Michigan State women’s basketball defeated Eastern Kentucky Thursday night in a 96-54 win, with a key performance from MSU junior forward Grace VanSlooten.
On Monday night’s big win against Eastern Michigan, VanSlooten sat out due to illness. On Thursday night, she stepped onto the floor feeling good as new.
"It felt amazing," VanSlooten said. "You know, obviously nobody ever wants to miss a game. But they played really, really well, and I was watching the whole time. So, definitely excited to be back out there."
VanSlooten has continued to elevate MSU on both sides of the ball with 15 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and three blocks.
"Credit to her, credit to our medical staff, for getting her feeling better and getting her ready to play on a pretty quick turnaround," MSU head coach Robyn Fralick said postgame. "And I thought she did a really good job for us tonight."
Thursday night was the first matchup between the Spartans and the Colonels. From the opening tip, the Spartans came out flat, something they haven’t been used to over the last three games.
"I thought it was a good challenge for us tonight," Fralick said. "I thought the first half was the first time we've really been kind of tested early in the game and frustrated."
After halftime, MSU came out looking like a different team, outscoring Eastern Kentucky 57-19. The Spartans began to play their usual style of basketball, being aggressive and speeding the pace.
"I think we're moving the ball more and just kind of trusting each other more," VanSlooten said. "And then we definitely picked up our defense, which kind of sparks our offense. And so that's definitely made the biggest difference."
MSU freshman forward Juliann Woodard shined off the bench, scoring 16 points in seven minutes without a single miss. Woodward was 5-for-5 from the field, 4-for-4 from three and 2-for-2 from the free-throw line.
"She works at it," Fralick said. "She gets in the gym a lot. She shoots a lot. You sit most of the game and to go in and be ready. I mean, I think that's toughness, right? There's no excuse of I wasn't warm, or I wasn't loose, like she goes in and she's ready to play."
Two other Spartans finished with double-digits: graduate guard Julia Ayrault with 19 points, eight rebounds and two steals and junior guard Theryn Hallock tallied 14 points, nine assists, four rebounds and one steal.
MSU women’s basketball will play its first road game of the season on Sunday, Nov. 17 in Kalamazoo to take on Western Michigan. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m.
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