In an exhibition blowout against Wayne State, Hallock was one of MSU's leading scorers with 16 points. She carried that consistency into a season-opening, a 107-42 win against Oakland Tuesday night, tallying 14 points, four rebounds, and a steal.

"She was a sixth man, but we never saw it as that," MSU head coach Robyn Fralick said. "She was just another important player on our team who we felt like came in the game and could really change the speed of the game. Now we feel like she can change the speed of the game from the start. Her change of speed and her ability to just make things happen and create is really good."

Hallock got off to a hot start Tuesday night, scoring 10 points in the first quarter. Her speed helped the Spartans to an early lead that the Grizzlies would never reach. 

"The second somebody gets a rebound, I'm ready to go," Hallock said. "They’re going to pass it to me, or I'm going to get the ball and I'm going to push right away. I think my teammates do a really good job of following me with that because they know that I'm going to go and try to get in the pit right away so I can either finish myself or get in the quick looks."

Hallock has embraced her new starting role and is looking forward to making her mark this season for MSU. 

"Obviously I'm honored to be a starter now, but I think last year, I was very honored to be sixth man," Hallock said. "But I also look at it as that's in the past, that was last year, and I want to make my statement this year. I'm proud to be a starter. I think I'm going to keep bringing that spark, keep bringing my speed, keep bringing that leadership and that energy no matter whether I start or not."

The Spartans turned in one of their best defensive performances against the Grizzlies, grabbing 24 steals, forcing 33 turnovers and holding Oakland to 0-for-17 from three-point range.

With the first game of the season behind them, the Spartans are still finding their identity. They have different pieces that can threaten in a variety of ways; putting them together is what matters. 

"I think we're going to learn," Fralick said. "I think we've got an early field and I think we're going to learn as we continue to grow. I think we're physical. I think defensively, we've been disruptive and made it hard to score. And then offensively, we've done a good job of getting to the free-throw line consistently. So those are things we like early. I think we'll learn more as we keep going."

MSU returns to Breslin Center this Friday, Nov. 8 to play Yale at 7 p.m. The game will be streamed on Big Ten Plus.