Michigan State University Athletics
MSU Concludes Homestand Against Charleston
11/17/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
| Michigan State (2-0, 0-0 B1G) vs. Charleston (1-2, 0-0 CAA) | |
| Date | Sunday, Nov. 19 |
| Time | 12 p.m. ET |
| Location | East Lansing, Mich. | Breslin Center | Bag Policy |
| Tickets | Click To Purchase |
| Television | BTN Plus |
| Radio | Spartan Sports Network | WJIM-AM 1240 |
| Game Notes | Michigan State | Charleston |
| Statistics | Michigan State | Charleston |
| Internet Coverage | |
| Promotions | Honoring 1997 B1G Championship Team |
| Social Media | @MSU_WBasketball | Facebook | Instagram |
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State concludes its four-game homestand, taking on College of Charleston on Sunday, Nov. 19 at 12 p.m. This is the first half of a doubleheader with the Michigan State men's basketball team. The teams will have five doubleheaders this season. The Spartans will have another quartet of home games in February.
• After two games, four Spartans are averaging in double figures, led by redshirt-sophomore guard Shay Colley and senior forward Taya Reimer. Both Colley and Reimer are averaging 15.0 points per game. Freshman forward Sidney Cooks (13.0 ppg) and redshirt-senior guard Branndais Agee (12.5 ppg) are also averaging in double figures.
• Michigan State opens the season receiving votes on both the USA Today Coaches poll and the Associated Press poll.
• The Spartans welcome to their staff three former Michigan State players. Former Big Ten Player of the Year Kalisha Keane and All-Big Ten honorees Jasmine Hines and Annalise Pickrel are all graduate assistants with the Spartans this season.
• Redshirt-senior Branndais Agee is inching closer to a milestone. With 12 points against Oakland on Nov. 13, Agee now has 961 career points. She is just 39 points shy of becoming the 26th MSU women's basketball player to reach 1,000 points. In the first game of the season, Agee scored 13 points to move closer to 1,000 points.
JACKSON RETURNS
Former Spartan women's basketball player and graduate assistant Candice Jackson returns to East Lansing as the College of Charleston head coach. Jackson is a 2004 MSU graduate and was a GA when the Spartans reached the Final Four under former head coach Joanne P. McCallie in 2005. Jackson was a three-time letterwinner and a teammate of Director of Basketball Operations and Technology, Julie (Pagel) Dombroski. The Spartans were 22-9 her senior season, advancing to the NCAA Tournament.
PK80 INVITATIONAL
This season, both Michigan State basketball teams will be taking part in the PK80 Invitational in honor of Phil Knight's 80th birthday. The Spartans will take on No. 1 UConn on Saturday, Nov. 26 at 3 p.m. ET in Eugene at Matthew Knight Arena. In the other game, Oregon will take on Oklahoma at 5:30 p.m. (ET).
In its first game of the tournament, the MSU men will face DePaul in the victory Bracket on Thursday, Nov. 23 at 11:30 p.m. (ET). There are 16 men's teams involved in the PK80.
Michigan State, Oregon and Oklahoma's men and women's teams will be taking part.
Michigan State vs. UConn 3 p.m. (ET)
Oregon vs. Oklahoma 5:30 p.m. (ET)
NEAR TRIPLE-DOUBLE
Redshirt-sophomore guard Shay Colley has had a fast start in her first two games of the season. Colley scored 16 points in the season opener against Robert Morris on Nov. 11 and added 14 against Oakland on Nov. 13. Against the Golden Grizzlies, Colley came close to becoming the fourth Spartan to register a triple-double. She ended the game with 14 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists. Tori Jankoska was the last Spartan with a triple-double against Minnesota on Feb. 16, 2017.
NEARING A MILESTONE
Redshirt-senior Branndais Agee is inching closer to a milestone. With 12 points against Oakland on Nov. 13, Agee now has 961 career points. She is just 39 points shy of becoming the 26th MSU women's basketball player to reach 1,000 points. In the first game of the season, Agee scored 13 points to move closer to 1,000 points. Tori Jankoska was the last Spartan to reach 1,000 points doing so on Nov. 27, 2015.
WELCOME BACK
MSU will also be honoring the 1997 Big Ten Championship team at half time today against the College of Charleston.
HIGH-POWERED OFFENSE
Through the first two games of the season, the Michigan State offense has flexed its muscles. The Spartans have averaged 97.5 points, while allowing only 60-5. MSU has four players averaging in double figures. Both redshirt-sophomore Shay Colley and senior Taya Reimer are averaging 15.0 points per game. Freshman Sidney Cooks and redshirt-senior Branndais Agee are averaging 13.0 point and 12.5 ppg, respectively. Eleven of the 12 Spartans that have played have scored a point.
IMPRESSIVE DEBUTS
Both freshman forward Sidney Cooks and redshirt-sophomore guard Shay Colley had solid Spartan debuts. Cooks scored a team-high 17 points to go alone with six rebounds, three assists and a block. Colley, a transfer from South Carolina, played in her first game in the Green and White. The guard tallied 16 points in the season opener, adding four rebounds, two steals and two assists.
SERIES HISTORY
This is the first-ever meeting between Michigan State and the College of Charleston.
SCOUTING THE COUGARS
College of Charleston is 1-2 this season with a season-opening win over Lipscomb, 85-69. The Cougars fell to Furman and Central Michigan on the road. Darien Huff and Tanisha Brown lead the team in scoring, averaging 15.7 points per game. Brown also leads the team in rebounds, bringing down 6.7 rpg.
CofC took on another Great Lakes State team on Friday, taking on Central Michigan. The Chippewas and the Cougars were tight in the first half, but CMU pulled away in the third quarter, winning 79-58. Huff led the way for the Cougars with 14 points, going 4-of-6 from long range, while adding four rebounds. Shiclasia Brown pawed away a game-high four steals, but struggled to find a rhythm on offense, shooting 3-of-17 from the field.
AGEE NAMES TO WATCH LIST
Michigan State redshirt-senior Branndais Agee was named to the watch list for the inaugural Cheryl Miller Award, which will be awarded to the top small forward women's basketball; it was announced by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association.
She is one of five players from the Big Ten to be named to the watch list along with Indiana's Amanda Cahill, Maryland's Brianna Fraser, Ohio State's Stephanie Mavunga and Wisconsin's Cayla McMorris. Agee has already garnered preseason All-Big Ten honors by the coaches. Last season, Agee earned honorable mention All-Big Ten honors along with fellow senior Taya Reimer and sophomore Taryn McCutcheon. During the 2016-17 season, Agee was second on the team in scoring and rebounding with 10.0 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.
IN THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER
The Spartans are 113-37 (75.3%) all-time in the month of November. Under Coach Merchant, Michigan State is 53-9 (85.5%) in November, with six of the nine losses coming against top-10 opponents. The Spartans have won 27 of their last 30 in the month.
LOOK WHO'S BACK
Despite losing Michigan State all-leading scorer Tori Jankoska, the Spartans have many pieces from last year's team returning, including starters Branndais Agee, Taya Reimer, Taryn McCutcheon and Victoria Gaines. Over 66 percent of the Spartan offense is back, including four of the top five scorers.
REACHING THE CENTURY MARK
The Spartan offense looked strong against Robert Morris is the season opener, reaching the 100-point mark with a 100-58 win. The last time MSU reached 100 points in the season opener was in 2008 when the Spartans dominated Niagara, 116-50. Michigan State has reached triple-figures in the first game of the season three times (2017, 1998, 1990).
SEASON OPENERS
All-time, the Spartans are now 31-15 in season openers, but 23-2 when the opener is in East Lansing. Coach Merchant is 8-3 in season openers at MSU, and has won 14 of her last 17, including her time at Eastern Michigan.
NEW ADDITION
The Michigan State Athletics Department officially opened the Gilbert Pavilion and the Tom Izzo Hall of History on Friday afternoon in a ceremony at the Breslin Center.
The project was funded by private donations, including large contributions from Dan & Jennifer Gilbert and from Bob & Julie Skandalaris, with the gifts designated to the Breslin Center addition.
The addition features the Tom Izzo Hall of History, the Draymond Green Strength and Conditioning Center, a new ticket box office, a championship display, a recruiting lounge, alumni locker room and interactive areas that enhance the fan experience for the more than 500,000 people attending events each year.
NEWCOMERS
The Spartans welcome two freshmen this season in forward Sidney Cooks and guard Claire Hendrickson. Cooks is a McDonald's All-American from Kenosha, Wisconsin. Hendrickson, a native of Wyoming, Michigan, will miss the 2017-18 season after tearing her ACL in the first practice of the season. After sitting out last season after transferring from South Carolina, the redshirt-sophomore Shay Colley is able to take the court this season with the Spartans. She earned a gold medal this summer with the Canadian National Team at the FIBA Americas Women's Championships in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
FANS CONTINUE TO PACK THE BRESLIN
Michigan State women's basketball continues to pack the Breslin Center, finishing the 2016-17 season ninth in the nation and first in the Big Ten home attendance. The Spartans averaged 6,011 fans in 14 home games this season. MSU had a total of 84,152 fans pass through the gates. This is the 13th-straight season that the Spartans have been ranked in the top 15 nationally in attendance. MSU has had a total attendance of at least 80,000 since 2005-06.
AGEE EARNS PRESEASON HONOR
The Big Ten Conference released the Preseason Coaches and Media Polls, in addition to the 10-member preseason All-Big Ten team on Monday. Michigan State redshirt-senior guard Branndais Agee was named to the Preseason All-Big Ten team by the coaches.
Reigning Big Ten co-champion Ohio State, which was the No. 1 pick in both the coaches and the media poll. Ohio State's Kelsey Mitchell was named Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year in both polls.
UP NEXT
Michigan State will close out the homestand against College of Charleston on Sunday, Nov. 19 at 12 p.m. The game against the Cougars
MEET THE 2018-19 SIGNEES
Michigan State women's basketball head coach Suzy Merchant announced the signing of three National Letters of Intent on Wednesday, including Nia Clouden (Owing Mills, Maryland/St. Frances), Tory Ozment (Buford, Georgia/Buford) and Kayla Belles (Ithaca, Michigan/Ithaca).
Clouden is a 5-8 point guard who plays for head coach Jerome Shelton at St. Frances Academy. She is currently ranked No. 43 overall and No. 13 at her position by ESPN HoopGurlz. Last March, Clouden was named Maryland Gatorade Girls Basketball Player of the Year, becoming the third Baltimore-area player to win the award in 11 years. She was also the USA Today Maryland Player of the Year last season. She is a two-time captain, who averaged 14.2 points and 4.7 assists per game as a junior. Last season, the Panthers captured their second-straight IAAM Championship. St. Frances also advanced to the semifinals of the Dick's Sporting Goods High School Nationals, falling in overtime. Clouden has also earned first-team Baltimore Sun honor in both 2016 and 2017.
Ozment is a 6-1 guard/forward who plays for head coach Gene Durden at Buford High School. Durden has captured five state championships during time at Buford. She is currently ranked No. 14 at her position by ESPN HoopGurlz. Last season, Ozment was named the AAAAA State Player of the Year as well as being named to the Georgia Athletic Coaches Associations All-State squad. Ozment earned Atlanta Tipoff Club and Atlanta Journal Constitution All-Metro team. Last season, she averaged 13.4 points and 3.8 assists per game, leading Buford on a run to the Class AAAAA State Championship. As a sophomore, she guided Buford to the AAAA Final Four, averaging 11.1 points and 3.5 assists per game.
Belles is a 6-3 forward who plays for head coach Ty Warczinksy at Ithaca High School. As a junior, Belles averaged 19.4 points, 12.2 rebounds, 3.4 blocked shots and 2.6 steals per game, earning Associated Press Class B all-state honors. She led the Yellowjackets to three-straight Tri-Valley Conference West Division titles, which included a run to the Class C Final Four during her sophomore campaign. She garnered first-team all-state honors three-straight seasons, averaging a double-double the last two seasons. She is a multi-sport athlete, who earned all-state honors in both basketball and volleyball. Belles will miss her senior year of high school after tearing her ACL over the summer.
THE SCHEDULE
Highlighting the Spartans' ledger this season is 15 home games, including seven non-conference contests as well as eight Big Ten Conference match-ups.
Another focal showpiece of MSU's 2017-18 schedule is playing in the inaugural PK80 Invitational to celebrate Phil Knight's 80th birthday, where Michigan State will take on UConn at Matthew Knight Arena, hosted by the University of Oregon. The Michigan State men's team will also be playing in the PK80 Invitational, with the men's action being held in Portland.
Once again, the Big Ten will have a 16-game women's basketball conference schedule format this season after all 14 teams played 18 games the previous two seasons. Michigan State will play in-state rival Michigan, along with Indiana and Maryland in home-and-home contests, while hosting Rutgers, Northwestern, Iowa, Maryland, Nebraska and Wisconsin. The Spartans will play road games at Minnesota, Illinois, Ohio State, Penn State and Purdue.
