This is the second meeting of the season between the two teams.
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State women's basketball will conclude a busy week, taking on No. 5/5 Ohio State on Sunday, Feb. 11 at 4 p.m. MSU will also celebrate its annual Pink Game for breast cancer awareness. This is the second meeting between the Spartans and the Buckeyes with OSU taking the first in Columbus, 70-65 on Jan. 17. Jason Knapp and Meghan McKeown will be on the call for the Peacock.
• The Spartans had their four-game winning streak halted at No. 14/13 Indiana on Thursday in a 94-91 track meet. MSU is now 17-6 overall and 7-5 in league contests. No. 5/5 Ohio State defeated Minnesota on the road 71-47 on Thursday.
• The Green & White's 53 points in the first half against IU was their most in a Big Ten game this season and their second-most overall in the first 20 minutes of the season since 57 in first half vs. Coastal Carolina (12/21/23).
• DeeDee Hagemann now has 399 assists for her career, needing just one more to become the ninth MSU player with 400 assists, and just three more to take over the No. 8 spot on the Spartans' career assists list, currently held by Brittney Thomas (2007-11) with 401.
• With the 353 points, Julia Ayrault needs just 81 more points to equal the combined sum of her previous three seasons in a Spartan uniform, as she had a combined 434 points in the 2019-23 seasons.
SCOUTING OHIO STATE
No. 5/5 Ohio State comes to the Breslin Center with a stellar 20-3 record and are 11-1 in Big Ten play. The only loss the OSU has suffered in league contests was to Michigan, 69-60, in Ann Arbor. Ohio State is the only team in the conference to defeat Iowa this year.
The Buckeyes are second in the Big Ten in scoring defense, allowing only 62.4 ppg, while standing fifth in scoring offense (80.7 ppg). Ohio State is stellar on the defensive end of the court, leading the league with 10.3 steals per game.
Jacy Sheldon is fourth in the Big Ten in scoring, averaging 17.6 ppg, while also standing first in steals with 2.3 spg. Cotie McMahon is 17th in the B1G in scoring with 14.1 ppg, and 15th in rebounding (6.4 rpg). Overall, OSU has three players in the top 15 in the league in steals, along with Sheldon Celeste Taylor is fourth (2.0 spg) and Taylor Thierry is tied for sixth (1.7 spg).
Kevin McGuff is in his 11th season at the helm of the Buckeyes with a 192-101 record. Overall, he is in his 22nd season at Ohio State with a record of 447-200.
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE BUCKEYES
Ohio State leads the all-time series with Michigan State, 61-29, including 27-11 in Columbus, while leading 22-14 in East Lansing and 12-4 on neutral courts. OSU has won the last five meetings in the series, as MSU's last win in the series was on Jan. 16, 2020, winning 68-65 in East Lansing. This is the second meeting of the season between the two teams. First time out in Columbus on Jan. 14, the Buckeyes came out on top 70-65.
LAST TIME VS OHIO STATE
Despite a season-high 18 points from graduate guard/forward Tory Ozment, the Michigan State women's basketball dropped a defensive battle with No. 17/16 Ohio State, 70-65, at Value City Arena on Jan. 14.
Both teams came into Sunday's contest averaging nearly 90 points per game in a match-up that saw both teams shoot well below their season averages under tough defensive pressure.
The Spartans fall to 12-4 overall and 2-3 in Big Ten action. The Buckeyes improve to 13-3 overall and 4-1 in league contests. MSU falls to 0-2 against ranked teams this season after being defeated 76-73 against No. 4/3 Iowa. Both losses were by five points or less.
For the first time this season, Michigan State had only two players in double figures led by Ozment's season-high 18 points. She was just one shy from tying her career high of 19 set against Virginia on Nov. 28, 2018. Graduate guard Moira Joiner continued her streak of reaching double figures in all 16 games this season with 13 points, to go along with a season-high five assists.
Recap courtesy of MSU Athletics.
