This is the Spartans first road game of the season.
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State women's basketball hits the road for the first time this season, taking on Western Michigan on Sunday, Nov. 17 at 5 p.m. at University Arena. Evan Stockton and Lexi Ayala will be on the call for ESPN+.
• MSU has opened 4-0 for the second time in as many seasons under head coach Robyn Fralick. Michigan State also started 4-0 for the sixth-straight season since a 3-1 start to open the 2018-19 season.
• Western Michigan is 1-2 this season after opening the season with a win against Arkansas State in Kalamazoo. The Broncos then suffered a pair of road losses to Texas A&M and SMU.
• The Spartans have a pair of players inching toward the 1,000 point mark. Graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault's 19 points against EKU on Nov. 14 now gives her 964 career points. Junior forward Grace VanSlooten has now scored 936 points between Michigan State and Oregon.
• Early on this season, Michigan State is second in the nation in assists, averaging 24.3 apg. The Spartans are also fifth in the country in scoring margin (+52.3). Through four games, MSU is still averaging 99.5 ppg.
SCOUTING WESTERN MICHIGAN
Western Michigan comes into Sunday's game with a 1-2 record. The Broncos started the season with a 61-52 win over Arkansas State. WMU then fell on the road to Texas A&M and SMU.
De'Ahna Richardson leads the team in scoring, averaging 10.0 points per game. Artemis Kouki is second in scoring, averaging 9.0 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. On the season, the Broncos are averaging 47.7 ppg, while allowing 70.0 ppg.
Head coach Shane Clipfell is in his 131th season at the helm of the Broncos. He was an assistant coach at Michigan State for five years before taking over at WMU.
Michigan State head coach Robyn Fralick also has a connection to WMU. She was a graduate assistant in Kalamazoo from 2005-07.
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE BRONCOS
Michigan State leads the all-time series against Western Michigan, 17-8. The Spartans have won 10-straight meetings, including the last game in East Lansing in 2022.
The last meeting in Kalamazoo went into overtime in 2016 with MSU coming out on top, 68-64.
The last Broncos win came in 1982 in Grand Rapids, 77-60. Overall, Michigan State is 8-3 against Western Michigan in East Lansing and 5-3 in Kalamazoo. On neutral ground, MSU leads 4-2.
LAST TIME AGAINST WMU
Behind a barrage of 3-pointers, the Michigan State dominated Western Michigan, 97-49, at the Breslin Center in 2022.
For the second-straight game, five players reached double figures. Sophomore guard DeeDee Hagemann set a new career-high with 19 points, reaching double figures for the first time this season and the 10th time in her career. Fellow sophomore guard Matilda Ekh scored 20 points, going 6-for-8 from beyond the arc.
WOODARD WOWS
Freshman guard Juliann Woodard brought the Breslin faithful to their feet with her fourth-quarter antics against EKU on Nov. 14. She doubled her previous season-high of eight points vs. Oakland (11/5/24) just in 3-pointers, making 4-of-4 and adding one field goal inside the arc to continue unblemished shooting night with a 2-of-2 outing at the free throw line for 16 points in just the final 6:31, an average of 2.5 points per minute, and all in the fourth quarter.
CLOSING IN ON 1,000
Graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault netted her season-high with 19 points on Nov. 11 against EKU, as she has recorded double-figures in all four contests this season and in 17-straight games and 28 of her last 33 ballgames played since the start of the 2023-24 season. Ayrault posted her 42nd career game in double-figures. The 19 points by Ayrault moves her career total to 964 points, just 36 points away from becoming the 31st Spartan women's basketball player to score 1,000 points in her MSU career.
STINGY DEFENSE
Michigan State's defense held the opposition to single-digit scoring in at least one quarter for the fourth-straight game by stymieing EKU to just seven points in the fourth quarter. Overall, it was the eighth time in 16 quarters through the first four contests this season that MSU has limited its opponent to single-digit scoring in a quarter. Thursday's fourth quarter was joined by holding EMU to nine points in the third quarter last time out, after limiting Yale to nine points in both the first and second quarters on Nov. 8 and to Oakland in the second and fourth quarter in the season-opener on Nov. 5.
INCREDIBLE INES
All six of the Spartan freshmen have seen action in all four games, but rookie Inés Sotelo had a standout performance against Eastern Michigan on Nov. 11. Sotelo reached double figures for the first time in her MSU career with 13 points against the Eagles, going 5-for-8 from the field. For the season, she is averaging 7.0 points with four steals.
PUTTING UP THE POINTS
Michigan State netted 95+ points for the fourth-consecutive game with 96 points Thursday night after 107 in last week's season-opener vs. Oakland on Nov. 5, 100 points vs. Yale on Nov. 8 and 95 points last time out vs. Eastern Michigan on Nov. 11. It marks the first time since the 2017-18 season that MSU has scored 95+ points in its first fourth games when the Spartans matched this year's scoring through the first three games with 100 points in the season-opener (100-58 vs. Robert Morris on 11/11/17), 95 in game two (95-63 vs. Oakland on 11/13/17) and 107 in game three (107-43 vs. Charleston), before posting 97 in game four (11/21/17).
BY THE NUMBERS VS. EKU
• The Spartans have won 17 of their last 19 home games at the Breslin Center, after starting this season 4-0 following posting a 13-2 ledger last season at home. Overall, MSU has won 28 of its last 36 home games dating back to the 2022-23 season.
• The 57-point scoring output in the second half was MSU's season-high for most points scored in the second half, topping 50 points after halftime in the game vs. Yale (11/8/24) and was one point shy of the season-best for most points in a half, as the Spartans scored 58 in the season-opener vs. Oakland (11/5/24) and last time out vs. Eastern Michigan (11/11/14).
BRINGING DOWN THE BOARDS
Michigan State pulled down a season-high 46 rebounds against EKU on Nov. 14, including 13 offensive boards, which led to a 15-3 second-chance points advantage. The Spartans pulled down 13 O-boards for the second game in a row after 13 last time out vs. Eastern Michigan, and the third game with double-digits offensive rebounds behind a season-best 17 in game one vs. Oakland. Graduate guard Jaddan Simmons leads the team with 13 offensive rebounds this season.
AROUND THE BIG TEN
Michigan State is first in the Big Ten in scoring offense, averaging 99.50 points per game, just ahead of Ohio State's 99.0 ppg. The Spartans are also fourth in the league in scoring defense, allowing only 47.3 ppg. MSU is also first in the league in assists with 24.3 apg and are first in assist/turnover ratio (1.94). The Spartans 107 points scored against Oakland were the second-most in the league behind the 124 USC scored against CSUN on Nov. 12.
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.
AROUND THE NATION
After just four games, the Spartans are second in the nation and first in the Big Ten in assists per game, averaging 24.3 apg. MSU is also fifth in bench points with 43.0 per game. Michigan State stands fifth and first in the Big Ten in scoring margin, winning games by 52.3 ppg.
SEASON OPENERS
Michigan State won its 11th-straight season-opener and second in a row under head coach Robyn Fralick. MSU's last season-opening loss was on Nov. 11, 2013 at #6/7 Notre Dame. The Spartans have won 15-consecutive home openers, as their last loss in the first home game of the season was on Nov. 19, 2009 vs. #5/6 Notre Dame.
LAST TIME OUT
Despite a slow start, the Michigan State women's basketball team found its groove and cruised to a 96-54 win over Eastern Kentucky University Thursday night at the Breslin Center.
MSU has opened 4-0 for the second time in as many seasons under head coach Robyn Fralick. Michigan State also started 4-0 for the sixth-straight season since going 3-1 to open the 2018-19 season. EKU falls to 1-3 this season. The was the first meeting between the Spartans and the Colonels.
The Spartans had four players reach double figures led by 19 points and eight rebounds from graduate guard Julia Ayrault. Junior forward Grace VanSlooten scored 15 points with nine rebounds, while junior guard Theryn Hallock 14 points and added a season-high nine assists. Freshman guard Juliann Woodard dazzled the Spartan faithful in the fourth quarter with 16 points in the period.
O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN!
Michigan State head coach Robyn Fralick has announced guard/forward Julia Ayrault and guard Nyla Hampton as team captains, as voted on by the players on the 2024-25 women's basketball team.
This is Ayrault's second season as a captain for the Spartans. She is the first Spartan to be a captain in back-to-back seasons since Jenna Allen during the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons.
Hampton is in her first season with the Spartans, but is familiar with head coach Robyn Fralick. She played three seasons with Bowling Green before transferring to Ball State last season.
GUESS WHO'S BACK
Despite losing two of its top three scorers, Michigan State still returns a quite potent offense. Graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault led the team in scoring with 15.4 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. Off the bench, junior guard Theryn Hallock scored 12.3 ppg, which was fourth on the team. MSU lost second-leading scorer Moira Joiner (14.7 ppg) to graduation and third-leading scorer DeeDee Hagemann (12.3 ppg) to transfer.
VANSLOOTEN NAMED TO WATCH LIST
Michigan State Women's Basketball junior forward Grace VanSlooten was named to the Cheryl Miller Award preseason watch list, as announced by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA).
She is one of five Big Ten players on the list along with Indiana's Yarden Garzon, Maryland's Saylor Poffenbarger, Ohio State's Cotie McMahon and UCLA's Angela Dugalić. The award honors the nation's top small forwards.
WELCOME TO SPARTAN NATION
Michigan State women's basketball head coach Robyn Fralick announced the signing of three signees on Wednesday, including Jordan Ode (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove High School), Anna Terrian (Pewaukee, Wis./Pewaukee High School) and Amy Terrian (Pewaukee, Wis./Pewaukee High School).
Ode is a 6-0 guard, who is a native of Maple Grove, Minn. She attends Maple Grove High School and is coached by Mark Cook. Ode is currently ranked No. 33 in the ESPNW HoopGurlz Recruiting Rankings. Ode is a three-time all-conference honoree, as well as capturing all-state honors twice. During her junior season, she broke the Maple Grove single-season and all-time scoring records. As a junior, she averaged 21.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.
Anna Terrian is a 5-8 guard, who is a native of Pewaukee, Wis., and plays for head coach Jim Reuter at Pewaukee High School. As a junior, she averaged 9.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. In 2023 and 2024, she earned WBCA D2 honorable mention. She also plays tennis for Pewaukee High School, where she was first-team all-conference. She played AAU for the Wisconsin Lakers.
Amy Terrian is a 5-8 guard, who is a native of Pewaukee, Wis., plays for head coach Jim Reuter at Pewaukee High School. Terrian is currently ranked No. 89 in the ESPNW HoopGurlz Recruiting Rankings. As a junior, she averaged 18.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. She became the first Pewaukee player to earn AP first-team all-state honors in 2024. She has earned all-state honors three-straight years.
COASTAL ADVENTURES
The Spartans will play in two tournaments this season. Over Thanksgiving, Michigan State will head to Palm Springs, California for the Acrisure Classic. The Spartans will take on California in their first game on Nov. 26 before facing either Arizona or Vanderbilt in their second game on Nov. 27. Before the Holiday break, MSU will play West Palm Beach Classic. MSU will take on Montana on Dec. 19 and Alabama on Dec. 20.
Preview courtesy of MSU Athletics.
