MSU Women Open Season With Saint Francis Friday

Friday, November 27

East Lansing, Mich.

3 PM ET

Michigan State University

Saint Francis

2_13_20_Michigan State women’s basketball V Rutgers (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)

Photo by: Rey Del Rio/MSU Athletic Communications

11/26/2020 12:50:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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This is the first of five non-conference games.

EAST LANSING, Mich. - After a delayed start due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020-21 basketball season is set to begin. Michigan State women's basketball will open the season on Friday, Nov. 27 against Saint Francis. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. at the Breslin Center. This is the first-ever meeting between the two teams.

• This season, Michigan State will play five non-conference games all in the Breslin Center. The Spartans will play 20 Big Ten games after playing 18 last season. League play will begin early this season with B1G action starting on Dec. 9 at Minnesota. This will be the earliest Big Ten opener since falling to Indiana on Dec. 6, 2009.

• Despite being without All-Big Ten honoree Taryn McCutcheon, the Spartans welcome back last year's leading scorer, Nia Clouden. The junior guard led the way for MSU with 14.5 points and 3.3 assists per game. She captured preseason All-Big honors earlier this month. Clouden has captured all-league honors as a freshman and a sophomore.

• Spartan head coach Suzy Merchant enters her 14th season at the helm the squad. She holds a 281-148 record at MSU, along with a 482-268 career record.

• Michigan State will be without all-time assist leader Taryn McCutcheon, who graduated and is now playing in Iceland. Victoria Gaines, Shay Colley and Nia Hollie have also graduated. Forward Kayla Belles has transferred to BYU after getting married over the summer.

SCOUTING SAINT FRANCIS
Saint Francis head coach Keila Whittington returns to the Red Flash for her second season at the helm of SFU. In her first season, the Red Flash went 11-19. Saint Francis finished tied for fourth in the NEC with a 9-9 conference record to a chance to host an NEC Tournament game at DeGol Arena. Saint Francis returns six returning sophomores and juniors, all with playing experience. Juniors include guard Lili Benzel, center Jada Dapaa and forward Kayley Kovac, while the sophomore class is made up of center/forward Katie Dettwiller, guard/forward Sam Miller and guard Halie Murphy.

SERIES HISTORY VS. THE RED FLASH
This is the first-ever meeting between Michigan State and Saint Francis.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS
Due to the delayed start of the season because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Spartans will play only five non-conference games, all which will be played at the Breslin Center.

After taking on Saint Francis, the Spartans will host Detroit on Dec. 2 at 7 p.m. Last season, the Spartans stopped the Titans, 110-52, in East Lansing. After a pair of Big Ten bouts, MSU will conclude non-conference action with a trio of games. In a five-game span, the Spartans will take on Central Michigan on Dec. 18, Northern Illinois on Dec. 20 and Oakland on Dec. 22.

MEET THE NEWBIES
The Spartans have several new faces this season, including the lone freshman Kendall Bostic (Kokoma, Ind.). Michigan State welcomes four transfers, including graduate transfer Lauren Rewers (Coeur D'Alene, Idaho). Rewers is eligible immediately after graduating from Hawai'i this summer. Redshirt-sophomore Jayla James (Penn State), redshirt-junior Alisia Smith (Penn State) and redshirt-junior Janai Crooms (Ohios State) are awaiting clearance from the NCAA to play immediately.

SEASON OPENERS
All-time, the Spartans are 33-15 in season openers, but 25-2 when the opener is in East Lansing. Coach Merchant is 10-3 in season openers at MSU, and has won 16 of her last 19, including her time at Eastern Michigan.

FAST BIG TEN START
MSU will open conference play on Dec. 9 at Minnesota, which will be the earliest Big Ten opener since falling to Indiana on Dec. 6, 2009. The Spartans first home Big Ten game will be against Iowa on Dec. 12. Michigan State will play a total of three league contests in December, concluding with a New Year's Eve road battle against Ohio State.

This season, the Big Ten schedule will be increased from 18 to 20 games. The league played 18-game schedules for two years after two seasons of a 16-game docket. The conference played an 18-game league schedule in both 2015-16 and 2014-15.

GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
Michigan State fans will fans will be without all-time assist leader Taryn McCutcheon, who graduated and is now playing in Iceland. Victoria Gaines, Shay Colley and Nia Hollie have also graduated. Forward Kayla Belles has transferred to BYU after getting married over the summer.

RINGING BACK THE NUMBERS
The Spartans return 64.0 percent (1,326 of 2,072 points) of their scoring led by junior guard Nia Clouden's 436 points (14.5 points per game), that topped MSU and ranked eighth in the B1G. MSU also returns 66.4 percent (779 of 1,174 rebounds) of its rebounds, with sophomore forward Julia Ayrault the leading returner on the glass with her 134 rebounds last year (4.5 rpg), which shared top honors on the team. Additionally, the Green & White return 60.3 percent (270 of 448 assists) of its assists, with Clouden also the leading returner with 100 helpers (3.3 apg), which ranked second on the team overall last season behind departed Taryn McCutcheon. Clouden also ranked tied for 14th in the B1G in assists.

MASK UP, MICHIGAN
Things will look very different in the Breslin Center to start the season. Currently, there will be no fans in the stands, including the families of the players. Crowd noise will be piped and the music will be going to get the players hyped up. From the comfort of home, fans can look for familiar faces in the cardboard cutouts in the stands. All postgame media will be done via Zoom this year.

ERASE HATE
Michigan State women's basketball head coach Suzy Merchant is proud to launch the Erase Hate campaign for the 2020-21 season. The Erase Hate campaign aims to put the focus on student-athlete driven programming to address social injustice issues.

"I am very proud of our student-athletes and the efforts they have put into being leaders on campus and in our community championing racial equality. It's been a very challenging off-season for our staff and our players, and we want to continue the message to Erase Hate through dedicating our season to action-based initiatives," Merchant said. "This season is much bigger than just the game of basketball. Our team is passionate about so many things that transcend beyond just who they are as an athlete. We are proud to support them individually and as a member of our team using our women's basketball platform to make the necessary progress and change for social equality."

Throughout this season, women's basketball players work to help lift up the voices of underrepresented groups both on campus and across the Greater Lansing area.

CLOSING OUT THE GAMES
The Spartans have been extremely effective closing out games over the last couple years, winning 209 of their last 222 games (.941) when leading with five minutes left, including 159 of their last 174. In Coach Merchant's tenure, Michigan State is 244-19 (.928) when holding a lead with five minutes left. This season, MSU is 16-1 when leading with five minutes remaining with the only loss coming against No. 8 Florida State.

CLOUDEN EARNS PRESEASON HONORS
Michigan State junior guard Nia Clouden has been named Preseason All-Big Ten by both the coaches and media.

Indiana was picked to finish first in both the coaches and the media polls, while Maryland was picked second in the coaches poll and Northwestern in the media poll. Michigan was voted third in the coaches poll, while Maryland was picked third in the media poll. In the coaches poll, Michigan's Naz Hillmon and Rutgers' Arella Guirantes were named Co-Preseason Players of the Year. The media voted Northwestern's Lindsey Pulliam as Preseason Player of the Year.

During the 2019-20 campaign, Clouden finished the season first on the team in scoring, averaging 14.5 points per game, which was also eighth in the Big Ten. She also tied for 14th in the league in assists (3.3 apg) and 11th in steals (1.7 spg). Last season, Clouden captured second-team All-Big Big Ten honors after being named to the honorable mention squad as a freshman.

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 146 of their last 165 games (.885) when scoring at least 70 points, and the Spartans are 164-28 (.853) under head coach Suzy Merchant when hanging at least 70 points on the scoreboard. The Spartans are now 9-1 this season when reaching the 70-point mark with its only loss coming against Penn State on Jan. 9.

SIGNING DAY
Michigan State women's basketball head coach Suzy Merchant announced the signing of four National Letters of Intent on Wednesday, including Damiya Hagemann (Detroit, Michigan/Detroit Edison Public School Academy), Isaline Alexander (Keswick, Ontario/Bill Crothers Secondary School), Brooklyn Rewers (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho/Lake City High School) and Lauren Walker (Marietta, Georgia/Marietta High School).

Hagemann is a 5-7 guard, who is a native of Mount Clemons, Michigan, attends Detroit Edison Public School Academy and is coached by Monique Brown. She led the Pioneers to two state championships, and her quest for her third-straight title was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She is the leading candidate for Michigan's Miss Basketball. Hagemann is ranked No. 5 at her position and No. 23 overall nationally by ESPNW HoopGurlz. She was recently named to the Naismith High School Girls Trophy Watch List. She also plays AAU ball for Michigan Crossover.

Alexander is a 6-3 forward who plays for head coach Jodi Gram at Bill Crothers Secondary School in Unionville, Ontario, Canada. She is rated No. 6 nationally overall and No. 1 at her position by the Crown Queens Report. During her junior season, she averaged 18.0 points, 9.3 rebounds and 3.2 steals per game. Alexander has significant international experience, playing for Team Canada. At the 2019 FIBA U16 Americas Championship, she averaged 7.7 points and 8.2 rebounds per game as Team Canada reached the finals.

Rewers is a 6-4 center who plays for head coach James Anders at Lake City High School in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Her sister, Lauren, who plays basketball at Michigan State, is a graduate senior this season. The younger Rewers was named to the Idaho 5A All-State second team, averaging 18.7 points, 10.1 rebounds and 3.7 blocks per game. She led the state in scoring and blocks. Rewers has been named Inland Empire League 5A Player of the Year for two-straight years. She also plays AAU for the Northwest Blazers under head coach Steve Klees.

Walker is a 6-2 forward who plays for head coach Derrick DeWitt at Marietta High School. As a junior, she averaged 14.3 points and 11.5 rebounds per game. Walker also added 15 double-doubles in 28 games last season. She captured Georgia High School Association and Atlanta Journal-Constitution All-State honors after the 2019-20 season. Walker earned All-Conference honors three-straight seasons, along with capturing AJC All-State accolades last season. She plays AAU for Hoop Dreams and was coached by Dorian Williams.