Spartans Host Indiana on National Girls and Women in Sports Day Monday

EAST LANSING, Mich. - No. 23/21 Michigan State returns home to take on Indiana on Monday, Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. on National Girls and Women in Sports Day. The Spartans will celebrate all MSU women's sports at half time of the game. Michigan State comes into the game with a 16-6 record and a 6-5 mark in Big Ten action. Indiana is 17-7 overall and 6-6 in league play.

• The Spartans have netted 70 or more points in all 12 home games this season as part of scoring 70+ points in 17 of the 22 games on the season. Michigan State is 16-2 this season as part of 134 of its last 149 games when scoring at least 70 points and the Spartans are 152-43 under Coach Merchant when hanging 70 or more points on the scoreboard.

• Taryn McCutcheon, Jenna Allen and Nia Clouden are the only three Spartans to have started all 22 games this season. McCutcheon has 85 career starts to lead the team.

• This is the second regular-season meeting between the Spartans and the Hoosiers with IU taking the first battle, 68-64 in Bloomington on Jan. 6.

• Now with 991 career points, senior Jenna Allen is just nine points away from becoming the 27th player in Spartan history to reach the 1,000 career points plateau.

SCOUTING INDIANA
This is the second meeting of the season between the Spartans and the Hoosiers. IU is 17-7 overall and 6-6 in Big Ten action. Indiana has lost three of its last four games, including a 65-61 loss to Minnesota at home on Feb. 6.

Indiana is led by Ali Patberg, who is eighth in the Big Ten in scoring, averaging 15.4 points per game. Jaelynn Penn is 12th in the conference in scoring, averaging 13.8 ppg. Also among the leagues leaders in scoring is Brenna Wise who is 19th with 12.5 ppg. Wise is also tied for 14th in rebounding with 6.8 rebounds per game and first in the league in free throw percentage, shooting 92.7 percent. Patberg is also tied for first in assists with 5.0 apg.

As a team, the Hoosiers are first in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.273) and second in free throw percentage (.757). In league contests, the Hoosiers are sixth in scoring, averaging 68.0 ppg. They are ninth in scoring defense in Big Ten play, allowing 68.7 ppg.

Teri Moren is in her fifth season at the helm of the Hoosiers. She has an overall career record of 298-190. She led Indiana to the WNIT title last season.

SERIES HISTORY VS. INDIANA
Michigan State leads the overall series with Indiana 46-28, but the Hoosiers have won the last three meetings. MSU holds a 22-11 record in East Lansing against IU. Indiana was captured the last three meeting, as MSU looks to snap a three-game losing streak against Hoosiers. One of those losses was the 111-109 four overtime loss in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis last season. In the first meeting this season on Jan. 6 in Bloomington, Indiana came away with the close 68-64 win.

LAST TIME VS. INDIANA
Despite four Spartans scoring in double figures, the No. 15/17 Michigan State women's basketball team dropped another close road battle to Indiana, 68-64, at Assembly Hall on Jan. 6, 2019.

The Spartans had four in double figures led by senior center Jenna Allen, the Bedford, Indiana native, playing in Bloomington for the final time. Allen had 15 points to go along with three rebounds. Sophomore forward Sidney Cooks added 12 points off the bench, while redshirt-sophomore forward Mardrekia Cook scored 11 points with seven boards in her return to the starting lineup. Freshman guard Nia Clouden also added 10 points.

DID YOU KNOW?
In the win against Purdue on Feb. 3, all five of MSU's starters posted double-figures for the first time this season. This was the third-straight game that three or more starters have tallied double-digits.
It marks the first time since Nov. 30, 2014 that the Spartans had all five starters net double-figures in an 85-39 victory over Miami (Ohio), when Anna Morrissey (17), Tori Jankoska (16), Jasmine Lumpkin (13), Becca Mills (10) and Aerial Powers (10) posted double-digits.

ALLEN APPROACHING A MILESTONE
Senior center Jenna Allen scored two points in the loss to No. 16 Iowa on Feb. 7. She now has seven double-digit game in the last nine outings and 17 for the season. Now with 991 career points, Allen is just nine points away from becoming the 27th player in Spartan women's basketball history to reach the 1,000 career points plateau. Allen added three rebounds against Iowa and now has 517 career boards.

She has four 20+ point outings this season and five in her career. Against both Oregon and FAU, Allen tied a career-high with three 3-pointers, matching three triples from at Notre Dame (12/16/17), which was also when her career-high of 28 points came.

GETTING IN THE GAME
Junior guard Taryn McCutcheon and senior center Jenna Allen have been consistent parts of the Spartan lineup during their careers. Against Iowa, McCutcheon made her 22nd start of the season and 85th of her career. Allen recorded her 22nd start of the season and 49th of her career. Also added to her career start mark was redshirt-junior Shay Colley, who started for the 15th time this season and made the 36th start of her career.

Allen, McCutcheon and freshman guard Nia Clouden have started all 22 games this season.

CRASHING THE BOARDS
Despite winning three of the last four games, Michigan State has been out-rebounded in the last three games and four of the last five. The last time MSU out-rebounded its opponents was in a win against Illinois on Jan. 24, as the Spartans had a 47-25 edge on the boards. Michigan State is 3-5 when its opponents have more rebounds.

HOME-COURT ADVANTAGE
There are three Big Ten teams that are undefeated at home. MSU and Iowa lead the way with 12-0 records at home. Rutgers also stands 11-0 at home this season.

MOTHER NATURE GETS IN THE WAY
The Spartans game against Penn State that was postponed on Jan. 31 was the first time MSU had a game re-schedule since the 2015-16 season. That season storms in the Mid-Atlantic area re-scheduled a matchup between MSU and Maryland twice. The game was originally set to be played on Jan. 23 was finally played on Feb. 5.

The Spartans also had travel woes on the way to Iowa. Michigan State was scheduled to travel to Iowa City on Wednesday, Feb. 6, but were unable to land in Iowa. MSU finally reached Iowa on Thursday morning prior to the game.

CLOUDEN CLEANING UP
Freshman sensation Nia Clouden is climbing up the MSU freshman record charts. She is now seventh in freshman assists with 98 helpers, passing Spartan All-American Tori Jankoska who had 79 during the 2013-14 campaign. Current teammate Taryn McCutcheon holds the record for freshman assists with 169 during the 2016-17 season. Clouden also has scored 252 points this season, which places her just 11 points shy of standing tied for No. 15 in freshman scoring tied with Kim Archer (1983-84).

MCCUTCHEON MOVIN' ON UP
With one assist against Iowa on Feb. 7, junior guard Taryn McCutcheon is fourth in career helpers with 445 in just three seasons. She passed Deb Traxinger (1978-82), who had 443 career assists. She is one of just seven Spartans to reach the 400-assist mark. McCutcheon is now 16 assists away from passing Christine Powers (1991-95), who had 460. MSU Hall of Famer Kristin Haynie (2001-05) is the all-time career leader in assists with 574 helpers.

She is currently sixth in the Big Ten and 73rd in the NCAA with 4.9 assists per game.

NO PLACE LIKE HOME
The Spartans improved to 12-0 this season at home this season and have a 15-game home winning streak dating back to last year ... MSU now has the best home record in the Big Ten for overall games (12-0), while tying Rutgers and Iowa at 6-0 for best home mark in the B1G for conference games.

MSU's 15-game home winning streak is the longest since a streak of 20 games overlapping the 2009-10 and the 2010-11 seasons.

The Spartans were 11-5 at the Breslin Center last season, while finishing the 2016-17 season 11-3 at home. During the 2015-16 season, MSU went 13-2 in East Lansing. The Spartans most home wins came during the 2010-11 season with 15 wins.

BEATING THE BEST
The Jan. 17 upset win over No. 9/9 Maryland was Michigan State's fourth home win over a ranked team, marking the first time that the Spartans have defeated four ranked teams at home since 2004-05 when MSU defeated No. 18/17 Iowa, No. 11/12 Minnesota, No. RV/24 Purdue and No. 2/3 Ohio State.

The win was MSU's fourth home win over a ranked team, joining No. 3 Oregon (88-82 on Dec. 9), No. 16 Iowa (84-70 on Dec. 30) and No. 18 Minnesota (Jan. 9), marking the second time in last four seasons that the Spartans have beat four ranked teams in the same season. In 2015-16, the Spartans topped No. 16 Northwestern (home), No. 5 Ohio State (home) and No. 9 Ohio State (neutral).

MSU's losses against ranked teams were against then-No. 15/13 NC State on Nov. 22 and No. 20/23 Rutgers on the road on Jan. 20. The Spartans only other loss to a ranked team was against No. 16/16 Iowa on Feb. 7.

The Spartans are now 4-3 this season against ranked opponents, improving to 23-17 overall at home vs. ranked foes under head coach Suzy Merchant.

PUTTING UP THE NUMBERS
In 22 games this season, the Spartans have had a player score at least 20 points 11 times, including both Sidney Cooks and Shay Colley scoring 20 against Purdue on Feb. 3. Senior center Jenna Allen has scored at least 20 points four times with a season-high 27 points against Oregon on Dec. 9. Redshirt-junior guard Shay Colley has scored at least 20-points four times this season, including scoring 28 points against Northwestern on Jan. 3, which was the most by a Spartan this season. Freshman guard Nia Clouden scored a career-high 27 against Iowa on Dec. 30 and 20 points in the second meeting against Iowa on Feb. 7.

B1G BY THE NUMBERS
The Spartans continue to hold several top spots in the Big Ten rankings this week, sitting first in both 3-point field goal percentage (.399) and in 3-pointers made per game (7.8). Michigan State also second the league in turnover margin (+3.0). MSU is also second in scoring offense, averaging 78.7 ppg, just shy of Iowa's leading 80.4 ppg, along with also ranking second in scoring margin (+11.8), assists (20.0 apg) and assist/turnover ratio (1.4). Additionally, the Spartans are third in field goal percentage (.461) and steals (8.5 spg).

SPREADING THE WEALTH
Michigan State has had success when it spreads the ball around this season. The Spartans are 9-0 when they have 21 or more assists in a game. Michigan State is also 14-0 when recording more assists than its opponents. Seven different players have led the team in assists this season, topped by junior guard Taryn McCutcheon, who has led MSU eight times.

The Spartans improved to 16-0 when having more assists than their opponents. In MSU's losses to NC State, Northwestern, Indiana and Ohio State, the Spartans averaged only 11.8 assists per game, including a season-low nine against Ohio State.

LOOKING AT THE TOP 25
With a win last week, the Spartans stand No. 23 in the AP poll and No. 21 in the USA Today Coaches' poll. This is the ninth-straight game that Michigan State has been ranked.

BIG TEN OPENERS
Michigan State is 24-13 in home Big Ten openers in 37 years in the league. Last season, the Spartans fell to Rutgers on Dec. 31, 61-58.

Overall, Michigan State is 19-18 all-time in Big Ten openers, having won six of its last eight ... Under Coach Merchant, the Spartans are 8-4 in Big Ten openers ... Last season, MSU earned a dominating 68-46 win over Indiana in Bloomington on Dec. 28, 2017.

This was the first time that Michigan State has started Big Ten play against Iowa since Jan. 6, 1984. In that match up the Spartans fell to the Hawkeyes, 70-62.

AGAINST THE GREAT LAKES STATE
Michigan State has had great success against other collegiate programs in the state of Michigan over the past 16 seasons. Since the beginning of the 2002-03 season, the Spartans are 57-5 (.919) against in-state rivals, including a 42-5 (.894) mark under Coach Merchant. All-time, Michigan State is 190-60 (.760) against other Michigan schools.

BY THE NUMBERS
Michigan State's 88-82 upset of No. 3 was MSU's first upset win over an AP Poll top 5 team since a 107-105 3OT victory over No. 5 Ohio State on Feb. 27, 2016. It was the Spartans' biggest upset win since a 68-64 upset of No. 3 Tennessee on April 3, 2005 in the NCAA Tournament. It was the highest regular-season win since a 82-73 OT win over No. 3 Notre Dame on Dec. 2, 2004.

CLOSING IT OUT
The Spartans have been extremely effective closing out games over the last couple years, winning 188 of their last 199 games (.945) when leading with five minutes left, including 138 of their last 151. In Coach Merchant's tenure, Michigan State is 223-17 (.929) when holding a lead with five minutes left. This season, the Spartans are 16-1 with the only loss coming against Indiana on Jan. 6.

SPARTANS IN THE NCAA RANKINGS
The Spartan guard tandem of freshman guard Nia Clouden and junior Taryn McCutcheon rank third and fifth in the B1G and 30th and 53rd in the NCAA, respectively in assist-to-turnover ratio. Clouden has a 2.33 ratio, while McCutcheon stands 2.10. McCutcheon is also 73rd in the nation and sixth in the league in assists per game, dishing out 4.7, to go with seventh in the conference and 60th in the country in total assists (103). McCutcheon is also 30th in the country and third in the conference in 3-point percentage (.425). Senior center Jenna Allen is 51st in the country and sixth in the league in field-goal percentage with a 52.6 percentage.

As a team, MSU is fifth in the NCAA and second in the B1G in assists per game, averaging 20.0. Michigan State is also eighth in the country and second in the conference in assist/turnover ratio (1.42). MSU is also fifth in the nation and tops in the league in 3-point field goal percentage, shooting 40.1 percent behind the arc. The Spartans are also 19th in the country and second in the Big Ten in scoring offense, netting 79.0 points per game, as well as ranking 34th in the nation and second in the league in scoring margin at +13.0. MSU is 17th in the country and third in the league in field goal percentage, shooting 46.4 percent from the field.

AROUND THE BIG TEN
As of Friday, the Big Ten ranked No. 4 in the NCAA RPI (Ratings Percentage Index). In addition, seven Big Ten schools are among the top 60 in the NCAA team RPI rankings, including four in the top 25. Iowa leads the group at No. 12, followed by No. 15 Rutgers, No. 19 Maryland and No. 25 Michigan State. Indiana is next at No. 41, with Purdue at No. 42 and Michigan at No. 59 rounding out the group.

During Big Ten regular-season play this year, more than one-third of all conference games (35.4 percent; 29 of 82) have been decided by two possessions (six points) or fewer — with 44 games still to go this season. By comparison, during last year's Big Ten regular-season action, 26 of the 112 games (23.2 percent) were decided by two possession or fewer. A tip of the hat to Nebraska's Jeff Griesch for the research on this note.

MERCHANT HONORED WITH ATHENA AWARD
Michigan State head women's basketball coach Suzy Merchant has been named the recipient of the 2018 ATHENA Leadership Award, as announced by the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce. Merchant was presented her award at a luncheon at the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center on Dec. 6. The ATHENA Award honors individuals who strive towards the highest levels of professional accomplishment, who excel in their chosen field, have devoted time and energy to their community, and who pave paths for other women to follow.

ALLEN AND CLOUDEN CAPTURE B1G HONORS
Michigan State's Jenna Allen and Nia Clouden both captured Big Ten honors on Dec. 31 as announced by the league office. Allen earned Big Ten Player of the Week accolades, while Clouden garnered the Freshman of the Week honor. Clouden was also named USBWA National Freshman of the Week.

This was Allen's second Player of the Week award this season and second of her career. Clouden captured her first Freshman of the Week honor and became the first Spartan to earn the award since Victoria Gaines on Jan. 2, 2017. This is the first time since the Freshman of the Week award began during the 2009-10 season that MSU has received both honors in the same week. The Spartans are also the first team to sweep the awards this year.

RACKING UP THE HONORS
Michigan State senior center Jenna Allen added to her honors after being named U.S. Basketball Writers Association Ann Meyers Drysdale Women's National Player of the Week on Dec. 10. She also garnered ESPNW and Big Ten Player of the week accolades. Allen averaged 21.5 points on 17-of-24 shooting (.708 percent), including a 5-of-8 performance (.625 percent) from beyond the arc over two games last week. In an upset over No. 3-ranked Oregon on Dec. 9, Allen scored a season-high 27 points on 11-of-14 shooting from the field in a career-high 37 minutes played. The Bedford, Indiana native was 3-of-4 from distance including a triple with 35 seconds left in regulation that all but sealed the game for the Spartans.

2018 ACC/B1G CHALLENGE RECAP
Michigan State was one of the six Big Ten teams to earn a victory in the 12th annual ACC/Big Ten Women's Basketball Challenge, as the ACC won the Challenge, 8-6. MSU was joined in the win column by Indiana, Maryland, Ohio State, Purdue and Minnesota. The Spartans' 25-point margin of victory (91-66) was not only the largest margin of victory, but also the highest B1G score. Overall, it was the third-largest margin of victory in the challenge, behind Notre Dame's 34-point margin in 105-71 win over Iowa and 29-point margin in Florida State's 87-58 win over Penn State. MSU's 91 points was the second-highest scored in the Challenge behind Notre Dame's 105 points.

SEASON OPENERS
All-time, the Spartans are now 32-15 in season openers, but 24-2 when the opener is in East Lansing. Coach Merchant is 9-3 in season openers at MSU, and has won 15 of her last 18, including her time at Eastern Michigan. This is the fifth time in the past seven years Michigan State has opened with wins in five of its first six games.

BOUNCE BACK ABILITY
In Coach Merchant's first 12 seasons, the Spartans are 78 -32 (70.9%) following a loss.

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. Overall, MSU has scored at least 70 points in 17 of 21 games this season. MSU has won 134 of its last 149 games when scoring at least 70 points, and MSU is 152-24 under head coach Suzy Merchant when hanging at least 70 points on the scoreboard. This year, MSU is 16-2 when scoring at least 70 with a loss to No. 13 NC State on Nov. 22 and a loss to No. 16 Iowa on Feb. 7.

FREQUENT FLIER
Redshirt-junior guard Shay Colley spent time overseas this summer playing for the Canadian National Team. Playing in Europe, Colley helped guide Canada to the quarterfinals of the FIBA Women's World Cup.

FANS CONTINUE TO PACK THE BRESLIN
Michigan State women's basketball continues to pack the Breslin Center, finishing the 2017-18 season 10th in the nation and second in the Big Ten home attendance. The Spartans averaged 5,689 fans in 16 home games last season. MSU had a total of 91,026 fans pass through the gates. This is the 14th-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.

This season, the Spartans are fourth in the Big Ten and 14th in the nation in attendance, averaging 5,485 fans per game. Michigan State packed 9,520 fans into the Breslin Center as MSU stopped Iowa on Dec. 30. Purdue leads the league in attendance, averaging 6,525 fans per game, while South Carolina is first in the nation with 11,016 per game.

COLLEY EARNS PRESEASON HONOR
To kickoff the beginning of Big Ten Women's Basketball Media Week, the conference released the Preseason Coaches and Media Polls, in addition to the preseason All-Big Ten teams. Michigan State redshirt-junior guard Shay Colley was earned Preseason All-Big Ten honors by the coaches.

Maryland was voted to finish first in both the coaches and the media polls, while Iowa was picked second in both. In the coaches poll, Michigan was voted third, while Minnesota earned the third spot in the media poll. Reigning Big Ten Player of the Year Megan Gustafson of Iowa was voted Preseason Player of the Year by both the coaches and the media.

UP NEXT
After taking on Indiana on Monday, Feb. 11 on National Girls and Women in Sports Day. The Spartans will hit the road for a pair of road games, during a very busy week. MSU will travel to Wisconsin on Valentine's Day before taking on Nebraska on Sunday, Feb. 17 in Lincoln.

LAST TIME OUT
No. 23 Michigan State women's basketball had its three-game winning streak come to an end with a 86-71 loss at No. 16 Iowa on Thursday night in Iowa City.

The Spartans endured a tough travel day, unable to arrive in Iowa City on Wednesday night due to inclement weather in Iowa. MSU was able to arrive in Iowa Thursday late morning.

Michigan State falls to 16-6 overall this season and 6-5 in Big Ten action. Iowa improves to 18-5 overall and 9-3 in league play.

The Spartans were led by 20 points from freshman guard Nia Clouden, who has now reached the 20-point mark twice this season, both against Iowa. She scored a career-high 27 in the win against the Hawkeyes on Dec. 30. Coming off the bench, redshirt-sophomore guard Mardrekia Cook scored 12 points and added five boards. Junior guard Taryn McCutcheon also reached double figures with 11 points.

Iowa was led by senior Megan Gustafson who scored a game high 41 points and added 14 rebounds.

POST-GAME NOTES VS. INDIANA
• MSU's starting lineup of junior guards Shay Colley and Taryn McCutcheon, sophomore forward Sidney Cooks, freshman guard Nia Clouden and senior forward Jenna Allen was the fourth-straight time this season that the Spartans have started with that quintet. MSU is 3-1 with that lineup.

• McCutcheon made her 22nd start of the season and 85th of her career ... Allen recorded her 22nd start of the season and 49th of her career ... Colley started for the 15th time this season and made the 36th start of her career ... Clouden posted her 22nd start of the season ... Cooks made her fourth start of the season and 26th career start.

• Allen, McCutcheon and Clouden have started all 22 games this season and are joined by junior forward Victoria Gaines in playing all 22 games.

• Michigan State's 71 points was MSU's fourth-straight game in the 70s after netting 77 in back-to-back games and three of the previous four after a 77-60 victory at home vs. Illinois (Jan. 24) and winning at Michigan 77-73 (Jan. 27) as well as 77 in a 77-60 upset of No. 9 Maryland (Jan. 17).

WELCOME TO SPARTAN NATION - SIGNING DAY
Michigan State women's basketball head coach Suzy Merchant announced the signing of five National Letters of Intent, including Julia Ayrault (Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan/Grosse Pointe North), Cydni Dodd (Indianapolis, Indiana/Warren Central), Moira Joiner (Saginaw, Michigan/Heritage), Taiyier Parks (Cleveland, Ohio/North Royalton) and Alyza Winston (Muskegon, Michigan/ Muskegon). The class was ranked No. 6 by ESPNW Hoop Gurlz as of Nov. 15.

Ayrault is a 6-2 guard who plays for head coach Gary Bennett at Grosse Pointe North High School in Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan and played AAU basketball for Rob Ruhstorfer and the Michigan Mystics. Ayrault is currently ranked No. 14 in her position and No. 75 overall by ESPN HoopGurlz. Last season, she averaged 19.1 points, 10.3 rebounds and 4.5 blocks per game and led Grosse Pointe North to the Class A Final Four. Ayrault set program records of scoring 497 points scored in a season.

Dodd is a 6-5 center who plays for head coach Stacy Mitchell at Warren Central High School in Indianapolis, Indiana and AAU basketball for Danny Riego and the Indiana Gym Rats EYBL. She is currently ranked No. 14 in her position and No. 84 overall by ESPN HoopGurlz. As a junior, Dodd averaged 11.0 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game on 70 percent shooting from the field. Dodd was named to the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association Underclass Large School All-State team. Joiner is a 5-10 guard who plays for head coach Vonnie Delong at Heritage High School in Saginaw, Michigan and played AAU basketball for Jeff Taylor and the Michigan Storm. She is ranked No. 13 in her position and No. 57 overall by ESPN HoopGurlz. Joiner is a three-time Associated Press All-State honoree.

Parks is a 6-2 forward who plays for head coach Matt Stricker at North Royalton High School in North Royalton, Ohio and played AAU basketball for Andre Gault and the SMAC. She is ranked No. 11 in her position and No. 93 overall by ESPN HoopGurlz. As a junior, she averaged 19.0 points to go along with 16.0 rebounds, 3.0 steals and 3.0 blocks per game. She earned first-team All-Conference honors as both a freshman and a junior.

Winston is a 5-7 guard who plays for head coach Rodney Walker at Muskegon High School in Muskegon, Michigan, which is the same high school that produced current Spartan Mardrekia Cook. Winston also played AAU basketball for Monique Brown and Michigan Crossover EYBL. Winston is ranked No. 18 in her position and No. 70 overall by ESPN HoopGurlz.

Spartans Host Indiana on National Girls and Women in Sports Day Monday

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Players Mentioned

Jenna Allen

Nia Clouden

Shay Colley

Mardrekia Cook

Sidney Cooks

Victoria Gaines

Tori Jankoska

Taryn McCutcheon