PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Michigan State emerged victorious against Rutgers, earning a 70-60 win on Wednesday night, led by standout performances from Julia Ayrault and Emma Shumate, who each scored 12 points. Grace VanSlooten contributed an additional 11 points, helping the Spartans to improve their record to 14-3 overall and 4-2 in the Big Ten Conference. The key turning point came in the third quarter when Michigan State outscored Rutgers 23-13, establishing a dominant lead in the game.

On the other end of the court, Destiny Adams recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Scarlet Knights, who are struggling with a six-game losing streak, bringing their record to 8-10 and 0-7 in conference play. Kiyomi McMiller also added 13 points to the Rutgers’ effort. Michigan State maintained an early edge, finishing the first quarter ahead 22-20. However, Rutgers briefly took the lead in the second quarter, scoring the first eight points before McMiller tied the game at 33 by halftime with a late jumper.

In the latter half of the third quarter, the Spartans turned the game in their favor. Starting with four points from VanSlooten, Michigan State surged ahead, outscoring the Scarlet Knights 12-3 over the final minutes, and entered the fourth quarter with a 55-46 lead. Nyla Hampton opened the final period with a layup, extending the Spartans’ lead to 57-46. The Spartans maintained their lead in double digits for much of the fourth until Awa Sidibe hit a jumper that narrowed the gap to 68-59 with just 1:37 left, marking Rutgers’ final field goal of the game.

Despite Rutgers dominating the rebounding battle with a 47-35 advantage, their shooting percentage stood at 35%, while Michigan State managed a slightly better 38%. The Spartans minimized their turnovers to 13, resulting in a loss of only four points, whereas they capitalized on 22 turnovers from Rutgers to score 26 points. Furthermore, with the contributions from bench players like VanSlooten and Shumate, Michigan State’s reserves significantly outperformed Rutgers’ bench 34-8.

Looking ahead, Rutgers will face off against Michigan this Saturday, while Michigan State travels to Illinois on Sunday.