No. 24 MSU Women Open Two-Game Road Trip at Wisconsin Thursday

EAST LANSING, Mich. - No. 24/22 Michigan State women's basketball hits the road for its next two games. The Spartan travel to Madison to take on Wisconsin for a Valentine's Day battle set for 8 p.m. ET. Michigan State holds a 17-6 record and a 7-5 B1G mark. Wisconsin is 11-13 overall and 2-10 in Big Ten play.

MSU concludes the week at Nebraska on Sunday, Feb. 17 at 4 p.m. (ET) on BTN.

• Michigan State has scored 70 or more points in all 13 home games this season as part of scoring 70+ points in 19 of the 23 games on the season ... The Spartans are 17-2 this season as part of 135 of its last 150 games when scoring at least 70 points and the Spartans are 153-25 under Coach Merchant when hanging 70 or more points on the scoreboard.

• Shay Colley's 32 points against Indiana on Feb. 11 were the most points scored by a Spartan women's basketball player since Tori Jankoska scored 42 vs. Ohio State on Jan. 10, 2017. The 32 points is tied for the 14th-most in a single-game by an MSU women's basketball player.

• Nia Clouden is among the freshman leaders in the Big Ten in several categories. She is first in assists with 4.5 apg and fifth in scoring with 11.4 apg. She also stands tied for third in steals, averaging 1.2 spg.

• Now with 994 career points, senior Jenna Allen is just six points away from becoming the 27th player in Spartan history to reach the 1,000 career points plateau.

SCOUTING WISCONSIN
Wisconsin holds a 11-13 record this season with a 2-10 mark in Big Ten action. The Badgers have lost three-straight games to Maryland and Illinois on the road and Michigan at home. Wisconsin's B1G wins came against Purdue on Dec. 31 and Nebraska on Jan. 27.

The Badgers are led by Marsha Howard, who is now 13th in the Big Ten in scoring, averaging 13.5 ppg. Imani Lewis is 18th in scoring with 12.5 ppg. Lewis' 12.5 ppg average is also third among Big Ten freshmen.

As a team, Wisconsin is 12th in the Big Ten in scoring offense with 64.2 ppg, while standing sixth in scoring defense allowing only 63.1 ppg. The Badgers are fourth in the league in rebounding margin (+4.9) and third in blocks (5.1 bpg). Howard is also sixth in the league in rebounding with 9.0 rpg, while Lewis is ninth with 7.8 rpg.

Jonathan Tsipis is in his third season at the helm of the Badgers. He holds an overall record of 29-56 at Wisconsin, while boasting a 121-94 career record.

SERIES HISTORY VS. WISCONSIN
Michigan State leads the overall series with Wisconsin, 45-25. The Spartans have won 12-straight win over the Badgers, which is their longest streak against any Big Ten team. The last time that Wisconsin topped MSU was a 48-45 win in East Lansing on Jan. 14, 2010. Jan. 17, 2017 was the last time that the teams met in Madison with MSU earning the 81-57 win. In that game, Michigan State was led by a season-high 18 points by Branndais Agee, while Tori Jankoska added a double-double.

LAST TIME VS. WISCONSIN
In a game with 10 lead changes, the Michigan State women's basketball team stopped Wisconsin, 69-61, on Senior Night on Feb. 21, 2018 at the Breslin Center.

Michigan State celebrated a quintet of seniors Branndais Agee, Kiara Carter, Lexi Gussert, Kennedy Johnson and Taya Reimer.

Agee captured her third double-double of the season with 13 points and a season-high 14 rebounds. Sophomore guard Taryn McCutcheon led the team in scoring with 16 points, netting four 3-pointers, and dishing out six assists. Junior center Jenna Allen was just shy of a double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds.

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 three points in the win against Indiana on Feb. 11. She now has seven double-digit game in the last 10 outings and 17 for the season. Now with 994 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 524 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.

LUCKY 77
With 77 points Monday, Michigan State has scored in the 70s in five-straight games. In four of the last five wins, the Spartans have scored 77 points, after netting 77 in a 77-60 upset of No. 9 Maryland (Jan. 17), a 77-60 victory at home vs. Illinois (Jan. 24) and winning at Michigan 77-73 (Jan. 27) before Monday's 77-61 win over Indiana. MSU's lone non-77 points in a victory was 74 in a 74-66 win over Purdue.

CRASHING THE BOARDS
The Spartans are 13-0 this season when out-rebounding the opposition. MSU had a 38-32 rebounding advantage over Indiana on Feb. 11, marking the first time in its last four games that the Spartans had out-rebounded the opposition after being out-rebounded in not only the previous three games but four of the last five. The first time MSU had more rebounds than the opponent was against Illinois on Jan. 24. Michigan State is 3-5 when its opponents have more rebounds.

HOME-COURT ADVANTAGE
There are now only two teams left in the Big Ten with unblemished home records. The Spartans lead the way with a 13-0 home record this season, while Iowa is also perfect at home with a 12-0 mark.

BIG SHOT SHAY
Junior guard Shay Colley netted a career-high 32 points Monday. She topped her previous season-high of 28 points from at Northwestern (Jan. 3) and her previous career-high of 31 points from at South Dakota (March 22, 2018) in last season's WNIT. Colley's 31-point outing is the first 30+ game this season by a Spartan and the first since Colley's 31 points at South Dakota.

Colley's 32 points is the most points scored by a Spartan women's basketball player since Tori Jankoska scored 42 vs. Ohio State on Jan. 10, 2017. The 32 points is tied for the 14th-most in a single-game by an MSU women's basketball player.

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 remains seventh in freshman assists with 104 helpers. She is now just two assists away from tying Kim Archer who had 106 assists during the 1983-84 season. Current teammate Taryn McCutcheon holds the record for freshman assists with 169 during the 2016-17 season. Clouden also has scored 263 points this season, which places tied for No. 15 in freshman scoring tied with Kim Archer (1983-84).

MCCUTCHEON MOVIN' ON UP
With three assists against Indiana on Feb. 11, junior guard Taryn McCutcheon is fourth in career helpers with 448 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 13 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 70th in the NCAA with 4.7 assists per game.

NO PLACE LIKE HOME
The Spartans improved to 13-0 this season at home this season and have a 16-game home winning streak dating back to last year. MSU continues to have the best home record in the Big Ten for overall games (13-0) and tied with Iowa at 6-0 for the best home mark in the B1G for conference games. Michigan State and Iowa remain the only unbeaten home teams in the league.

MSU's 16-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 23 games this season, the Spartans have had a player score at least 20 points 12 times, including Shay Colley scoring a career-high 32 against Indiana on Feb. 11. Senior center Jenna Allen has scored at least 20 points four times with a season-high 27 points against Oregon on Dec. 9. Colley has scored at least 20-points five times 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 (.401) and in 3-pointers made per game (7.8). Michigan State is also first the league in turnover margin (+3.0). MSU is also second in scoring offense, averaging 78.6 ppg, just shy of Iowa's leading 80.3 ppg, along with also ranking third in scoring margin (+12.0). MSU still stands second in assists (20.0 apg) and assist/turnover ratio (1.4). Additionally, the Spartans are third in field goal percentage (.461) and steals (8.4 spg).

SPREADING THE WEALTH
Michigan State has had success when it spreads the ball around this season. The Spartans are 12-0 when they have 21 or more assists in a game. 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 17-0 when having more assists than their opponents. In MSU's losses to NC State, Northwestern, Indiana, Ohio State and Iowa, the Spartans averaged only 12.5 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. 24 in the AP poll and No. 22 in the USA Today Coaches' poll. This is the 10th-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.

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 189 of their last 200 games (.945) when leading with five minutes left, including 139 of their last 152. In Coach Merchant's tenure, Michigan State is 224-17 (.929) when holding a lead with five minutes left. This season, the Spartans are 17-1 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 32nd and 56thin 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 Monday, 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. 11, followed by No. 17 Maryland, No. 19 Rutgers and No. 23 Michigan State. Indiana is next at No. 40, with Purdue at No. 51 and Michigan at No. 56 rounding out the group.

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.

BOUNCE BACK ABILITY
In Coach Merchant's first 12 seasons, the Spartans are 79 -32 (71.2%) 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 19 of 23 games this season. MSU has won 135 of its last 150 games when scoring at least 70 points, and MSU is 153-25 under head coach Suzy Merchant when hanging at least 70 points on the scoreboard. This year, MSU is 17-2 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 traveling to Wisconsin on Valentine's Day, the Spartans will end the road swing at Nebraska on Sunday, Feb. 17 in Lincoln.

LAST TIME OUT
Redshirt-junior guard Shay Colley scored a career-high 32 points as No. 24 Michigan State women's basketball used a stellar second half to stop Indiana, 77-61, on Monday on National Girls and Women in Sports Day.

MSU honored its women's sports teams at half time of the game, and the teams signed autographs and did demonstrations of their sports prior to the game.

Michigan State improves to 17-6 overall and 7-5 in Big Ten play, matching their B1G win total from last season. Indiana is now 17-8 overall and 6-7 in league play. The Spartans have now won 16-straight home games, dating back to last season and are now 13-0 at home.

Along with 32 points, Colley added six rebounds and tied a career high with five steals. The 32 points were the most by an MSU player since All-American Tori Jankoska scored a school-record 42 points against Ohio State on Jan. 10, 2017. Junior guard Taryn McCutcheon scored 12 points, while freshman guard Nia Clouden added 11 points to go along with a game-high six assists. The Spartans also out-rebounded the Hoosiers 38-32.

POST-GAME NOTES VS. INDIANA
• Taryn McCutcheon made her 23rd start of the season and 88th of her career ... Allen also notched her 23rd start of the season and 51st of her career ... Colley started for the 16th time this season and made the 38th start of her career ... Clouden posted her 23rd start of the season ... Cooks made her fifth start of the season and 27th of her career.

• Allen, McCutcheon and Clouden have started all 23 games this season and are joined by junior forward Victoria Gaines in playing all 23 games.

• The Spartans improved to 13-0 this season at home this season and have a 16-game home winning streak dating back to last year ... MSU continues to have the best home record in the Big Ten for overall games (13-0) and tied with Iowa at 6-0 for the best home mark in the B1G for conference games ... Michigan State and Iowa remain the only unbeaten home teams in the league.

• MSU's 16-game home winning streak is the longest since a streak of 20 games overlapping the 2009-10 and the 2010-11 seasons.

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.

No. 24 MSU Women Open Two-Game Road Trip at Wisconsin Thursday

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Players Mentioned

Branndais Agee

Jenna Allen

Kiara Carter

Nia Clouden

Shay Colley

Mardrekia Cook

Victoria Gaines

Lexi Gussert

Tori Jankoska

Kennedy Johnson

Taryn McCutcheon

Taya Reimer