Aerial Powers gives MSU women a cornerstone

EAST LANSING — In the rankings, the gap between the women’s basketball programs at Michigan State and Notre Dame is only 12 places.

On the court, the chasm runs a tad deeper — by about six high school All-Americans.

You wouldn’t know the full extent of it from Wednesday night.

The dream for 15th-ranked MSU is to be third-ranked Notre Dame, to exist within the select upper crust in a sport that has so far sneered at parity.

Wednesday’s 71-63 defeat at Breslin Center won’t add any accolades to MSU’s individual roster biographies. But for a program trying to pull itself over one of the highest metaphorical walls in organized sports, this was not an insignificant step.

In women’s basketball, a halftime lead (30-29) and an eight-point loss to a national title contender is akin to an upset in the men’s game. Even if it happens at home. - Read more at LSJ.com