Seventh-Seeded Spartans Set to Face 10th-Seeded Harvard In NCAA Tournament Saturday

EAST LANSING, Mich. - No. 7-seeded Michigan State women's basketball opens action in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, facing No. 10-seeded Harvard on Saturday, March 22. Tipoff at Reynolds Coliseum is set for 4:30 p.m. Wes Durham and Angela Taylor will be on the call for ESPNNews.

• The winner of the Michigan State-Harvard game will advance to the second round to meet the winner of regional No. 2 seed and host, NC State and 15th-seeded Vermont. This is the first-ever meeting between the Spartans and the Crimson.

• MSU's No. 7 seed is the Spartans' highest since 2016, when they were a No. 4 seed. Overall, the Spartans are making their 20th overall trip to the "Big Dance." MSU has made it to the NCAA Tournament in 17 of the last 22 completed seasons.

• MSU is just three steals away from breaking the single-season record for steals. Through 30 games, Michigan State has 373 steals. The school record is 375 set by the 2004-05 in 37 games.

• For the first time in Big Ten history, 12 programs were selected to play in the NCAA Tournament, led by No. 1 seeds UCLA and USC. Ohio State and Maryland are both No. 4 seeds, while Iowa and Michigan are No. 6 seeds. MSU is the No. 7 seed, while Illinois (No. 8), Indiana (No. 9), Nebraska (No. 10), Oregon (No. 10) and Washington (No. 11) also advance to the Big Dance.

SPARTANS IN THE BIG DANCE
Michigan State enters the NCAA Tournament with a 21-9 record, falling in the Big Ten Tournament second round to Iowa. The Spartans ended the regular season with 11-7 mark in Big Ten games, tying for fifth overall in the league but earning the No. 7 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. This is the second-straight season that MSU surpassed the 10-win mark in league contests.

The Spartans and Crimson will be meeting on the hardwood for the first time ever. While it is the first time meeting in women's basketball, it is the second MSU Athletics team meeting with Harvard in the last few weeks, as the Spartan baseball team swept the Crimson in a three-game series in Greenville, South Carolina.

Michigan State is making its first trip to Raleigh, North Carolina for the NCAA Tournament, but it will be the Spartans' third-ever trip to the state of North Carolina for the NCAA Tournament.

MSU also played in North Carolina in 1997, going 1-1 as the No. 8 seed in the East Region at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, beating No. 9 seed Portland, 75-70 (OT), before falling to No. 1 seed and host, North Carolina, 81-71, also in OT.

In the 2014 NCAA Tournament, the Spartans also played in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, as the No. 5 seed of the Stanford Regional, beating No. 12 seed Hampton, 91-61, before losing to host and No. 4 seed North Carolina, 62-53.

SPARTANS AGAINST THE IVY
MSU is a combined 5-0 against teams from the Ivy League Conference, going 2-0 vs. Dartmouth, 2-0 vs. Yale, including playing earlier this season, along with 1-0 vs. Brown and 1-0 vs. Princeton.

SPARTANS VS THE FIELD OF 68
MSU has played 14 teams that have reached the NCAA Tournament, going 7-9 against those squads. The Spartans went 0-2 against No. 1 seeds UCLA and USC. In non-conference action, MSU earned wins over California and Vanderbilt with a loss to Alabama. In league play, the Spartans went 1-1 against both Iowa and Michigan. Michigan State also had wins against Illinois, Washington and Indiana. The Spartans also had losses to Ohio State, Maryland, Oregon, and Nebraska.

SCOUTING THE CRIMSON
Harvard reached the NCAA Tournament after claiming its 12th Ivy League title in program history. The Crimson beat the top-seeded Columbia 74-71 in Providence, Rhode Island. Harvard will make its seventh NCAA Tournament appearance in program history, the first since 2007. The 10 seed is the highest in program history. The NCAA bid marks the 17th time the Crimson has moved on to the postseason, and the first time since 2023.

Harvard is led by Ivy League Player of the Year Harmoni Turner, who leads the team in scoring with 22.5 points per game. She also captured first-team all-league honors. Elena Rodriguez earned second-team honors. She is second on the team in scoring, averaging 11.9 ppg.

Head coach Carrie Moore has led the Crimson to 24 wins, the most in Harvard single-season history. She is in her third season at the helm of the Crimson with an overall record of 60-28. Moore was also an assistant coach at Michigan during the 2021-22 season.

SPARTANS AGAINST HARVARD
Michigan State and Harvard have never met.

CRIMSON VS. THE FIELD OF 68
Harvard has played three teams in the field of 68. The Crimson have an OT win to No. 9 seed Indiana. Harvard has wins against No. 11 seeds Columbia and Princeton.

MSU AND HARVARD COMMON OPPONENTS
Michigan State and Harvard shared three common opponents this season: Yale, Indiana (No. 9), and Northwestern. The Spartans went 3-0 against those teams, while the Crimson were 4-0.

NEW TO THE DANCE
The Spartans are fairly new to the NCAA Tournament with only four players having any NCAA experience. Graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault has played in two NCAA games. As the No. 10 seed, MSU fell to Iowa State, 79-75 on March 22, 2021. Ayrault came off the bench to score seven points with two blocks. Last season against North Carolina on March 22, 2024, Ayrault scored 14 points with nine rebounds. Guard Theryn Hallock and Abbey Kimball made their NCAA Tournament debuts last season, along with guard/forward Jocelyn Tate. Junior guard Emma Shumate played in the NCAA Tournament, while playing at Ohio State. Transfers Grace VanSlooten, Nyla Hampton and Jaddan Simmons will all be playing in their first NCAA Tournaments.

DID YOU KNOW?
First-year head coach Robyn Fralick is the first-ever Michigan State women's basketball head coach to lead the Spartans into the NCAA Tournament in their two seasons at the helm of the MSU program.

BIG TIME BIG TEN
For the first time in Big Ten history, 12 programs were selected to play in the NCAA Tournament, led by No. 1 seeds UCLA and USC. Ohio State and Maryland are both No. 4 seeds, while Iowa and Michigan are No. 6 seeds. MSU is the No. 7 seed, while Illinois (No. 8), Indiana (No. 9), Nebraska (No. 10), Oregon (No. 10) and Washington (No. 11) also advance to the Big Dance.

The 12 selections are a conference record for most teams chosen in one season. It is the 20th time in the past 24 years and 27th time in B1G history that at least six current conference members have been selected to compete in the NCAA Tournament.

PLAYING THE BEST
MSU's battle with No. 12/12 Ohio State on Feb. 26 was the Spartans' third ranked opponent in their last four games as well as all in the Top 12 and all three on the road, along with at No. 1/1 UCLA (2/16/25) and at No. 4/4 USC (2/19/25). Overall, it was MSU's seventh regular-season game against a Big Ten foe that was ranked or receiving votes, as part of the ninth overall game this season against a ranked opponent, and MSU is 3-5 against the eight ranked/receiving votes opponents and 3-6 overall against ranked/receiving votes opponents.

AMAZING GRACE
Junior forward Grace VanSlooten has been a fantastic addition to the Spartan lineup this season. The Oregon transfer leads the Spartans in scoring, averaging 15.5 points per game. VanSlooten has played in 29 of 30 games, starting 21. She leads the team in double-doubles with five. VanSlooten has scored in double-figures 27 times this season and has led the team in scoring 13 times.

HOW JADDAN GOT HER GROOVE BACK
Graduate guard Jaddan Simmons reached double figures for the first time in seven games, scoring 11 points against Indiana on Feb. 23. It was her first double-digit outing since scoring 11 at Michigan on Jan. 25. She added 10 points against No. 12/12 Ohio State and 11 against Minnesota on March 1. Overall, she has scored in double figures six times this season with her season high of 18 coming against DePaul on Dec. 8. Michigan State is 5-1 when Simmons reached double-figures in scoring.

ENDURANCE IS KEY
Against Iowa in the Big Ten Tournament on March 6, graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault played in her 137th career game at Michigan State. She now stands alone for first, passing Branndais Agee (2013-18), Kalisha Keane (2007-11) and Allyssa DeHaan (2006-10) who all played 136 games.

NO CHARITY HERE
Graduate guard Jaddan Simmons was the first Spartans to make 10 free throws since All-American Nia Clouden against Ohio State on Feb. 27, 2022. Clouden was 10-for-12 from the line in that game, while Simmons was a perfect 10-for-10. She tied the school record, which was last set by Matilda Ekh against Minnesota on Feb. 22, 2023.

QUITE THE TRIO
With 1,340 points, 741 rebounds and 179 blocks, graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault joins a very small club. She is one of only three Spartans with over 1,300 points, 700 rebounds and 150 blocks. All-American Allyssa DeHaan ended her Spartan career with 1,649 points, 919 rebounds and 504 blocks. Kristen Rasmussen finished with 1,493 points, 964 rebounds and 194 blocks.

SIMMONS CLIMBING THE CHART
Graduate guard Jaddan Simmons is climbing the chart for single-season assist-to-turnover ratio. DeeDee Hagemann set the new school record last season (2.84). Simmons has a team-high 98 assists and 48 turnovers for a 2.04 assist-to-turnover ratio, which currently stands eighth in the single-season record book. She is currently fourth in the Big Ten in assist-to-turnover ratio.

TATE JOINS THE 1K CLUB
With six points against No. 4/4 USC on Feb. 19, senior guard/forward Jocelyn Tate joined the 1,000-point club. She is now the fifth current Spartan with 1,030 points, joining Grace VanSlooten (1,335), graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault (1,323 points), graduate guard Jaddan Simmons (1,332 points) and graduate guard Nyla Hampton (1,307 points). Tate is the third of that quintet to reach 1,000 career points this season, joining Ayrault and VanSlooten, and all three netted their 1,000th career point in California, as Ayrault and VanSlooten reached the 1,000-point plateau in successive days when MSU played at the Acrisure Classic in Palm Springs, California, with Ayrault scoring hers against Cal on Nov. 26, and VanSlooten followed the next day against Vanderbilt.

AYRAULT ASCENDS THE CHARTS
With her 17 points against Iowa in the Big Ten Tournament, Ayrault now has 1,340 career points, becoming the 14th MSU women's basketball player in program history to reach 1,300 career points. Ayrault is holding solid at No. 14 on MSU's career scoring list. Next up at the No. 13 spot is Kelli Roehrig (2013-18) with 1,370 points.

With three boards against the Hawkeyes, Ayrault's career total to 741 rebounds, remaining in the No. 12 spot on MSU's career rebounding list. She is now 24 boards from tying Tori Jankoska (2013-17) for the No. 10 spot.

With three triples, Ayrault now has 131 career 3-pointers, and now has sole possession of the No. 13 spot on the list, where she will have solid hold on for awhile, as next up is a tie for the No. 11 spot with 138 3-pointers by former teammate Matilda Ekh (2022-23) and former strength & conditioning coach and former Spartan Annalise Pickrel (2010-14).

BY THE NUMBERS VS. IOWA | BIG TEN TOURNAMENT
• It was the fifth all-time meeting between MSU and Iowa in the B1G Tournament and all coming in Indianapolis, and the Hawkeyes now take the lead in the B1G Tournament meetings, 3-2, winning the last three, in 2010, 2021 and 2025, after the Spartans won the first two in 2004 and 2006.

• Grace VanSlooten's 12 points was her 17th-straight game in double-figure scoring as part of netting 10+ points in 27 of her 29 games played at MSU, missing the Eastern Michigan game (11/11/24) due to illness and held to single digits twice. VanSlooten has now registered double-digit points 79 times out of 92 career games, logging double-digits in 52 games while at Oregon.

BALANCED ATTACK
Seven different Spartans have led the team in scoring. Grace VanSlooten has led the team in scoring 13 times. Julia Ayrault has led the team in scoring 10 times and Theryn Hallock has been the leading scorer seven times, while Jocelyn Tate, Jaddan Simmons, Emma Shumate and Juliann Woodard have led once.

YOUR STARTING FIVE
Michigan State used the same starting line for the ninth game in a row, with graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault, graduate guard Jaddan Simmons, senior guard/forward Jocelyn Tate, junior guard Theryn Hallock and junior forward Grace VanSlooten. The Big Ten Tournament game on March 6 was the 11th game overall this season with that starting five and MSU is now 5-6 with that starting five for the opening tip.

AROUND THE BIG TEN
Michigan State is third in the Big Ten in scoring offense, averaging 79.5 points per game. The Spartans are also third in scoring margin (+15.5). MSU is tied for third in the league in blocks (5.1 bpg). MSU is second for first in steals with 12.4 spg and second in assists with 18.3 apg. The Spartans are second in turnover margin (+6.9).

Individually, junior forward Grace VanSlooten is fifth in the league in field goal percentage (.532) and is 15th in scoring, averaging 15.5 ppg. Graduate guard Jaddan Simmons is fourth in the Big Ten assist/turnover ratio (2.04). Graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault is seventh in the league in blocks, averaging 1.48 bpg. Senior guard/forward Jocelyn Tate is third in the league in steals (2.27 spg), while graduate guard Nyla Hampton is sixth in steals (1.90 spg).

AROUND THE NATION
After 30 games, the Spartans are 14th in the nation scoring offense, averaging 79.5 ppg. Michigan State is eighth in the NCAA and first in the Big Ten in steals per game with 12.4 spg. MSU is 10th in the nation in assists with 18.3 apg and 15th in turnover margin (+6.9).

BRINGING THE BOOM
For the 2024-25 season, Michigan State women's introduced its new student section - the Breslin Boom. First introduced by Coach Fralick at Michigan State Madness, Spartan students will be encouraged to yell "BOOM" on any big MSU plays.

LOCKED IN DEFENSE
Michigan State is the only team in the Big Ten with four players in the top 10 in steals. Senior guard/forward Jocelyn Tate is third in the Big Ten in steals, averaging 2.27 spg. Graduate guard Nyla Hampton is sixth (2.07 spg), while junior guard Theryn Hallock is eighth (1.90 spg). Graduate guard Jaddan Simmons is 10th in the Big Ten in steals, averaging 1.83 spg. The MSU defense has been tough all season. Twice this year the Spartans have tallied 22 steals in a game: against Detroit Mercy on Nov. 20 and against Oakland on Nov. 5. The only team in the Big Ten with more steals in a game is USC with 28 against CSUN on Nov. 12. The Spartans are second in the B1G in steals, averaging 12.6 spg. MSU is also second in the Big Ten with 373 steals this season.

LAST TIME OUT
In the second round of the 2025 TIAA Big Ten Tournament, No. 6-seeded Michigan State fell to No. 11-seeded Iowa, 74-61, on March 6 in Indianapolis.

The Spartans fall to 21-9 with the loss, while Iowa improves to 22-9 with the win. The Hawkeyes will take on No. 3-seeded Ohio State in the quarterfinals on Thursday. Michigan State is now 2-3 against Iowa in the Big Ten Tournament, having lost the last three meetings. Overall, MSU is 26-29 in the Big Ten Tournament.

Junior forward Grace VanSlooten paced the Spartans with a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. She now has five double-doubles this season. Graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault led the Spartans with 17 points, including going 3-for-6 from beyond the arc. Freshman center Inés Sotelo added 11 points off the bench.

O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN!
Michigan State head coach Robyn Fralick has announced guard/forward Julia Ayrault and guard Nyla Hampton as team captains, as voted on by the players on the 2024-25 women's basketball team.

This is Ayrault's second season as a captain for the Spartans. She is the first Spartan to be a captain in back-to-back seasons since Jenna Allen during the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons. Hampton is in her first season with the Spartans, but is familiar with head coach Robyn Fralick. She played three seasons with Bowling Green before transferring to Ball State last season.

AYRAULT NAMED TO ANN MEYERS DRYSDALE AWARD WATCH LIST Graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault has been named to the 2024 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Midseason Watch, as selected by members of the U.S. Basketball Writers Association.

She was one of 50 players named to the midseason watch list. Ayrault is one of seven players from the Big Ten, including Destiny Adams (Rutgers), Lauren Betts (UCLA), Jaloni Cambridge (Ohio State), Cotie McMahon (Ohio State), Kaylene Smikle (Maryland) and JuJu Watkins (USC).

VANSLOOTEN NAMED TO WATCH LIST
Michigan State Women's Basketball junior forward Grace VanSlooten was named one of the top 10 candidates for the Cheryl Miller Award, as announced by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) on Wednesday.

She is one of three Big Ten players on the list along with Indiana's Yarden Garzon and Ohio State's Cotie McMahon. The award honors the nation's top small forwards.

Three Michigan State women's basketball players were honored with All-Big Ten accolades, as voted on by both the league's 18 coaches and the media, and announced by the conference office Tuesday.

THREE SPARTANS EARN ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS
Graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault was named to second team by both the coaches and the media. Junior forward Grace VanSlooten joined Ayrault with second-team honors by both the coaches and the media, while junior guard Theryn Hallock earned honorable mention honors by both the coaches and the media.

Ayrault, a native of Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan, earned her second All-Big Ten accolade during her sixth season with the Spartans. She captured second-team honors after being named to the first team last season. Ayrault is second on MSU in scoring, averaging 14.7 points per game. She also tied for seventh in blocks, averaging 1.46 bpg. Ayrault has scored in double figures 26 times this season.

VanSlooten, a native of Toledo, Ohio, captured her first All-Big Ten honor when she was named to the second team. She garnered All-Pac 12 honorable mention honors as both a freshman and a sophomore while at Oregon. VanSlooten currently leads the Spartans in scoring, averaging 15.6 ppg. She is currently fourth in the Big Ten in field goal percentage (.533). VanSlooten has played in 28 games this season, starting 20.

Hallock, a native of Grand Rapids, Michigan, earned her first All-B1G honor with honorable mention honors this season. She is currently third on the team in scoring, averaging 13.9 ppg. Hallock has played in all 29 games this season, starting 25. Last season, Hallock became just the second Spartan to earn Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year honors after All-American Kalisha Keane was voted Sixth Player of the Year during the 2009-10 season.

Graduate guard Nyla Hampton was MSU's representative for the Big Ten Sportsmanship award.

WELCOME TO SPARTAN NATION
Michigan State women's basketball head coach Robyn Fralick announced the signing of three signees on Wednesday, including Jordan Ode (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove High School), Anna Terrian (Pewaukee, Wis./Pewaukee High School) and Amy Terrian (Pewaukee, Wis./Pewaukee High School).

Ode is a 6-0 guard, who is a native of Maple Grove, Minn. She attends Maple Grove High School and is coached by Mark Cook. Ode is currently ranked No. 33 in the ESPNW HoopGurlz Recruiting Rankings.

Anna Terrian is a 5-8 guard, who is a native of Pewaukee, Wis., and plays for head coach Jim Reuter at Pewaukee High School. As a junior, she averaged 9.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.

Amy Terrian is a 5-8 guard, who is a native of Pewaukee, Wis., plays for head coach Jim Reuter at Pewaukee High School. Terrian is currently ranked No. 89 in the ESPNW HoopGurlz Recruiting Rankings. As a junior, she averaged 18.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game.

Seventh-Seeded Spartans Set to Face 10th-Seeded Harvard In NCAA Tournament Saturday

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Players Mentioned

Julia Ayrault

DeeDee Hagemann

Theryn Hallock

Nyla Hampton

Abbey Kimball

Emma Shumate

Jaddan Simmons

Jocelyn Tate

Grace VanSlooten

Juliann Woodard