On Tuesday, the Big Ten announced its regular season honors, and three members of Michigan State women's basketball walked away with accolades.
Senior forward Grace VanSlooten and redshirt sophomore guard Kennedy Blair were named second-team All-Big Ten selections by both the coaches and the media. Junior guard Rashunda Jones was named to the Big Ten All-Defensive Team by the media.
Grace VanSlooten
VanSlooten arrived in East Lansing last season after transferring from Oregon and has now earned All-Big Ten honors in both of her seasons with the Spartans. The senior leads MSU in scoring with 15.1 points per game, which ranks 16th in the conference.
Though her time as a Spartan has lasted only two seasons, she has established herself as the backbone of the team's offense. VanSlooten started every game this season, averaged at least 15 points in both of her MSU seasons and has totaled 851 points in her Spartan career with multiple postseason games still to come.
This season's selection also makes her a four-time all-conference honoree, as she earned All-Pac-12 honorable mention in her freshman and sophomore seasons at Oregon.
Kennedy Blair
Entering the season, few people outside of East Lansing recognized the name Kennedy Blair. She was not yet even a household name on campus.
Last season, the guard only played in 20 of the team's 32 games and averaged just 8.9 minutes a night. Her end-of-season averages consisted of 3.4 points, 1.1 assists and 1.8 rebounds.
Fast forward a year, and Blair has been recognized as one of the best guards in the Big Ten — not only playing but starting in all 29 of MSU's games. Her season averages skyrocketed to 13.9 points, 5.4 assists, 7.1 rebounds and 2.4 steals. She leads the team in rebounds, assists and steals, while also ranking fifth in the conference in assists, 10th in rebounds and second in steals.
She has become the engine of a highly efficient Spartan offense that ranks 10th in the nation in scoring at 83.5 points per game.
Rashunda (Spider) Jones
Jones earned All-Defensive Team honors in her first season in East Lansing after transferring from Big Ten foe Purdue. She was inserted directly into the starting lineup and served as the calm, steady counterpart to the energetic Blair.
The junior became the first MSU player named to the All-Defensive Team since Aerial Powers in the 2014-15 season. She ranks fifth in the Big Ten in steals with 2.1 per game.
Alongside VanSlooten and Blair, Jones started every game for the Spartans until suffering a lower leg injury. She ultimately played in 28 of 29 games and started 26, and she is working her way back to full health for the postseason.
In addition to her teammates' honors, senior guard Emma Shumate was named MSU's representative for the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.
Around the conference, UCLA senior center Lauren Betts was named Big Ten Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. Her teammate, graduate forward Angela Dugalić, was named Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year, and UCLA head coach Cori Close earned Big Ten Coach of the Year. USC freshman guard Jazzy Davidson was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
The Spartans return to action Thursday at 6:30 p.m. in Indianapolis for the Big Ten Tournament after earning the No. 7 seed. MSU will play the winner between No. 15 seed Wisconsin and No. 10 seed Illinois.
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