Friday, November 19
East Lansing, Mich.
12 PM
Michigan State University
4-0,0-0Big Ten
100
vs
60
Bryant
0-4,0-0NEC
1
2
3
4
F
Bryant
17
17
20
6
60
Michigan St.
27
32
22
19
100
Spartans Improve to 4-0, as Merchant Captures 300th MSU Win
11/19/2021 3:55:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Michigan State reaches triple digits for the first time this season.
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Spartan women's basketball team improved to 4-0, while head coach Suzy Merchant reached another milestone, as MSU defeated Bryant, 100-60, Friday afternoon at the Breslin Center.
In her 15th season, Merchant captured her 300th win at Michigan State, holding a 300-157 record at the helm of the Spartans. She had just reached her 500th career win against Valparaiso on Nov. 16.
Win the win Michigan improved to 4-0 on the season. The Spartans have started out the season 4-0 or better in seven of the last 10 seasons, including four times in the last five years. The Bulldogs fall to 0-4 with the loss.
For the fourth-straight game, MSU had at least four players in double figures with senior guard Nia Clouden leading the team with 21 points, eight assists and four rebounds. Junior guard Alyza Winston followed closely behind with 16 points, while graduate transfer forward Tamara Farquhar and freshman forward Matilda Ekh both scored 12. Farquhar also led the team with eight boards.
The Bulldogs hung with the Spartans early on with the game tied 9-9 with less than six minutes left in the quarter. Michigan State went on a 7-0 run to take an 18-11 near the end of the quarter. Bryant would not go away, trimming the MSU advantage four points after a Brooke Bjelko bucket with 1:21 left in the period. The Spartans ended the quarter with a 6-0 run to take their first double digit lead 27-17 to end the period.
Michigan State continued its run to start the second period, scoring the first 11 of the quarter, taking a 38-17 lead. Overall, the Spartan run was 17-0 before an Alana Perkins free throw with under seven minutes left in the period. MSU maintained a 30-point lead for much of the period, but the Bulldogs scored the final six points of the half, cutting the Spartan lead to 59-34. At the break, Winston and Clouden led MSU in scoring with 11 points apiece.
In the third quarter, MSU showed its depth with 12 players getting into the game. Back-to-back 3-points by Ekh and Clouden at the end of the period put Michigan State up 81-54.
The Spartans had one more run in them scoring 11-straight points in the fourth quarter to open up a 95-56 lead with 4:30 left in the game. Michigan State' tough defense held the Bulldogs to only six fourth-quarter points to seal the 40-point victory
Michigan State will now hit the road for three-straight game. The Spartans start the road swing at Fordham on Sunday, Nov. 21 at 2 p.m.
Post-Game Notes vs. Bryant
In her 15th season, Merchant captured her 300th win at Michigan State, holding a 300-157 record at the helm of the Spartans. She had just reached her 500th career win against Valparaiso on Nov. 16.
Win the win Michigan improved to 4-0 on the season. The Spartans have started out the season 4-0 or better in seven of the last 10 seasons, including four times in the last five years. The Bulldogs fall to 0-4 with the loss.
For the fourth-straight game, MSU had at least four players in double figures with senior guard Nia Clouden leading the team with 21 points, eight assists and four rebounds. Junior guard Alyza Winston followed closely behind with 16 points, while graduate transfer forward Tamara Farquhar and freshman forward Matilda Ekh both scored 12. Farquhar also led the team with eight boards.
The Bulldogs hung with the Spartans early on with the game tied 9-9 with less than six minutes left in the quarter. Michigan State went on a 7-0 run to take an 18-11 near the end of the quarter. Bryant would not go away, trimming the MSU advantage four points after a Brooke Bjelko bucket with 1:21 left in the period. The Spartans ended the quarter with a 6-0 run to take their first double digit lead 27-17 to end the period.
Michigan State continued its run to start the second period, scoring the first 11 of the quarter, taking a 38-17 lead. Overall, the Spartan run was 17-0 before an Alana Perkins free throw with under seven minutes left in the period. MSU maintained a 30-point lead for much of the period, but the Bulldogs scored the final six points of the half, cutting the Spartan lead to 59-34. At the break, Winston and Clouden led MSU in scoring with 11 points apiece.
In the third quarter, MSU showed its depth with 12 players getting into the game. Back-to-back 3-points by Ekh and Clouden at the end of the period put Michigan State up 81-54.
The Spartans had one more run in them scoring 11-straight points in the fourth quarter to open up a 95-56 lead with 4:30 left in the game. Michigan State' tough defense held the Bulldogs to only six fourth-quarter points to seal the 40-point victory
Michigan State will now hit the road for three-straight game. The Spartans start the road swing at Fordham on Sunday, Nov. 21 at 2 p.m.
Post-Game Notes vs. Bryant
- Suzy Merchant reached the 300-win mark as head coach of the Spartans today, holding a 300-187 record at Michigan State. Karen Langeland is the all-time leader with a 376-290 record at MSU. Merchant is also 12 wins away from tying Langeland for the most Big Ten wins by a MSU coach with 156. Merchant also reached 500 career wins against Valparaiso on Tuesday, Nov. 16. Overall, she holds a 501-277 record and stands 200-157 at Michigan State.Â
- Junior guard Alyza Winston reached double figures for the fourth-straight game with 16 points. She has now scored in double figures in 19 career games.Â
- Senior guard Nia Clouden recorded a new season-best 21 points and eight assists, improving upon her previous highs of 18 and seven, respectively. After picking up one steal in the last two games, she grabbed two today for another season high, and tied her season record of six made field goals and three treys. She has now scored in double figures in all four games and 75 career games. Â For the season, Clouden has averaged 16.5 points and 6.0 assists per game.
- Today's win secured a 4-0 start for Michigan State. The Spartans have started out the season 4-0 or better in seven of the last 10 seasons, including four times in the last five years. Â
- Michigan State had at least four players reach in double figures for the fourth-straight game. Against Morehead State (Nov. 9), six players scored in double figures, while against Niagara and Valpo four players did. Today, Nia Clouden led the scoring drive with 21 points, while Alyza Winston had 16 and Matilda Ekh and Tamara Farquhar each totaled 12. Â Â
- Several newcomers had new season and careers-best numbers on the day. Tamara Farquhar made her first career start for the Green & White and tied her season-best of 12 points. Freshman  center Brooklyn Rewers had a season-high four points. Fellow freshman Lauren Walker came up with two points and two blocks, her first as a Spartan and Matilda Ekh had a season-high 12 points scored with three treys made, making for her third double-figure scoring game of the season. Â
- This was the first time that the Spartans had reached triple digits since an 110-52 win over Detroit Mercy on Nov. 8, 2019.
Team Stats
BRY
MSU
FG%
.389
.547
3FG%
.333
.375
FT%
.722
.840
RB
31
34
TO
26
16
STL
9
13
Game Leaders
Pts
21
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
6
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG/F
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
C
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballG
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