Thursday, November 17
East Lansing, Mich.
7 PM
Michigan State University
5-0,0-0Big Ten
109
vs
44
Florida A&M
1-3,0-0SWAC
1
2
3
4
F
Florida A&M
15
6
7
16
44
Michigan St.
20
28
28
33
109
Team Stats
FAMU
MSU
FG%
.292
.507
3FG%
.167
.458
FT%
.609
.710
RB
21
57
TO
27
17
STL
8
15
Game Leaders
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
14
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
9
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G/F
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
Sharp-Shooting Spartans Stop Rattlers, 109-44
11/17/2022 11:19:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Michigan State starts the season 5-0 for the third time in the last five seasons.
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Fourteen Spartans scored as the Michigan State women's basketball closed out its five-game homestand with a commanding win over Florida A&M, 109-44 at the Breslin Center on Thursday night.
MSU improves to 5-0 this season, while Florida A&M falls to 1-2. This is the third time in the last five seasons that the Spartans have started the season 5-0.
The Spartans had three players in double figures lead by 16 points from sophomore guard Matilda Ekh, who also added three assists. Graduate guard Kamaria McDaniel scored 14 points for the third time this season, sophomore guard DeeDee Hagemann added 10 points. McDaniel also led the team with six assists.
Florida A&M was led by 15 points by Dylan Horton.
In the first quarter, the Spartans used a 6-0 run to gain some separation from the Rattlers, 13-5, with less than five minutes left in the first quarter. FAMU kept pace with MSU for much of the quarter not  allowing more than a nine-point lead in the first 10 minutes of action.
Michigan State scored 11 of the first 13 of the second period to lead to a Rattler timeout. The run inflated to 21-0 over five minutes, before a Horton trey stopped the Spartan attack. Michigan State maintained the 20-point advantage for the remainder of the period. MSU's defense was lethal in the first half, forcing 19 turnovers. The Rattlers had five turnovers in the fine 3:49 of the half, as the Spartans went into the locker room with a 48-21 lead.
The Spartans kept their foot on the gas in the third period, out-scoring Florida A&M 28-7 in the third period. Senior guard Moira Joiner and sophomore forward Isaline Alexander were the top scorers for MSU in the third period with five points apiece. Joiner also added three steals in the stanza, while Alexander had a steal and a block.
In the fourth quarter, MSU spread out the scoring with redshirt-junior Julia Ayrault, senior guard Jayla James and freshman guard Abbey Kimball reaching season highs. With 1:47 left in the game, the Spartans led by a season-high 66 points after a bucket by freshman guard Maddy Skorupski.
The Spartans will now hit the road for three-straight games. Michigan State will first take on Central Michigan on Saturday, Nov. 19 at 1 p.m. MSU will then travel to Portland, Oregon for the Phil Knight Invitational. MSU starts the tournament against No. 7/8 Iowa State on Nov. 24 at 7:30 p.m. (ET). Michigan State will then face either No. 13/13 North Carolina or No. 21/19 Oregon on Sunday, Nov. 27.
Michigan State Women's Basketball Post-Game Notes: vs. Florida A&M
• Michigan State's 65-point winning margin of 109-44 was the Spartans' second-largest margin of victory in program history, behind a 66-point margin vs. Niagara in a 116-50 win on Nov. 14, 2008.
• MSU's 109 points was the most scored by the Spartans since 110 points in a 110-52 win over Detroit Mercy on Nov. 8, 2019.
• The 109 points was also not only MSU's season-high scoring output, topping the previous high of 97 just four days ago, in a 97-49 win over in-state foe Western Michigan (11/13/22), but was also the Spartans' first time reaching 100 points since a 100-60 win over Bryant nearly one year ago exactly on Nov. 19, 2021.
• Michigan State improved to 5-0 and has won all five games by 30+ points, as well as three wins by 40+ points.
• MSU's 5-0 start is their third time in the last five seasons to open 5-0, joining the 2016-17 and 2020-21 Spartan squads, while the 2021-22 Spartans also started 4-0, but then suffered a loss in the fifth game ... the 2020-21 MSU team started 9-0 before a loss in game 10.
• Michigan State had a 21-0 run in the second quarter over nearly five minutes.
• The Spartans also held the Rattlers to single-digits in the second and third quarters, with six points in the second stanza and seven in the third ... Thursday's six-point second quarter would have tied the fewest by the Spartans, holding Indiana to six points on 12/28/17, if not for last time out stymieing Oakland (11/15/22) to just four points, while the seven-point third quarter is also the second-lowest in the third stanza this season, as last time out, Michigan State limited Oakland to just five points in the third quarter.
• The two single-digit quarters Thursday gives the MSU defense eight for the season, and is the fourth-straight game in holding the opposition to single-digits in the second quarter and the second in a row in the third quarter ... last time out, Michigan State limited Oakland to just four points in the second quarter and five points in the third quarter.
• Michigan State pulled down 57 rebounds, marking their second game this season with 50+ boards, joining 53 vs. Purdue Fort Wayne (11/10/22) ... the 57 rebounds was the most by the Spartans since snared 60 boards last season vs. Ohio State (2/27/22).
• While Thursday was the first-ever meeting between Florida A&M and Michigan State, it marked the second season in a row and fifth in the last six seasons that the Spartans have played a team from Florida ... with Thursday's win over the Rattlers, the Spartans are now 3-2 in the last five match-ups with Florida teams.
• Of the 16 MSU players to see action Thursday night, 14 different players scored.
• A total of seven different Spartans set or tied a season-high, including three players scoring their first points of the season, including two tallying the first points of their collegiate careers ... freshman guard Abbey Kimball tallied the first five seven points of her Spartan career, getting into the scoring column with a pair of free throws, and finishing with a field goal and 5-for-5 at the charity stipe ... freshman guard Maddy Skorupski made the first field goal of her MSU career to finish the night with two points ... senior guard Jayla James netted not only her first five points of the season, but also a new career-high, topping her previous top mark of four points last season at Wisconsin (1/24/21).
• Graduate guard Kamaria McDaniel tied her season-high for the third time this season with 14 points, with all three times coming in the last four games ... redshirt-senior forward Tory Ozment netted a season-high with nine points ... redshirt-junior Julia Ayrault posted a season-high six points ... sophomore center Brooklyn Rewers logged a career-high six points, bettering her previous high of five, done twice and both this season, in the opening vs. Delaware State (11/7/22) and last time out vs. Oakland (11/15/22) ... Rewers has scored five points in back-to-back games as part of four+ points in three of the last four and four of the five games this season.
• Three Spartans netted double-figures, led by sophomore guard/forward Matilda Ekh with 16 points, while graduate guard Kamaria McDaniel added 14 points and sophomore guard DeeDee Hagemann tallied 10 points ... Thursday was the fourth game with three or more in double-figures, moving to 4-0 when three or more net 10+ points.
• Ekh netted four 3-pointers, as she has drained 13 treys in her last three games, after hitting a season-high six vs. Western Michigan (11/13/22) and three triples vs. Oakland (11/15/22) ... the sophomore guard/forward is now 16-of-36 (.444) from distance this season.
• A native of Vasteras, Sweden, Ekh and fellow Spartan Swede, Stephanie Visscher from Lulea, Sweden, had their high school teammates from Sweden at Thursday's game.
• McDaniel tallied 14 points and added a team-high tying six rebounds to go with a team-best six assists, recording a new season-highs for both rebounds and helpers ... the six boards tops her previous high of four vs. Oakland (11/15/22), while the six assists topped her old season-high of four vs. Western Michigan (11/13/22).Â
• Along with McDaniel, senior forward Taiyier Parks, junior guard Gabby Elliott and sophomore forward Isaline Alexander all shared team-leading honors with six rebounds apiece ... with the six boards, Parks has snared five or more rebounds in back-to-back games and three of the last four games ... Elliott tied her season-high for the second time in the last three games and three of the five contests this season, as part of tying her career-best for the fourth time, more recently vs. Western Michigan (11/13/22)  ... Alexander has pulled down six or more rebounds in four of the five contests this season.
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MSU improves to 5-0 this season, while Florida A&M falls to 1-2. This is the third time in the last five seasons that the Spartans have started the season 5-0.
The Spartans had three players in double figures lead by 16 points from sophomore guard Matilda Ekh, who also added three assists. Graduate guard Kamaria McDaniel scored 14 points for the third time this season, sophomore guard DeeDee Hagemann added 10 points. McDaniel also led the team with six assists.
Florida A&M was led by 15 points by Dylan Horton.
In the first quarter, the Spartans used a 6-0 run to gain some separation from the Rattlers, 13-5, with less than five minutes left in the first quarter. FAMU kept pace with MSU for much of the quarter not  allowing more than a nine-point lead in the first 10 minutes of action.
Michigan State scored 11 of the first 13 of the second period to lead to a Rattler timeout. The run inflated to 21-0 over five minutes, before a Horton trey stopped the Spartan attack. Michigan State maintained the 20-point advantage for the remainder of the period. MSU's defense was lethal in the first half, forcing 19 turnovers. The Rattlers had five turnovers in the fine 3:49 of the half, as the Spartans went into the locker room with a 48-21 lead.
The Spartans kept their foot on the gas in the third period, out-scoring Florida A&M 28-7 in the third period. Senior guard Moira Joiner and sophomore forward Isaline Alexander were the top scorers for MSU in the third period with five points apiece. Joiner also added three steals in the stanza, while Alexander had a steal and a block.
In the fourth quarter, MSU spread out the scoring with redshirt-junior Julia Ayrault, senior guard Jayla James and freshman guard Abbey Kimball reaching season highs. With 1:47 left in the game, the Spartans led by a season-high 66 points after a bucket by freshman guard Maddy Skorupski.
The Spartans will now hit the road for three-straight games. Michigan State will first take on Central Michigan on Saturday, Nov. 19 at 1 p.m. MSU will then travel to Portland, Oregon for the Phil Knight Invitational. MSU starts the tournament against No. 7/8 Iowa State on Nov. 24 at 7:30 p.m. (ET). Michigan State will then face either No. 13/13 North Carolina or No. 21/19 Oregon on Sunday, Nov. 27.
Michigan State Women's Basketball Post-Game Notes: vs. Florida A&M
• Michigan State's 65-point winning margin of 109-44 was the Spartans' second-largest margin of victory in program history, behind a 66-point margin vs. Niagara in a 116-50 win on Nov. 14, 2008.
• MSU's 109 points was the most scored by the Spartans since 110 points in a 110-52 win over Detroit Mercy on Nov. 8, 2019.
• The 109 points was also not only MSU's season-high scoring output, topping the previous high of 97 just four days ago, in a 97-49 win over in-state foe Western Michigan (11/13/22), but was also the Spartans' first time reaching 100 points since a 100-60 win over Bryant nearly one year ago exactly on Nov. 19, 2021.
• Michigan State improved to 5-0 and has won all five games by 30+ points, as well as three wins by 40+ points.
• MSU's 5-0 start is their third time in the last five seasons to open 5-0, joining the 2016-17 and 2020-21 Spartan squads, while the 2021-22 Spartans also started 4-0, but then suffered a loss in the fifth game ... the 2020-21 MSU team started 9-0 before a loss in game 10.
• Michigan State had a 21-0 run in the second quarter over nearly five minutes.
• The Spartans also held the Rattlers to single-digits in the second and third quarters, with six points in the second stanza and seven in the third ... Thursday's six-point second quarter would have tied the fewest by the Spartans, holding Indiana to six points on 12/28/17, if not for last time out stymieing Oakland (11/15/22) to just four points, while the seven-point third quarter is also the second-lowest in the third stanza this season, as last time out, Michigan State limited Oakland to just five points in the third quarter.
• The two single-digit quarters Thursday gives the MSU defense eight for the season, and is the fourth-straight game in holding the opposition to single-digits in the second quarter and the second in a row in the third quarter ... last time out, Michigan State limited Oakland to just four points in the second quarter and five points in the third quarter.
• Michigan State pulled down 57 rebounds, marking their second game this season with 50+ boards, joining 53 vs. Purdue Fort Wayne (11/10/22) ... the 57 rebounds was the most by the Spartans since snared 60 boards last season vs. Ohio State (2/27/22).
• While Thursday was the first-ever meeting between Florida A&M and Michigan State, it marked the second season in a row and fifth in the last six seasons that the Spartans have played a team from Florida ... with Thursday's win over the Rattlers, the Spartans are now 3-2 in the last five match-ups with Florida teams.
• Of the 16 MSU players to see action Thursday night, 14 different players scored.
• A total of seven different Spartans set or tied a season-high, including three players scoring their first points of the season, including two tallying the first points of their collegiate careers ... freshman guard Abbey Kimball tallied the first five seven points of her Spartan career, getting into the scoring column with a pair of free throws, and finishing with a field goal and 5-for-5 at the charity stipe ... freshman guard Maddy Skorupski made the first field goal of her MSU career to finish the night with two points ... senior guard Jayla James netted not only her first five points of the season, but also a new career-high, topping her previous top mark of four points last season at Wisconsin (1/24/21).
• Graduate guard Kamaria McDaniel tied her season-high for the third time this season with 14 points, with all three times coming in the last four games ... redshirt-senior forward Tory Ozment netted a season-high with nine points ... redshirt-junior Julia Ayrault posted a season-high six points ... sophomore center Brooklyn Rewers logged a career-high six points, bettering her previous high of five, done twice and both this season, in the opening vs. Delaware State (11/7/22) and last time out vs. Oakland (11/15/22) ... Rewers has scored five points in back-to-back games as part of four+ points in three of the last four and four of the five games this season.
• Three Spartans netted double-figures, led by sophomore guard/forward Matilda Ekh with 16 points, while graduate guard Kamaria McDaniel added 14 points and sophomore guard DeeDee Hagemann tallied 10 points ... Thursday was the fourth game with three or more in double-figures, moving to 4-0 when three or more net 10+ points.
• Ekh netted four 3-pointers, as she has drained 13 treys in her last three games, after hitting a season-high six vs. Western Michigan (11/13/22) and three triples vs. Oakland (11/15/22) ... the sophomore guard/forward is now 16-of-36 (.444) from distance this season.
• A native of Vasteras, Sweden, Ekh and fellow Spartan Swede, Stephanie Visscher from Lulea, Sweden, had their high school teammates from Sweden at Thursday's game.
• McDaniel tallied 14 points and added a team-high tying six rebounds to go with a team-best six assists, recording a new season-highs for both rebounds and helpers ... the six boards tops her previous high of four vs. Oakland (11/15/22), while the six assists topped her old season-high of four vs. Western Michigan (11/13/22).Â
• Along with McDaniel, senior forward Taiyier Parks, junior guard Gabby Elliott and sophomore forward Isaline Alexander all shared team-leading honors with six rebounds apiece ... with the six boards, Parks has snared five or more rebounds in back-to-back games and three of the last four games ... Elliott tied her season-high for the second time in the last three games and three of the five contests this season, as part of tying her career-best for the fourth time, more recently vs. Western Michigan (11/13/22)  ... Alexander has pulled down six or more rebounds in four of the five contests this season.
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