Tuesday, November 16
East Lansing, Mich.
7 PM
Michigan State University
3-0,0-0Big Ten
73
vs
62
Valparaiso
0-3,0-0MVC
1
2
3
4
F
Valparaiso
12
16
16
18
62
Michigan St.
23
13
24
13
73
Merchant Earns 500th Career Win in Victory over Valparaiso Tuesday
11/16/2021 10:43:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Forward Tamara Farquhar earns her first Spartan double-double in the win.
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State women's basketball head coach Suzy Merchant earned her 500th career win, as the Spartans captured a 73-62 win over Valparaiso Tuesday night at the Breslin Center.
In her 27th overall season, Merchant now has a 500-277 career record. With the victory, she also nears another milestone, she now holds a 299-157 record at Michigan State.
The Spartans have now started the season 3-0 for seven-straight seasons, while the Beacons fall to 0-3.
For the third game in a row, MSU had at least four players in double figures with senior guard Nia Clouden leading the charge with 18 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, just shy of a triple-double. Graduate student forward Tamara Farquhar had the Spartans first double-double of the season with 12 points and 19 rebounds off the bench, while junior guard Alyza Winston scored 17 points. Freshman forward Matilda Ekh added 11 points for the Spartans.
The Spartans got off to a slow start offensively with four early turnovers, but Winston got the Spartans going with three-straight treys to give MSU an 11-5 lead. Winston scored nine of the first 11 MSU points, as the Michigan State offense started to warm up. The Spartans took a 20-10 lead after a trey by Ekh, but it was Winston's 12 first-quarter points that put MSU up 23-12 after 10 minutes.
The Beacons scored six of the opening eight points of the second period to trim the lead to 28-15. Michigan State didn't take a lead bigger than 12 points in the period as Valpo continued to chip away at the MSU lead, getting as close as six points. The Spartans led at the half, 36-28 with Winston pacing the way with 15 points.
In the third quarter, Michigan State could not shake Valparaiso early on with the Beacons making it a four-point game at 43-39 after a Grace White 3-pointer with 6:19 remaining in the period. The Spartans went on a 10-0 run to regain control, 53-39. Clouden and Farqhuar scored 14 of MSU's 24 points in the third quarter.
The Spartans went cold in the fourth period, missing six-straight baskets before a Clouden trey stopped a 6-0 Beacon run. Despite being out-scored in the final period, 18-13, MSU was able to maintain its double-digit lead. Clouden was a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe down the stretch to help seal the win.
Michigan State will conclude its four-game homestand against Bryant on MSU Day on Friday, Nov. 19 at 12 p.m. at the Breslin Center, before hitting the road for three-straight games.
Post-Game Notes vs. Valparaiso
In her 27th overall season, Merchant now has a 500-277 career record. With the victory, she also nears another milestone, she now holds a 299-157 record at Michigan State.
The Spartans have now started the season 3-0 for seven-straight seasons, while the Beacons fall to 0-3.
For the third game in a row, MSU had at least four players in double figures with senior guard Nia Clouden leading the charge with 18 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, just shy of a triple-double. Graduate student forward Tamara Farquhar had the Spartans first double-double of the season with 12 points and 19 rebounds off the bench, while junior guard Alyza Winston scored 17 points. Freshman forward Matilda Ekh added 11 points for the Spartans.
The Spartans got off to a slow start offensively with four early turnovers, but Winston got the Spartans going with three-straight treys to give MSU an 11-5 lead. Winston scored nine of the first 11 MSU points, as the Michigan State offense started to warm up. The Spartans took a 20-10 lead after a trey by Ekh, but it was Winston's 12 first-quarter points that put MSU up 23-12 after 10 minutes.
The Beacons scored six of the opening eight points of the second period to trim the lead to 28-15. Michigan State didn't take a lead bigger than 12 points in the period as Valpo continued to chip away at the MSU lead, getting as close as six points. The Spartans led at the half, 36-28 with Winston pacing the way with 15 points.
In the third quarter, Michigan State could not shake Valparaiso early on with the Beacons making it a four-point game at 43-39 after a Grace White 3-pointer with 6:19 remaining in the period. The Spartans went on a 10-0 run to regain control, 53-39. Clouden and Farqhuar scored 14 of MSU's 24 points in the third quarter.
The Spartans went cold in the fourth period, missing six-straight baskets before a Clouden trey stopped a 6-0 Beacon run. Despite being out-scored in the final period, 18-13, MSU was able to maintain its double-digit lead. Clouden was a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe down the stretch to help seal the win.
Michigan State will conclude its four-game homestand against Bryant on MSU Day on Friday, Nov. 19 at 12 p.m. at the Breslin Center, before hitting the road for three-straight games.
Post-Game Notes vs. Valparaiso
- Spartan head coach Suzy Merchant earns her 500th career win, holding a 500-277 overall record.She is close to another milestone a 299-157 record at Michigan State. Merchant is looking to become just the second Spartan women's basketball coach to capture 300 wins at MSU. Karen Langeland is the all-time leader with a 376-290 record at MSU. Merchant is also 12 wins away tying Langeland for the most Big Ten wins by a MSU coach with 156.
- Senior guard Nia Clouden scored 15 of her 18 points in the second half along with bringing down seven second-half rebounds. She has now scored in double figures in all three games and 74 career games.
- The Spartans tied a school record going 10-for-10 from the charity stripe against the Beacons. The last time MSU didn't miss from the free throw line with at least 10 attempts was against Central Michigan in the NCAA Tournament, going 11-for-11 on March, 23, 2019. The last time at the Breslin Center was when MSU went 19-for-19 against Michigan on Feb., 23, 2016.
- Junior guard Alyza Winston reached double figures for the third-straight game with 17 points. She has now scored in double figures in 18 career games. She also tied her season high with four 3-pointers, matching her total against Morehead State on Nov. 9.
- Michigan State had at least four players reach in double figures for the third-straight game. Against Morehead State (Nov. 9), six player scored in double figures, while against Niagara and Valpo four players did. Nia Clouden led all MSU scorers with 18 points, while Alyza Winston (17), Tamara Farquhar (12) and Matilda Ekh (11) all reached double digits.
- Senior guard Nia Clouden was close to a triple double with 18 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. All three marks were season highs.
Team Stats
VALPO
MSU
FG%
.407
.443
3FG%
.290
.429
FT%
.818
1.000
RB
22
41
TO
13
16
STL
6
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
6
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
4
FTM
1
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG/F
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
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