No. 16/17 MSU Returns to the Breslin Center Against Oregon Thursday
The teams have not met in East Lansing since 2018
EAST LANSING, Mich. - No. 16/17 Michigan State women's basketball returns home to end the month of January against Oregon on Thursday, Jan. 30 at 6 p.m. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network with Mike Hall and Christy Winters Scott on the call.
• Michigan State has won five-straight games after an 88-58 win against No. 24 Michigan on Jan. 25. The Spartans are 17-3 overall and 7-2 in the Big Ten, which stands fourth in the league standings. UCLA (8-0), USC (8-0) and Ohio State (8-1) are the only teams ahead of MSU in the standings.
• Oregon comes to town having won three-straight games, including a gritty 54-47 win over Indiana on Jan. 24. The Ducks are 15-5 overall and 6-3 in league games.
• The Spartans 17-3 start to the season is the best 20-game effort since the 2010-11 team began the year with an 18-2 record. That team went on to win the Big Ten regular season crown.
• Junior guard Theryn Hallock's 25 points against Michigan wasn't only just one shy of her career-best from two games ago, but was her third 20-point outing this season and fifth of her career, with MSU improving to 2-1 this season and 4-1 in her career when she posts 20+ points.
SCOUTING OREGON
Oregon holds a 15-5 overall record coming into the game against Michigan State. The Ducks are 6-3 in Big Ten play. Oregon's only losses came against Illinois, Ohio State and USC. The Ducks have won three-straight games with wins against Purdue, Iowa and Indiana.
Michigan State will see a familiar face in Deja Kelly. Last season, Kelly played for North Carolina and scored 13 points in the Tar Heels, 59-56, win against MSU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Kelly leads the Ducks in scoring this season, averaging 10.5 points per game, just ahead of Peyton Scott, who is scoring 10.4 ppg. The Ducks are fourth in the Big Ten in scoring defense, allowing only 58.8 ppg. They are also strong on the defensive side of the ball, standing fourth in steals with 10.1 spg.
Oregon head coach Kelly Graves is in his 11th season as the helm of the Ducks with a 238-116 record. Overall, he is in his 28th season as a head coach with stops at Gonzaga and Saint Marys. His overall record is 620-278.
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE DUCKS
Oregon leads the brief series against Michigan State, 3-1. The Spartans won the only meeting in East Lansing, beating No. 3 Oregon 88-82 in 2018. It was Sabrina Ionescu vs. Jenna Allen in that game with Ionescu scoring a game-high 29 with Allen adding 27. The last time the teams met was in Portland for the PK Invitational in 2022. The Ducks came out on top 86-78. Grace VanSlooten was a freshman at Oregon at the time and scored 12 points in the win. Current Spartans, Julia Ayrault, Isaline Alexander, Abbey Kimball and Theryn Hallock all saw action in that game.
In Eugene, the Ducks leads the series 2-0. In East Lansing, MSU won the only meeting in 2017. On neutral territory, Oregon leads 1-0.
LAST TIME VS. OREGON
Behind a season-high 28 points from graduate guard Kamaria McDaniel, the Michigan State women's basketball team lost a tight battle with No. 18/18 Oregon, 86-78, in the third-place game of the Phil Knight Invitational at Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Nov. 17, 2022.
The Ducks led by as many as 17 points in the second quarter, but the Spartans battled back in the second half to make it a tight game.
McDaniel led all scorers with 28 points, just the second Spartans to break the 20-point mark after sophomore forward Matilda Ekh against Western Michigan. Off the bench, sophomore Isaline Alexander added 15 points in a career high 31 minutes.
WHAT A QUARTER!
The Spartans' 31-point third quarter against Michigan on Jan. 25 tied for the third-most in any quarter, behind 33 points in both the fourth quarter vs. Vanderbilt (11/27/24) and the fourth quarter vs. Yale (11/8/24), and 32 in the first quarter vs. Detroit Mercy (11/20/24), while matching 31 points in the first frame in the season-opener vs. Oakland (11/5/24). It's the eighth quarter this season with 30+ points, and MSU has now scored 30 points at least once in every quarter except the second quarter.
B1G TIME BIG TEN SCORING
MSU's 88 points is the 10th-most scored overall in a B1G game this season and the third-most by the road team in a B1G game this season, behind 99 by Maryland vs. Minnesota (W, 99-92, 1/14/25); 95 by USC vs. Penn State (W, 95-73, 1/12/25); 92 by Minnesota at Maryland (L, 99-92, 1/14/25); 92 by Ohio State vs. Northwestern (W, 92-62, 1/5/25); 92 by USC at Rutgers (W, 92-42, 1/5/25); 91 by Nebraska vs. Wisconsin (W, 91-60, 1/20/25); 91 by UCLA vs. Nebraska (W, 91-54, 12/29/24); 90 by Minnesota vs. Penn State (W, 90-54, 12/28/24); 90 by Washington at Northwestern (W, 90-71, 12/28/24).
HALLOCK HEATING UP
Junior guard Theryn Hallock has erupted for 68 points in her last three games, with 17 points last time out squeezed in between the top two scoring outings of her career. Hallock is now averaging 22.7 ppg in her last three games. She is averaging 15.7 ppg in her last 10 games with 157 points over that span. Hallock's 25 points against Michigan wasn't only just one shy of her career-best from two games ago, but was her third 20-point outing this season and fifth of her career, with MSU improving to 2-1 this season and 4-1 in her career when she posts 20+ points.
NET RANKINGS
In the current women's basketball NET ranking, the Spartans stand No. 16. They are fourth among Big Ten schools behind No. 4 UCLA, No. 5 USC and No. 14 Ohio State. South Carolina stands No. 1. The Big Ten has five schools in the top 25 in NET rankings with Maryland standing No. 24.
RANKED BIG TEN TEAMS
Five different Big Ten teams are ranked or receiving votes in the AP top 25 poll. UCLA leads the way at No. 1, followed by No. 4 USC, No. 8 Ohio State, No. 14 Maryland and No. 16 Michigan State. Michigan, Minnesota and Nebraska are also receiving votes in this week's poll.
GRACE OFF THE BENCH
Against Michigan on Jan. 25, junior forward Grace VanSlooten came off the bench to post 18 points and eight rebounds. It was VanSlooten's seventh game in a row in double-figure scoring, and she now has netted 10+ points in 17 of her 19 games played, missing the Eastern Michigan game (11/11/24) due to illness. VanSlooten has now tallied double-digit points 69 times out of 82 career games, logging double-digits in 52 games while at Oregon.
AYRAULT ASCENDS THE CHARTS
With the 18 points against Michigan on Jan. 25, graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault now has 1,220 career points, holding at No. 16 on MSU's career scoring list. Ayrault is 22 points shy of the No. 15 spot held by Lykendra Johnson (2008-12) with 1,242 points.
Saturday's 13 rebounds gives Ayrault 678 for her career, vaulting from No. 17 to No. 15 on MSU's career rebounding list, passing Kelli Roehrig (2001-05) with 669 boards and former Spartan Julie Pagel Dombroski (2000-04) with 677 rebounds. Her four 3-pointers gives Ayrault 116 career treys, tying for the No. 16 spot on MSU's career 3-pointer list, tying Taylor Alton (2008-12) with 116 3-pointers.
BY THE NUMBERS VS. MICHIGAN
• The Spartans' 31-point third quarter tied for the third-most in any quarter, behind 33 points in both the fourth quarter vs. Vanderbilt (11/27/24) and the fourth quarter vs. Yale (11/8/24), and 32 in the first quarter vs. Detroit Mercy (11/20/24), while matching 31 points in the first frame in the season-opener vs. Oakland (11/5/24). It's the eighth quarter this season with 30+ points, and MSU has now scored 30 points at least once in every quarter except the second quarter.
• The 30-point scoring margin in the Spartans' 88-58 Victory for MSU is the largest in the series vs. UM since 33 at 77-44 on Jan. 1, 2006 in East Lansing, and is Michigan State's largest margin of Victory for MSU in Ann Arbor ever, bettering a 27-point win at 82-55 on Feb. 16, 2003. Michigan State head coach Robyn Fralick became the third ever Spartan head coach to win their first three games in the MSU-UM series and the first since Karen Langeland in 1976-79, and also joining the first head coach in program history, Mikki Baile from 1972-75.
BALANCED ATTACK
Seven different Spartans have led the team in scoring. Julia Ayrault has led the team in scoring eight times, while Grace VanSlooten is second with five. Theryn Hallock has been the leading scorer five, while Jocelyn Tate, Jaddan Simmons, Emma Shumate and Juliann Woodard have led once.
YOUR STARTING FIVE
MSU's starting line-up was its same for the seventh game in a row, improving to 6-1 with that line-up, winning the last five in a row, and continues to be the Spartans' most used line-up. Graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault, graduate guard Jaddan Simmons, senior guard/forward Jocelyn Tate, junior guard Theryn Hallock and freshman center Inés Sotelo were on the court for the opening tip. The starting line-up MSU opened with is one of six different starting fives that the Green & White have utilized this season, and is now the most starts, topping the five games of starting with Hallock, Tate, Ayrault, junior forward Grace VanSlooten and junior guard Emma Shumate.
AROUND THE BIG TEN
Michigan State is second in the Big Ten in scoring offense, averaging 83.8 points per game. The Spartans are also fourth in scoring margin (+23.1). MSU is second in the league in blocks (5.5). MSU is first in steals with 13.3 and second in assists with 19.1 apg. The Spartans are second in turnover margin (+8.7).
Individually, graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault is 11th in the league in scoring (16.3 ppg). Junior forward Grace VanSlooten is fifth in the league in field goal percentage (.520). Graduate guard Jaddan Simmons and senior guard/forward Jocelyn Tate are tied for fifth in the league in steals (2.15 spg).
WELCOME HOME
Against Washington on Jan. 12, MSU celebrated Alumni Day, with the Spartans honoring their women's basketball alums, including the 2005 Final Four team. The 2005 Spartans in attendance were recognized at the end of the first quarter, while all the alumni were honored at halftime, with approximately 50 former players in attendance, ranging from as recent as the class of 2022, to as far back as the class of 1965. All-Americans Kristin Haynie, Liz Shimek and Lindsay Bowen were among the alumni in attendance to celebrate the 2005 team.
AROUND THE NATION
After 20 games, the Spartans are 13th in the nation scoring margin, winning games by 23.1 points. Michigan State is seventh in the NCAA and first in the Big Ten in steals per game with 13.3 spg. MSU is ninth in the nation in assists with 19.1 apg and 11th in turnover margin (+8.7).
JOINING THE 1K CLUB
Michigan State currently has four players who have scored at least 1,000 points in their collegiate careers. Most recently junior forward Grace VanSlooten joined the club against Vanderbilt on Nov. 27. She currently has 1,156 career points between Oregon and MSU. Graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault reached the 1,000-point club against Cal on Nov. 26. During her five years at MSU, she has scored 1,220 points. Graduate guard Nyla Hampton has scored 1,248 points during her time at Bowling Green, Ball State and Michigan State. Fellow graduate guard Jaddan Simmons also has 1,271 points during four seasons at Arizona State her time at MSU. Senior guard/forward Jocelyn Tate is looking to be the next member with 960 points between her two seasons at Bowling Green and two at MSU.
LAST TIME OUT
Junior guard Theryn Hallock scored 23 of her 25 points in the second half, as the No. 21 MSU women's basketball team cruised past No. 24 Michigan, 88-58, Saturday afternoon at the Crisler Center. It was the biggest margin of victory for MSU against U-M in Ann Arbor.
MSU head coach Robyn Fralick is just the third Spartan head coach to win her first three games against the Wolverines along with Karen Langeland and Mikki Baile.
For the second-straight game, Michigan State had four players in double figures led by 25 points from junior guard Theryn Hallock, who has the led the team in scoring for the third-straight game. She scored 14 points in the third quarter alone. Graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault and junior forward Grace VanSlooten both poured in 18 points. Ayrault earned her sixth double-double of the season adding in 13 rebounds.
Preview courtesy of MSU Athletics.
