No. 25 Spartan Women Open New Year at Purdue on Sunday

EAST LANSING, Mich. - No. 25 Michigan State women's basketball opens the New Year by returning to Big Ten play at Purdue on Sunday, Jan. 3 at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Ind. The Spartans come to Purdue with a 7-0 record and a 2-0 mark in Big Ten play. The Boilermakers are 5-2 overall and 2-1 in league action. MSU's game against Ohio State on Dec. 31 was postponed due to a pause in the Buckeyes program.

• MSU improved to 7-0 with a win against Oakland on Dec. 22, which is the Spartans' first 7-0 start to a season since the 2012-13 season when they opened 8-0. This is the longest winning streak since Michigan State won eight-straight from Nov. 23-Dec. 30 during the 2018-19 season.

• Through seven games, the Spartans stand second in the nation and first in the Big Ten in assists per game (22.7). They are also fourth in the NCAA and second in the league in assists/turnover ratio (1.73).

• Junior guard Nia Clouden's 15 points against Oakland on Dec. 22 gives her 963 career points, just 37 points away from the 1,000 career points milestone.

• Sophomore Julia Ayrault earned a spot on the Big Ten honor roll after a strong performance against Oakland on Dec. 22. This was her first honor by the Big Ten. Ayrault nearly scored a double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds. The 14 points was her fourth double-figure game this season.

SCOUTING PURDUE
Purdue opens the 2021 portion of the season with a 5-2 record, standing 2-1 in Big Ten action. The Boilermakers have league wins against Nebraska (Dec. 23) and Penn State (Dec. 20) with their only loss coming against No. 15/16 Northwestern (Dec. 17) at home. Purdue's only other loss came at home against Valparaiso on Dec. 6.

The Boilermakers have three players averaging in double figures led by Kayana Traylor, who averages 17.1 points per game. Brooke Moore (12.7 ppg) and Tamara Farquhar (10.1 ppg) are also scoring in double figures through seven games this season. Traylor is 15th in the Big Ten in scoring (17.1 ppg) and 11th in assists per game (4.7 apg). Farquhar (8.0 rpg) and Fatou Diagne (7.7 rpg) stand eighth and 110th in the league in rebounds, respectively.

As a team, Purdue is averaging 73.7 ppg, which is 10th in the Big Ten. The Boilermakers are allowing 70.4 ppg, which stands ninth in the league.

SERIES HISTORY VS. THE BOILERMAKERS
The Spartans and the Boilermakers played three times last season with Purdue winning twice. Both teams won on the road last year, as the Boilermakers stopped MSU in the Breslin Center, 76-66, on Jan. 30. Michigan State returned the favor with an exciting 65-63 win at Mackey Arena on Feb. 20, thanks to a Nia Clouden basket with 1.2 seconds remaining in the game. In the second round of the Big Ten Tournament on March 5, Purdue ended the Spartans' season with a 72-63 victory.

Overall, the Boilermakers lead the series 42-34, including holding a 23-10 mark at home. The Spartans have won two of the last three outings in West Lafayette. In the last 10 games, Michigan State has won six. Purdue is 10th in the Big Ten in assists (15.6 apg) and 12th in steals (3.3 spg).

LAST TIME VS. PURDUE
Despite two players grabbing double-doubles, the No. 8-seeded Michigan State women's basketball's comeback fell short against No. 9-seeded Purdue on March 5, 2020 in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

Senior guard Shay Colley and sophomore guard Nia Clouden led MSU in scoring with 14 points each. Colley came on strong in the fourth quarter with nine points in the final 10 minutes. Both senior guard Taryn McCutcheon and freshman guard Julia Ayrault earned double-doubles. Ayrault scored 11 points with 10 rebounds off the bench, while McCutcheon had 10 points and 10 boards. This was Ayrault's second double-double of the season and McCutcheon's first.

FILLING OUT THE ROSTER
During the month of December, Michigan State had three player become eligible. Junior guard Janai Crooms, a transfer from Ohio State, was cleared to play on Dec. 4 and has had an immediate impact. Against Oakland on Dec. 22, she had a season-high 10 rebounds. Penn State transfers Alisia Smith and Jayla James found out they were eligible on Dec. 22, just in time to play against Oakland. Smith, a junior forward, scored nine points in her Spartan debut.

AWESOME AYRAULT
Sophomore guard Julia Ayrault was named to the Big Ten honor roll for the first time in her career after her performance on the Dec. 22 against Oakland. Ayrault added 14 points and was one rebound shy of a double-double with nine boards. She has been having a solid sophomore campaign. The 14 points was Ayrault's fourth double-figure game this season and second-highest outing of the season behind 19 points vs. Iowa (Dec. 12). She now has nine career double-figure games, while the nine boards ties Ayrault's second-highest of the season, matching nine boards vs. Iowa and behind season-best 12 vs. Central Michigan (Dec. 18).

CLOUDEN WITH A CHANCE OF SCORING
Junior guard Nia Clouden had her three-game 20-point scoring streak halted with 18 points against Northern Illinois on Dec. 20. Clouden has now posted double-figures in all seven games this season as part of 18 games in a row dating back to last season. She leads the team in scoring and is eighth in the Big Ten, averaging 18.6 points per game. She also is tops on the team in assists per game as well as eighth in the B1G with 5.4 per game.

Clouden now has 18-straight career games in double-digits dating back to last year, having posted double-figures in 34 of her last 37 games played, doing so in every game but three last season. For her career, Clouden now has double-digits in 57 of her 70 games played.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS
For the second-straight week, the Big Ten has six teams ranked in the Associated Press top 25 poll and five in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA)/USA Today poll, plus others receiving votes, leading all conferences in both polls. This is the first time ever that Big Ten has had six AP Top 25 teams for multiple weeks in the same season, let alone consecutive weeks (the Big Ten had six in the AP Top 25 for single weeks on Nov. 17, 2014 and Jan. 14, 2019).

LOOKING TOWARD 1,000
With 15 points on Dec. 22 against Oakland, Nia Clouden now has 963 career points, closing in on the 1,000 career points milestone. She is looking to become the seventh player in the last seven years to reach the 1,000-point mark.

Years Player Points
2019-20   Taryn McCutcheon       1,119
2018-19   Jenna Allen 1,098
2017-18   Branndais Agee 1,250
2015-16   Tori Jankoska 2,212
2014-15   Aerial Powers 1,817
2014-15   Becca Mills 1,157

PUTTING UP BIG NUMBERS
After not having a pair of 20-point scorers in the same since Feb. 3, 2019 vs. Purdue when Shay Colley and Sidney Cooks netted 20 points apiece before Winston and Clouden did it last against Minnesota on Dec. 9, the Spartan duo has now reached that feat in back-to-back games with Winston's 25 points and Clouden's 21 points on Dec. 12 vs. Iowa.

Clouden and Winston's back-to-back 20-point games marks the first time that the Spartans have had two 20-point scorers in consecutive games since the 2016-17 season, when Aerial Powers (27) and Branndais Agee (20) did so on Feb. 3. vs. Michigan, then Powers (31) and Agee (22) on Feb. 5 vs. Maryland.

SUPER SOPHOMORES
The Spartan sophomore class has showed no signs of a slump so far this season. Guard Alyza Winston is second on the team in scoring, averaging 15.8 points per game after averaging only 2.9 ppg as a freshman. Guard Julia Ayrault is scoring 11.1 ppg and is first on the team with 7.1 rpg. As a freshman, Ayrault averaged 5.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. Parks averages 8.1 ppg and is second with 6.1 rpg.Parks, Winston and Ayrault have all started at least four games this season with guard Moira Joiner starting three. Winston and Ayrault both earned their first career starts this year. Joiner had a season-high 13 points against Oakland on Dec. 22 and is scoring 6.8 ppg along with 3.2 apg.

SPARTANS AGAINST THE NCAA
After seven games, the Spartans are currently second in the nation in assists per game (22.7 apg) and fourth in assists to turnover ratio (1.73). Michigan State is still 13th in turnover margin +7.14 margin. Junior guard Nia Clouden is 21st in the nation and third in the Big Ten in assists with 38, while standing 27th in the country and sixth in the Big Ten in assists per game with 5.4 apg.

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. 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.

BIG TEN OPENERS
Michigan State is 19-19 in Big Ten openers, having won six of their last nine. MSU is now 8-5 in league openers in Coach Merchant's 13 seasons. Last season, the Spartans won their opener in East Lansing against No. 16 Iowa, 84-70. The last time that Michigan State played Minnesota in a B1G opener was to start the 2013-14 league action with MSU winning 81-56 on the road.

MAKING IT RAIN
Against Oakland on Dec. 22, MSU finished with a season-high 65.0 percent shooting from the field (39-of-60), cooling off from over 70 percent partway through the fourth quarter, which would have topped the school record of 67.2 percent vs. Bowling Green (12/23/86). Michigan State's 39 field goals was also a season-best.

The Spartans also set a school record, shooting 92.3 percent in the third quarter, going 12-of-13. Nia Clouden led the way with 11 of the Spartans' 31 points. Sophomore guard Moira Joiner also scored seven points.

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. Starting with the game on Jan. 7, a limited number of family member of the players will be allowed. 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.

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 153 of their last 171 games (.890) when scoring at least 70 points, and the Spartans are 171-28 (.859) under head coach Suzy Merchant when hanging at least 70 points on the scoreboard. The Spartans are now 7-0 this season when reaching the 70-point mark.

CLOSING OUT THE GAMES
The Spartans have been extremely effective closing out games over the last couple years, winning 216 of their last 229 games (.943) when leading with five minutes left, including 166 of their last 181. In Coach Merchant's tenure, Michigan State is 251-19 (.930) when holding a lead with five minutes left. This season, MSU is 7-0 when leading with five minutes remaining.

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

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Players Mentioned

Branndais Agee

Jenna Allen

Julia Ayrault

Nia Clouden

Shay Colley

Sidney Cooks

Janai Crooms

Jayla James

Tori Jankoska

Moira Joiner

Taryn McCutcheon

Alisia Smith

Alyza Winston