No. 17 Maryland women’s basketball (15-6, B1G 7-3) will look to extend its winning streak to four games on its trip to East Lansing. The Terps will be taking on a red hot Michigan State (12-8, B1G 6-3) team which is on a four game winning streak.

The Terps have comfortably won their past three games with strong field goal shooting (over 43%), while also collecting rebounds and forcing turnovers on the other end. In their last two games alone, the Terps forced 50 turnovers. 

Forward Chloe Bibby has been solid, scoring double figures in each game on the Terps current winning streak. 

The Terps are about halfway through their lighter schedule stretch before their final four bouts against the league’s top teams. Regardless of the circumstances that have hampered them so far, the Terps have remained fairly poised to continue to win. 

“We gotta get these last couple of wins to make a big statement,” guard Shyanne Sellers said. “We let a couple fall through our hands … but I think we are trying to do the best we can.”

Another road bump came in the form of another loss on the roster. On Wednesday, guard Channise Lewis announced she would not be returning to play for the rest of the season due to a setback in her recovery from injury. 

“She has always continued to stay that steady consistent leader for us,” Frese said of Lewis, who has continued to make an impact off the floor. “Honestly, we need that experience, leadership and maturity that she continues to bring.” 

The Spartans are led by First Team All-Big Ten guard Nia Clouden, who leads the team and is third in the conference in scoring. She also averages 21 points a game. 

“She’s really good at drawing fouls and we are going to have to be very disciplined,” head coach Brenda Frese said.

Sellers shared a similar sentiment on the importance of Maryland’s defense. 

“I think just going in and playing team defense that’s leading to our offense will have a big impact,” Sellers said. 

The Spartans are also relying on two freshmen, guard DeeDee Hagemann and forward Matilda Eck. The two serve as a perfect complementary duo to Clouden, helping propel the team to sixth place in the Big Ten standings. 

Eck is averaging 12 points a game including shooting 43% from beyond the arc while Hagemann leads the team with 97 assists and gets the job done for the Spartans. Both players earned high praise from Frese. 

“They’re rounding into form like they are sophomores,” Frese said. 

Fans can watch the game on Thursday at 6 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.