Spartan Women's Basketball Hosts Western Michigan Sunday

Sunday, November 13

East Lansing, Mich.

3 PM

Michigan State University

Western Michigan

11/12/2022 11:43:00 AM | Women's Basketball

MSU Notes WMU Notes Watch Live Live Stats Listen Live MSU Promotions

This is game three of a five-game homestand.

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State women's basketball continues its season-opening five-game homestand, taking on in-state rival Western Michigan on Sunday, Nov. 13 at 3 p.m. The game will be streamed on Big Ten Plus.

• The Spartans started the season 2-0 for the eighth-straight season with an 85-53 win over Purdue Fort Wayne on Nov. 10. Western Michigan is 0-1 with a season-opening loss to Loyola Chicago at home Nov. 7.

• The visitor's bench with have several familiar faces. WMU head coach Shane Clipfell was an assistant coach for MSU head coach Suzy Merchant at both Eastern Michigan and Michigan State. The Broncos Director of Video/Player Development Akyah Taylor is also a former Spartan, who played for MSU in 2013 and 2016.

• Freshman guard Theryn Hallock had her first collegiate double-digit scoring game with 13 points and team-high five assists against PFW. She was 6-for-7 from the field, including 1-for-1 from beyond the arc.

• In recognition of the signing of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 of the Civil Rights Act on June 23, 1972, Spartan Athletics will honor selected individual achievements as well as team milestones from the last half century.

SCOUTING WESTERN MICHIGAN
Western Michigan dropped is season opener at home to Loyola Chicago, 60-51 on Nov. 7. Taylor Williams led the Broncos in scoring with 21 points and added seven rebounds. Lauren Ross was second in scoring with 16. Ross was also selected second-team preseason All-MAC. The team was voted to finish sixth in the MAC. Williams led the Broncos in rebounding (8.7 rpg) last season.

Head coach Shane Clipfell is in his 11th season at the helm of the Broncos. He was an assistant coach at Michigan State for five years before taking over at WMU.

SERIES HISTORY VS. BRONCOS
Michigan State leads the all-time series against Western Michigan, 16-8. The Spartans have won nine-straight meeting, including the last game in East Lansing in 2017. In that matchup, MSU came away with a close 65-62 win. The last time the two teams met current Graduate Assistant Mardrekia Cook started the game, while three Spartans reached double figures.

The last Broncos win came in 1982 in Grand Rapids, 77-60. Overall, Michigan State is 7-3 against Western Michigan in East Lansing and 5-3 in Kalamazoo. On neutral ground, MSU leads 4-2.

YOU LOOK FAMILIAR
Western Michigan head coach Shane Clipfell is a very familiar face to the Spartans. Before heading to WMU, Clipfell worked in different capacities on MSU head coach Suzy Merchant's staffs. He was an assistant coach at Eastern Michigan during the 1998-99 season and coached alongside her at Michigan State for five years after Merchant took over at MSU during the 2007-08 season. For the final three years, Clipfell served as the associate head coach at Michigan State.

TOPPING THE CHARTS
Michigan State is among the Big Ten's leaders early on this season. The Spartans are currently fourth in the B1G in scoring margin (+40.5) and scoring defense (45.0). MSU is also third in assists (21.0) and steals (13.0).

GETTING TO THE RIM
Senior forward Taiyier Parks set a career high in points with 18 against Purdue Fort Wayne on Nov. 10. She eclipsed her previous career high of 16 against Purdue on Jan. 9, 2022. Parks also recorded a team-high nine rebounds. The 18 points were the most by a Spartan this season. She currently leads the team in scoring, averaging 14.0 ppg.

LOGGING IN THE MINUTES
The Spartans have a jam packed schedule to start the 2022-23 season. This week, MSU has already faced Delaware State (11/7) and Purdue Fort Wayne (11/10) before taking on Western Michigan (11/13). Next week, the Spartans face Oakland (11/15), Florida A&M (11/17) before hitting the road to take on Central Michigan (11/19).

BY THE NUMBERS VS. PFW
• The game marked the second-straight win by over 30 points for MSU. The Spartans topped Delaware State by 49 points and Purdue Fort Wayne by 32.

• The Spartans held the Mastodons to single-digit scoring in the second and fourth quarters, limiting Purdue Fort Wayne to nine points in each.

POINTS AND PURDUE
Against Purdue Fort Wayne on Nov. 10, senior forward Taiyier Parks captured a new career high with 18 points. There must be something about playing Purdue schools. Her previous career high was against Purdue on Jan. 9, 2022 in East Lansing.

SEASON OPENERS
All-time, the Spartans are 35-15 in season openers, but 28-2 when the opener is in East Lansing. Coach Merchant is 13-3 in season openers at MSU, and has won 19 of her last 22, including her time at Eastern Michigan. Last season, the Spartans earned a dominating 86-37 win over Delaware State on Nov. 7.

PLAY THE BEST TO BE THE BEST
Michigan State will play seven teams that are ranked in the preseason top 25 polls, led by No. 4/6 Iowa (Jan. 18). At the Phil Knight Invitational, the Spartans will face two ranked teams. MSU will start with another team from the Hawkeye State in No. 8/9 Iowa State on Nov. 24. MSU will face either No. 12/12 North Carolina or No.20/20 Oregon in the final game of the PKI on Nov. 27. Big Ten teams Indiana, Ohio State, Maryland, Nebraska and Michigan are all ranked in both preseason polls.

MEET THE NEWBIES
MSU introduces four freshmen to the team this season, featuring Abbey Kimball (Grand Rapids, Mich.), Theryn Hallock (Grands Rapids, Mich.), Maddy Skorupski (Clarkston, Mich.) and Oliva Porter (Chapel Hill, North Carolina).

The Spartans also added three transfers to this season's squad. Detroit native Gabby Elliot is a junior guard who comes to MSU from Clemson. Graduate guard Kamaria McDaniel, who hails from Inkster, was an All-Big Ten honoree from Penn State, before transferring to Baylor. Graduate guard Stephanie Visscher from Lulea, Sweden, was an all-conference performer from Stephen F. Austin.

COMING BACK BETTER THAN EVER
Senior guard Moira Joiner has looked sharp in her first two games since returning from concussion symptoms that shut down her 2021-22 season. In two games, she is second in scoring, averaging 11.5 points per game. In the season opener against Delaware State tallied 13 points off the bench in her first action since Jan. 12, 2022 vs. Ohio State, after missing the remainder of the 2021-22 season due to injury. Joiner's 10 points against Purdue Fort Wayne were her 16th career double-figure scoring game. Joiner also netted three 3-pointers against DSU, matching her season-high from last year. With 13 points Monday, Joiner now has double-figures in both of the last two season-openers with 10 points in the 2020-21 lid-lifter against Morehead State.

Redshirt-junior guard Julia Ayrault also made her return to the lineup after missing all of last season. Ayrault has scored in both games this season in limited action and had her first block of the season against Purdue Fort Wayne.

GUESS WHO'S BACK
Despite losing All-American Nia Clouden, the Spartans bring back a lot of fire power. MSU returns two starters in sophomore guard Matida Ekh and sophomore guard DeeDee Hagemann. Ekh was third on the team in scoring, averaging 11.8 points per game. She was also eighth in the B1G in 3-pointers made with 2.3. Hagemann was sixth on the team in scoring, averaging 7.7 ppg and was fourth in the conference in assists (5.3 apg).

TITLE IX CELEBRATION
Throughout the season, Michigan State will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of Title IX. MSU Athletics kicked off its year-round celebration on June 23, 2022. While the work in advancing women's athletics is not complete, the Spartans will celebrate the advancements that have been made in the last 50 years.

LEGENDARY SPARTAN
Former Michigan State women's basketball guard Nia Clouden was drafted 12th in the first round by the Connecticut Sun at the 2022 WNBA Draft. Clouden was the 12th Big Ten student-athlete drafted by the Sun franchise (which began as the Orlando Miracle from 1999-2002). Clouden, an Owings Mills, Maryland native, became the eighth Spartan to be selected in the WNBA draft. Tori Jankoska was the ninth overall pick in the 2017 draft by the Chicago Sky, while Aerial Powers was the fifth overall pick in 2016 going to the Dallas Wings.

Maxann Reese and Kristen Rasmussen were the first Spartans selected in the WNBA, drafted in 2000. Reese was taken in the third round, while Rasmussen was selected in the fourth. In 2003, Syreeta Broomfield was drafted in the third round. In 2005, Kristin Haynie was the ninth overall pick by Sacramento, while Liz Shimek was taken in the second round by Phoenix in 2006.

LOOKING AT THE SCHEDULE
The Spartans will once again play a very difficult schedule. Nine of the MUS's 2022-23 regular-season opponents competed in the NCAA Tournament last season, including MSU's ACC/Big Ten Challenge opponent Georgia Tech. All three teams at the Phil Knight Invitational competed in the NCAA Tournament with MSU facing Iowa State in the first game. The Spartans will then face either Oregon or North Carolina in the next game. From the Big Ten portion of the schedule, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska and Ohio State reached the NCAA Tournament.

SPARTANS: THE NEW CLASS
Michigan State women's basketball head coach Suzy Merchant announced the signing of two National Letters of Intent on Thursday, including Jordan Wood (Chicago, Illinois/Carmel Catholic High School) and Bree Robinson (Mississauga, Ontario/ Webb School).

Wood is a 6-4 forward, who is a native of Chicago, Illinois. She attends Carmel Catholic High School and is coached by Ben Berg. Wood is currently ranked No. 62 in the ESPNW HoopGurlz Recruiting Rankings. As a junior, she scored 1,000 points, as well as leading the Corsairs to a Class 3A Illinois State Championship. Last season, she averaged 14.4 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, while also leading the team in assists (3.2 apg). She is a three-time All-East Suburban Catholic Conference and All-Area honoree, as well as capturing First-Team All-State accolades. Wood played AAU for Midwest Elite, competing on the EYBL Nike National circuit for coach Ralph Gesuado.

Robinson is a 5-8 guard, who is a native of Mississauga, Ontario, plays for head coach Matthew Shewmake at the Webb School (Tenn.). She helped lead the Webb school to a Tennessee State Championship, earning First-Team All-District 3 honors in the process. She also has a vast amount of international experience playing for Team Canada. She was the captain for Team Canada, playing in the U16 FIBA Americas in 2021, capturing a silver medal. She was also named Canletes 2022 All Canadian Player of the Year. She played for AAU Become One, competing on the GUAA Under Armour circuit for coach Handel Kipp.

CLOSING OUT THE GAMES
The Spartans have been extremely effective closing out games over the last couple years, winning 240 of its last 253 games (.949) when leading with five minutes left, including 190 of their last 205. In Coach Merchant's tenure, Michigan State is 274-21 (.929) when holding a lead with five minutes left. This season, MSU is 2-0 when leading with five minutes remaining.

MAGIC NUMBERS
In head coach Suzy Merchant's tenure, when two numbers on the scoreboard were achieved it typically has been a sign of a MSU win. The Green & White have won 172 of their last 202 games (.851) when scoring at least 70 points, and the Spartans are 192-41 (.824) under head coach Suzy Merchant when hanging at least 70 points on the scoreboard. This season, MSU is 2-0 this season when scoring 70 points. In the first two games of the season, they earned a 86-37 win over Delaware State and an 85-53 victory over Purdue Fort Wayne.

Michigan State University Athletics

Spartan Women's Basketball Hosts Western Michigan Sunday

Related News

Next Event

Related Videos