MSU women's basketball held its first practice for the 2024-25 season Tuesday.
In her first season as head coach last winter, Robyn Fralick helped lay the foundation for MSU's hopes of competing for Big Ten championships for years to come.
MSU women's basketball gears up for season with new faces and title aspirations
Head coach Robyn Fralick draws out a play for the fourth quarter during the season-opening exhibition game against Davenport University at the Breslin Center on Nov. 2, 2023. The Spartans annihilated the Panthers with a score of 99-45.
Last season, MSU finished fourth in the Big Ten, losing to a hot Nebraska team in the conference tournament. The Spartans drew a 9-seed in the NCAA tournament and lost to 8-seed North Carolina in the round of 64.
During the offseason, MSU lost two key players in lead guard DeeDee Hagemann and fifth year senior captain Moira Joiner.
However, Fralick was active in the transfer portal, adding players who she thought could make an impact on and off the court. The Spartans added four transfers: graduate guard Nyla Hampton from Ball State, junior guard Emma Shumate from Ohio State, graduate guard Jaddan Simmons from Arizona State and junior forward Grace VanSlooten from Oregon.
"They’ve fit us everywhere. They fit us on the court, they fit us off the court," Fralick said of her transfers Tuesday. "I like our length. We got longer. We needed that from a rebounding perspective and a defensive perspective."
VanSlooten adds needed length to MSU and defensive versatility after it lost bigs Isa Alexander and Mary Meng to season-ending injuries last season. For a majority of last winter, 6-foot-2 guard/forward Julia Ayrault played center for MSU.
During her two seasons at Oregon, VanSlooten averaged 14.1 points and 6.4 rebounds per game.
"Everyone has been super welcoming. I couldn't ask for a better staff or team to come into and I'm loving it so far," VanSlooten said.
Hampton, Simmons and Shumate will also look to make an immediate impact with their complementary skill sets on offense and defense.
Returning junior guard Theryn Hallock has lofty goals for this year's team with its new faces.
"It was obviously really cool to be a top four team in the Big Ten and also get into the tournament, but we didn't like how we ended there," Hallock said. "Our goal is to get a Big Ten championship and make a run in the tournament, so we’re definitely putting in the work outside of practice as well so we are ready for those tournament games."
MSU will play its first contest on Oct. 28th, an exhibition match against Wayne State at Breslin Center. Its first regular season game will also be at Breslin on Nov. 5 against the Oakland Golden Grizzlies.
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