Sunday afternoon at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

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