Story Links EAST LANSING, Mich. – No. 19/19 Michigan State women’s basketball returns to action after the holiday break, traveling to No. 8/8 Maryland on Sunday, Dec. 29 at 1 p.m. at the XFINITY Center. The game will be streamed on B1G+. • The Spartans are looking to recover after their first loss of the season […]
EAST LANSING, Mich. – No. 19/19 Michigan State women’s basketball returns to action after the holiday break, traveling to No. 8/8 Maryland on Sunday, Dec. 29 at 1 p.m. at the XFINITY Center. The game will be streamed on B1G+.
• The Spartans are looking to recover after their first loss of the season against No. 24 Alabama on Dec. 20. Michigan State is now 11-1 overall this season and 1-0 in Big Ten action. Sunday’s game will be MSU’s Big Ten road opener against the Terps.
• No. 8/8 Maryland is one of only eight undefeated teams remaining in the NCAA Division I with an 11-0 record. Overall, there are three Big Ten teams undefeated along with Ohio State and UCLA.
• Now at 11-1, the 2024-25 Spartan squad is tied for MSU’s best record through 12 games, and first since 2018-19 when the Spartans were also 11-1 through 12 games. Overall it is the sixth time in program history that Michigan State has started 11-1, joining 2018-19, 2012-13, 2010-11, 2004-05 and 1973-74.
• With the Spartan women ranked No. 19 in the AP Top 25 poll and the MSU men ranked No. 18, MSU is one of eight in the NCAA to have both teams ranked, along with UCLA, UConn, Duke, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Ole Miss and Kentucky.
SCOUTING MARYLAND
The Terrapins are one of eight undefeated teams remaining in NCAA Division I with an 11-0 record. Maryland started the Big Ten season with a 78-69 win over Purdue on Dec. 7 on the road. The Terps also have wins over Duke and Syracuse so far this season.
Maryland five players averaging in double figures led by Kaylene Smikle, who is averaging 17.7 points per game. Shyanne Sellers is second in scoring with 11.8 ppg. Smikle is eighth in the B1G in scoring. Sellers is also second in the league in assists with 5.5 apg. As a team, Maryland is second in the conference in scoring offense, scoring 86.2 ppg.
Terrapin head coach Brenda Frese is in her 23rd season as the head coach of Maryland with a 593-161 record. Overall, she is in her 26th season as a head coach with stops at Ball State and Minnesota. Her overall record is 650-191.
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE TERRAPINS
Maryland leads the overall series with Michigan State, 18-3. The Terps had won seven-straight in the series until the Spartans 74-69 win last season in East Lansing. UMD leads the series in East Lansing, 6-2. The Terps are on top of the series 7-1 in College Park and hold a 5-0 record on neutral territory. The Spartans only win in College Park was in 2018 when MSU defeated Maryland, 82-68.
LAST TIME VS. MARYLAND
In its first game at home over three weeks, the Michigan State women’s basketball team used a dominating third quarter to stop Maryland, 74-69, at the Breslin Center on Jan. 9, 2024.
This was only the Spartans’ third-ever win against the Terrapins, now standing 18-3. MSU’s last win came in East Lansing on Jan. 17, 2019.
Michigan State had four players in double figures led by graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault, who earned her third double-double of the season with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Graduate guard Moira Joiner also added 20 points with four assists and four rebounds. Joiner has reached double figures in scoring in all 15 games this season. Junior guard DeeDee Hagemann scored 12 points with a game-high seven assists, while sophomore guard Theryn Hallock added 14 points off the bench.
SINGLE-DIGIT QUARTERS
Michigan State’s defense held Alabama to nine points in the first quarter on Dec. 20, marking its second-straight game with at least one single-digit scoring after holding Montana under 10 points in the second and third quarters. MSU has now registered at least one single-digit scoring in nine of the 12 games, and the Spartans have stymied the opposition to single-digit scoring in 14 quarters out of the 48 total quarters played through 12 games.
RANKED BIG TEN TEAMS
Eight 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. 10 Ohio State, No. 19 Michigan State, No. 23 Michigan and No. 24 Iowa. Nebraska and Illinois are also receiving votes in this week’s poll.
SPARTANS IN THE POLLS
This week, the Spartans are ranked No. 19 in the AP poll and No. 19 in the Coaches Poll. Prior to this season, the last time MSU was ranked was Jan. 4, 2021, when it was ranked No. 23 in the AP poll and No. 24 in the Coaches Poll. The last time MSU reached No. 15 in the AP poll was No. 18, 2019, when they were also ranked No. 16 in the Coaches Poll.
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 1,045 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 1,094 points. Graduate guard Nyla Hampton has scored 1,222 points during her time at Bowling Green, Ball State and Michigan State. Fellow graduate guard Jaddan Simmons also has 1,222 points during four seasons at Arizona State her time at MSU. Senior guard/forward Jocelyn Tate is looking to be the next member with 892 points between her two seasons at Bowling Green and two at MSU.
NET RANKINGS
In the current women’s basketball NET ranking, the Spartans stand No. 13. They are third among Big Ten schools behind No. 4 UCLA and No. 7 USC. Texas stands No. 1.
BY THE NUMBERS VS. ALABAMA
• After going to the free throw line a season-low 13 times Thursday, Michigan State had 10 free throw attempts in the first half alone on Dec. 20, going 8-of-10 at the charity stripe in the first 20 minutes. MSU finished the day 18-of-23 (78.3 percent). MSU’s 78.3 percent was its second-straight game and fourth overall game this season shooting 75.0 percent or better after 76.9 percent (10-of-13) on Dec. 19 vs. Montana.
• With her game-high 18 points, Julia Ayrault has recorded double-figures in the scoring column in all 11 games played this season, as she missed the Detroit Mercy game (12/20/24) with an injury. She has posted double-figures in her last 24 games in a row, as part of in 35 of her last 40 games played since the start of the 2023-24 season. Ayrault posted 10+ points in her 51st career game and the Spartans are now 39-12 when Ayrault scores in double-figures.
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).
DOUBLE TROUBLE
When graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault and junior forward Grace VanSlooten both recorded double-doubles against Western Michigan on Nov. 17, it was the first time since Dec. 17, 2023 against CMU. In that game, Ayrault had 13 points and 10 assists, while Theryn Hallock had 17 points and 12 assists. Ayrault and VanSlooten were at it again when they both had double-doubles in MSU’s 78-70 win over Vanderbilt in the Championship game of the Acrisure Classic on Nov. 27. VanSlooten had 25 points with 10 rebounds, while Ayrault and 24 points and 12 rebounds en route to earning MVP honors.
ENDING STRONG
Despite scoring only four points in the fourth quarter against Montana on Dec. 19, the final period has been one of the strongest quarters this season for the Spartans. The four points were the least scored by MSU in the fourth quarter in school history.
Overall, MSU has scored 288 points in the fourth period, which is the most of any quarter. The Spartans are averaging 24.0 ppg in the final 10 minutes of the game. Conversely, their opponents have scored 157 points in the fourth period, which is 13.1 ppg.
BIG TEN OPENERS
MSU won its Big Ten Conference opener, against Iowa and is now 21-22 all-time in B1G openers, having won eight of their last 14. The win against Iowa was the first time that the Spartans opened league play with the Hawkeyes since 2021-22 season, and the win avenged that 88-61 loss. Last season, the Spartans fell to Nebraska at home 80-74 on Dec. 9. During the 2022-23 season, the Spartans fell to Purdue at home 76-71 in overtime. During the 2020-21 season, the Spartans won their opener in Minneapolis, 81-68 over the Gophers.
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.
UPDATE THE RECORD BOOKS
With a pair of free throws with 8.4 seconds left against Cal on Nov. 26, graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault netted her 21st and 22nd points of the game, reaching the 1,000 career points milestone with the first free throw. Ayrault is now No. 27 on the Spartan scoring list with 1,094 points. She is now just FOUR points from the No. 26 spot held by Jenna Allen, who scored 1,098 points from 2015-19.
Ayrault is also third in career blocks with 151. She is now tied with Lykendra Johnson (2008-12). With five boards against Alabama on Dec. 20, Ayrault now has 607 rebounds for her career, just 22 shy of cracking into MSU’s Top 20 career rebounding list, as Lil Preston (1980-83) has 639 rebounds at the No. 20 spot.
LOCKED IN DEFENSE
Graduate guard Nyla Hampton is third in the Big Ten in steals, averaging 2.4 spg. Graduate guard Jaddan Simmons is tied for sixth in the Big Ten in steals with 2.1 spg. Senior guard/forward Jocelyn Tate is tied for 12th in the B1G with 1.9 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 first in the B1G in steals, averaging 14.5 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.
AROUND THE BIG TEN
Michigan State is third in the Big Ten in scoring offense, averaging 85.6 points per game, just ahead of Ohio State’s 86.7 ppg and Maryland’s 86.2 ppg. MSU is also fourth in the league in scoring margin (+30.3). MSU is first in steals with 14.5 and second in assists with 19.3 apg. The Spartans are second in turnover margin (+9.7).
Individually, graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault is 10th in the league in scoring (16.6 ppg). Junior forward Grace VanSlooten is ninth in field goal percentage (.518).
AROUND THE NATION
After 12 games, the Spartans are 15th in the nation scoring margin, winning games by 30.3 points. Michigan State is sixth in the NCAA and first in the Big Ten in steals per game with 14.5 apg. MSU is also 11th in assists per game (19.3) and 13th in the nation in scoring offense, averaging 85.6 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
No. 15/17 Michigan State women’s basketball suffered its first loss of the season to RV/No. 24 Alabama, 82-67, at the West Palm Beach Classic on Dec. 20 at Rubin Arena.
Michigan State had three players in double figures led by 18 points and two steals by graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault. Junior forward Grace VanSlooten was just shy of a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds. Off the bench, junior guard Theryn Hallock14 points with two steals. She scored nine of her 14 points in the fourth quarter alone.
The Spartan defense once again stood tall, forcing 29 turnovers after causing Montana to turnover the ball 30 times on Thursday.
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.
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.
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.
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.
