Tuesday, April 30, 2024

Michigan State women's basketball defeats Rutgers 82-64 on the road, five Spartans score double-digits

January 31, 2024
<p>Michigan State Women’s Basketball team takes on Purdue at the Breslin Center in East Lansing on Jan. 24, 2024. Ozment makes a call out to a teammate to make a successful pass and 2-pointer for MSU.</p>

Michigan State Women’s Basketball team takes on Purdue at the Breslin Center in East Lansing on Jan. 24, 2024. Ozment makes a call out to a teammate to make a successful pass and 2-pointer for MSU.

The Michigan State women’s basketball team is now on a three-game winning streak after a road win against Rutgers on Tuesday, Jan. 30, with a score of 82-64. The Spartans now hold a record of 16-5 overall and 6-4 in the Big Ten Conference.

Five Spartans recorded double figures in points: graduate guard Julia Ayrault, who recorded 19 points; graduate guard/forward Tory Ozment scored 10 points; sophomore guards Theryn Hallock and Abbey Kimball who both scored 16 points; and graduate guard Moira Joiner who tallied up 10 points.

One player who was a huge contributor to Michigan State's offense throughout the entire game was junior gaurd DeeDee Hagemann, who recorded nine points, two rebounds and seven assists. In the first half, the Spartans and the Scarlet Knights were close in scoring with similar offensive performances, as MSU led 42-35 going into the locker rooms at break. 

Michigan State head coach Robyn Fralick said there were adjustments from the first half that needed to be made going into the second half to try and rally a win out of Michigan State. 

"I think coming off the first half we knew we really needed to make some adjustments," Fralick said. "We were really getting hurt inside the paint, I thought our kids did a really good job executing that in the second half."

The Spartans are 3-3 in away games and 10-1 in home games, but in the beginning of the season there was a struggle for MSU to find themselves a win on the road, especially against other Big Ten teams like Minnesota, Ohio State and Iowa. 

"Winning on the road in this league is tough, and if you want to separate yourself at all in this league you’ve got to find ways to be successful on the road," Fralick said. "So, I was proud of us finding a way to do that tonight."

After this game, the Spartans will have until next Monday to rest from their busy schedule and reflect on what the team has been doing well – and not so well – so far this season. Fralick said there is lot to learn, and the Spartans will be zoning in on themselves for the future. 

“I think there are a lot of things we can learn," Fralick said. "We have a lot of games but not many days. So, I’m excited for this time that we're getting to get a little break, but also to really get to focus back on ourselves."

Preparing for the upcoming game against Minnesota, who the Spartans played earlier in the season and fell short 50-69, Fralick said the team just needs to play better overall. 

"We'll get to that soon, obviously from the first game we need to play better," Fralick said. "So we will dig into that film and get a plan."

Michigan State women’s basketball will be taking on the Minnesota Golden Gophers at the Breslin Center on Monday Feb. 5 at 6 p.m. Streaming will be available on Big Ten Network.

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