MSU has won three-straight games in the series.
EAST LANSING, Mich. - No. 21/22 Michigan State women's basketball returns home to take on Penn State on Wednesday, Jan. 22 at 6:30 p.m. at the Breslin Center. The Spartans have won three-straight games, including back-to-back road contests. The game will be streamed on B1G+ with Jack Stager and Derrick Mitchell on the call.
• After a resounding 86-68 road victory over Illinois on Jan. 19, the Spartans have now won three in a row. Michigan State improves to 15-3 overall and 5-2 in Big Ten action.
• Penn State is coming off its biggest win of the season with its first win over an AP top-10 team since 2012, beating No. 9 Ohio State, 62-59, on Jan. 19. The Lady Lions improve to 10-9 overall and 1-7 in league games.
• Against Illinois on Jan. 19, Theryn Hallock netted a career-high 26 points, while Grace VanSlooten tallied 24 points off the bench, for the Spartans' second game this season with two 20-point scorers, joining the Vanderbilt game (11/27/24), when VanSlooten had 25 points and Ayrault had 24 points.
• The Spartans defense has been tough all season. MSU is eighth in the nation and first in the Big Ten in turnovers per game (24.4). MSU is also eighth in the NCAA and second in the league in steals, averaging 13.3 spg.
SCOUTING PENN STATE
Penn State earned its first win over an AP top-10 team with a 62-59 win over then-No. 8 Ohio State on Jan. 19. With the win, the Lady Lions improved to 10-9 overall and 1-7 in Big Ten play, snapping a seven-game losing streak.
Gracie Merkle leads the team in scoring, averaging 15.7 points per game, while former Spartan Gabby Elliott is second with 12.3 ppg. Merkle is also eighth in the Big Ten in rebounding, averaging 8.8 rpg and is second in field goal percentage (.651). As a team, Penn State is fifth in field goal percentage (.463). The Lady Lions are also sixth in rebound margin (+7.2).
Penn State head coach Carolyn Kieger is in her sixth season as the helm of the Lady Lions with a 73-95 record. Overall, she is in her 11th season as a head coach with stop at Marquette. Her overall record is 172-159.
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE PENN STATE
Penn State leads the overall series with Michigan State 31-25, but the series has tightened up over the years. The Spartans have won three straight and seven of the last eight in the series. Last year in University Park, the Spartans had six players in double figures, en route to a 98-87 win.
In East Lansing, the Spartans have the slight edge in the series, 13-12. In University Park, the Lady Lions are ahead 17-9. On neutral territory, Michigan State leads 3-2.
FAMILIAR FACE
For the second-straight game, the Spartans will see a familiar face on the opposing bench. Graduate guard Gabby Elliott spent two seasons at Michigan State, battling injury both seasons. Against Illinois, MSU faced off with former Spartan Kendall Bostic.
LAST TIME VS. PENN STATE
With six players in double figures, the Michigan State helped head coach Robyn Fralick earn her first Big Ten Conference win with a 98-87 victory of Penn State on Dec. 29, 2023 at the Bryce Jordan Center.
Sophomore guard Theryn Hallock led the Spartans with a career-high 21 points off the bench, adding four assists. She was part of the stellar free throw shooting for MSU going 7-for-7 from the line. Graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault was stellar once again with 18 points, seven boards and two blocks. Junior guard DeeDee Hagemann, sophomore guard Abbey Kimball and graduate guard Moira Joiner all scored 12 points apiece.
Penn State was led by a game-high 32 points from Taylor Valladay.
ROAD WARRIORS
During the Spartans two-game road stretch, Michigan State defeated its two opponents by an average of 14 points. Junior guard Theryn Hallock and junior forward Grace VanSlooten are leading the way in scoring both averaging 17.5 points per game, while graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault has averaged 12.0 ppg in the wins. MSU shot 44.5 percent from the field in the two wins. The Spartans averaged 11.5 steals and 22.0 turnovers forced in the wins over Illinois and Rutgers.
THERYN TEARIN' IT UP
Junior guard Theryn Hallock's career-high 26 points against Illinois on Jan. 19 topped her previous career-best mark of 24 points from last season vs. Purdue (1/24/24). She scored 17 of the 26 points in the fourth quarter alone. Sunday was her second 20-point outing of the season and fourth of her career, topping her season-high of 20 points at Maryland (12/29/24). Hallock led the Spartans in scoring for the third time this season, joining 18 points vs. Eastern Michigan (11/11/24) and 20 points at Maryland (12/29/24). MSU is now 2-1 when Hallock leads the team in scoring.
NET RANKINGS
In the current women's basketball NET ranking, the Spartans stand No. 19. They are fourth among Big Ten schools behind No. 4 UCLA, No. 6 USC and No. 15 Ohio State. South Carolina stands No. 1. The Big Ten has five schools in the top 25 in NET rankings with Maryland standing No. 20.
RANKED BIG TEN TEAMS
Six 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 Maryland, No. 12 Ohio State, No. 22 Michigan State, No. 23 Minnesota and No. 24 Michigan. Nebraska is also receiving votes in this week's poll.
CLIMBING THE CHARTS
With the 12 points Sunday, Ayrault now has 1,186 points for her career, cracking the top 20 on MSU's career scoring list and vaulting from No. 22 to No. 20, passing both Rene Haynes (2003-07) with 1,181 points and Victoria Lucas-Perry (2003-07).
With four rebounds in Sunday's game, Ayrault now has 660 career rebounds, holding solid at No. 17 on MSU's career rebounding list. Ayrault is nine rebounds away from the No. 16 spot, held by Kelli Roehrig with 669 boards.
Ayrault's one 3-pointer moves her career total to 109 3-pointers, holding at No. 18 on MSU's career 3-pointers list, just two treys shy of tying Rene Haynes (2003-07) at No. 17 with 111 3-pointer. On the defensive end, Ayrault had one block, now with 157 career blocks, maintaining her spot at No. 3 on the Spartans' career blocks list.
BY THE NUMBERS VS. ILLINOIS
• Graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault netted 12 points for the second game in a row and has scored double-digits in all 17 games played this season, after missing the Detroit Mercy game (12/20/24) with an injury. Ayrault has registered double-figures in the last 30 games in a row, past of doing so in 41 of her last 46 games played since the start of the 2023-24 season.
• The 24 points was Grace VanSlooten's fifth game in a row with 10+ points as part of her 15th double-figure outing this season in playing 17 of the 18 games, missing the Eastern Michigan game (11/11/24) due to illness. VanSlooten has now registered 10+ points 67 times out of 80 career games, logging double-digits in 52 games while at Oregon.
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 three, while Jocelyn Tate, Jaddan Simmons, Emma Shumate and Juliann Woodard have led once.
DOING IT ALL
Against Illinois on Jan. 19, graduate guard Jaddan Simmons dished out a season-high tying six assists, marking the third time this season she's distributed a half-dozen helpers, but the first time since game three, as she had six assists in two of the first three games with six assists each in the season-opener vs. Oakland (11/5/24) and vs. Eastern Michigan (11/11/24). Simmons also pulled down seven rebounds, tying her second-most of the season, also snaring seven boards vs. Eastern Michigan (11/11/24) and vs. Iowa (12/15/24), and just behind her season-best of nine rebounds that came against Vanderbilt (11/27/24).
YOUR STARTING FIVE
Michigan State started with the same starting line-up for the fifth-straight game with graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault, graduate guard Jaddan Simmons, senior guard/forward Jocelyn Tate, junior guard Theryn Hallock and freshman center Inés Sotelo on the court for the opening tip. It was Sotelo's fifth start in a row after coming off the bench in the previous 13 games. The starting line-up MSU opened with was one of six different starting fives that the Spartans have utilized this season. Tate is the only MSU player to have started every game this season.
AROUND THE BIG TEN
Michigan State is fifth in the Big Ten in scoring offense, averaging 82.6 points per game. The Spartans are also fifth in scoring margin (+22.8). MSU is second in the league in blocks (5.3). MSU is second in steals with 13.3 and third in assists with 18.6 apg. The Spartans are second in turnover margin (+8.8).
Individually, graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault is ninth in the league in scoring (16.4 ppg). Junior forward Grace VanSlooten is 10th in the league in field goal percentage (.485). Graduate guard Jaddan Simmons and senior guard/forward Jocelyn Tate are tied for sixth in the league in steals (2.06 spg).
WELCOME HOME
Against Washington, 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.
NO CHARITY
Michigan State's defense made school history, as MSU did not allow Montana to shoot a free throw, as the Lady Griz were 0-for-0 at the free throw line on Dec. 19 with Michigan State only committing 11 fouls, its second-fewest of the season, behind only 10 fouls at Western Michigan (11/17/24).
AROUND THE NATION
After 18 games, the Spartans are 19th in the nation scoring margin, winning games by 22.8 points. Michigan State is eighth in the NCAA and second in the Big Ten in steals per game with 13.3 apg. MSU is fifth in the nation in free throws made with 17.3 and ninth in turnover margin (+8.8).
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 1,128 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 1,186 points. Graduate guard Nyla Hampton has scored 1,239 points during her time at Bowling Green, Ball State and Michigan State. Fellow graduate guard Jaddan Simmons also has 1,258 points during four seasons at Arizona State her time at MSU. Senior guard/forward Jocelyn Tate is looking to be the next member with 942 points between her two seasons at Bowling Green and two at MSU.
BRINGING THE BOOM
For the 2024-25 season, Michigan State women's introduced its new student section - the Breslin Boom. First introduced by Coach Fralick at Michigan State Madness, Spartan students will be encouraged to yell "BOOM" on any big MSU plays.
COMEBACK KIDS
MSU's 16-point deficit and rally for win on the Nov. 26 win against Cal was the Spartans' largest comeback win since being down 19 points vs. Penn State on Feb. 22, 2017, rallying from down 46-27 with 7:55 left in the third quarter and rallying for a 73-64 Victory for MSU. In that game, All-American Tori Jankoska was held scoreless in the first half, she rallied with 21 second-half points, for a palindromic double-double of 21 points and 12 rebounds.
LOCKED IN DEFENSE
Graduate guard Jaddan Simmons and senior guard/forward Jocelyn Tate are tied for fifth in the Big Ten in steals with 2.17 spg. Graduate guard Nyla Hampton is ninth in the Big Ten in steals, averaging 1.89 spg. The MSU defense has been tough all season. Twice this year the Spartans have tallied 22 steals in a game: against Detroit Mercy on Nov. 20 and against Oakland on Nov. 5. The only team in the Big Ten with more steals in a game is USC with 28 against CSUN on Nov. 12. The Spartans are second in the B1G in steals, averaging 13.3 spg.
BRINGING HOME THE HARDWARE
Michigan State won its second-straight tournament title after winning the Cherokee Invitational in North Carolina last season with wins over Richmond and Coastal Carolina. Prior to that, MSU last tournament crown came at the New Orleans Shootout in 2017.
LAST TIME OUT
Junior guard Theryn Hallock scored a career-high 26 points to propel No. 22 Michigan State women's basketball to a palindromic 86-68 win over Illinois Sunday at the State Farm Center.
The MSU women completed the Illinois sweep, as the Spartan men defeated Illinois at home 80-78 earlier in the afternoon. The Spartans have now won three-straight games, improving to 15-3 overall and 5-2 in Big Ten contests. Illinois had its two-game winning streak snapped and fall to 13-5 overall and 3-4 in league play. Hallock broke her previous career high of 24 points which was set against Purdue on Jan. 24, 2024, and netted 17 points in the fourth quarter alone. Junior forward Grace VanSlooten scored 24 points off the bench, including 16 in the first half.
Preview courtesy of MSU Athletics.
