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Four in Double Figures Push No. 15/16 Michigan State Women Past Oakland
11/19/2019 9:17:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Senior Taryn McCutcheon scores a team-high 16 in the win.
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Taryn McCutcheon scored 16 points, Mardrekia Cook added 14 and No. 15/16 Michigan State women's basketball defeated Oakland 76-56 on Tuesday night at the Breslin Center.
Michigan State improves to 4-0 for the fourth time in the last five seasons. With the loss Oakland evens out its record at 2-2.
MSU had four in double figures led by 16 points by McCutcheon, while Cook added a season-high 14 points. Sophomore forward Kayla Belles was one point shy of matching her career high, scoring 11 points, while sophomore guard Nia Clouden added 10. Freshman forward Taiyier Parks was the first Spartan to reach double figures in rebounds with 10.
Kayla Luchenbach had 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Golden Grizzlies (2-2) with Jalisha Terry scoring 16 points.
The Golden Grizzlies scored the first four points of the game and eventually opened up an 11-4 lead. The Spartans went on a 9-0 scoring run to take its first lead of the game 15-14 with under three minutes left in the quarter. McCutcheon hit two 3-pointers 45 seconds apart to open the second quarter that began a 9-0 run and Michigan State led the rest of the way.
McCutcheon continued her sharp shooting drilling back-to-back treys to start the quarter to put the Spartans back on top 24-19. Michigan State scored the first 10 points of the quarter to take a 28-19 advantage. The Spartans held the Golden Grizzlies to only nine points in the final 10 minutes of the half, taking a 35-28 lead into the locker room.
MSU went up by double figures for good with just under four minutes in the third and opened the fourth with an 8-0 run to push the lead to 22.
The Spartans will conclude its two-game homestand on Sunday, Nov. 24 against Hartford at 2 p.m. Last season, Michigan State defeated the Hawks on the road in overtime.
Post-Game Notes - vs. Oakland
• Michigan State is 4-0 for the fourth time in the last five years and the sixth time overall under head coach Suzy Merchant.
• The Spartans are 124-39 (.761) all-time in the month of November ... Under Coach Merchant, MSU is 64-11 (.853), including winning 38 of the last 42 in the 11th month of the calendar.
• Tuesday was MSU's 12th-straight win over in-state foe Oakland, as the Spartans improved to 16-4 all-time in the series vs. the Golden Grizzlies, including 10-2 at home ... Michigan State has held Oakland below 60 points in each of the last two meetings, winning 102-58, last season at Oakland.
• Senior guard Taryn McCutcheon led four Spartans in double-figures with 16 points, moving up to 923 for her career and just 77 points away from becoming the 28th member of MSU's 1,000-point club ... McCutcheon drained a season-high four 3-pointers, including three in the first half ... she now has multiple 3-pointers in three of the four games and nine treys on the season (2.3 pg).
• McCutcheon also dished out two assists Tuesday, giving her 485 for her career and 89 helpers away from passing current MSU assistant coach Kristin Haynie, who had 576 career assists during her Spartan career (2001-05) ... She also swiped a team-best and season-high three steals
• Sophomore forward Kayla Belles netted a season-high 11 points off the bench, with all 11 coming in the second half ... Belles was one shy of her career-best of 12 point and the 11 points topped her previous season-high of 10 points set vs. Detroit Mercy (11/8/19).
• Sophomore guard Nia Clouden tallied 10 points for her third game in double-figure scoring in the Spartans' four contests this season ... Clouden also dished out a season-high six assists, while redhshirt-sophomore Mardrekia Cook added a season-high 14 points.
• Freshman forward Taiyier Parks pulled down a season-high 10 rebounds, the first Spartan this season with double-digit rebounds.
• Parks' 10 rebounds helped MSU to a season-high 55 rebounds and a 55-45 rebounding advantage ... the Spartans have had a +-double-digit rebounding margin in three of the four games as part of averaging 48.8-34.3 (+14.5).
• Parks also swatted three shots, tying a season-high, and freshman forward Julia Ayrault had a season-best three blocks ... Ayrault has five blocks on the season which have all been in the last two games ... MSU had a season-high six rejections. Ayrault also pulled down a season-high eight rebounds.
• MSU has won 141 of its last 159 games when scoring at least 70 points, and MSU is 159-27 under head coach Suzy Merchant when hanging at least 70 points on the scoreboard.
• The Spartans have won 197 of their last 209 games (.943) when leading with five minutes left, including 147 of their last 147 of their last 161.
•The Spartans have been extremely effective closing out games over the last couple years, winning 197 of their last 209 games (.943) when leading with five minutes left, including 147 of their last 161. In Coach Merchant's tenure, Michigan State is 232-18 (.928) when holding a lead with five minutes left.