Balanced Scoring Leads Spartans Past Delaware State on School Day

Monday, November 7

East Lansing, Mich.

12 PM

Michigan State University

1-0,0-0Big Ten

Delaware State

0-1,0-0MEAC

Delaware St.

Michigan St.

Sara Sambolic plays defense vs. Illinois

No. 13 Spartan Women Conclude January at Purdue Thursday

Wednesday, January 28

Jones Named to Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Watch List

Tuesday, January 27

Post-Game Quotes: USC

Friday, January 23

Blair's 21 Points Helps No. 13 MSU Conquer Trojans, 74-68

Friday, January 23

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Purdue Fort Wayne

W, 85-53

Nov 10 (Thu)

7 PM

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Team Stats

DSU

MSU

FG%

.294

.484

3FG%

.333

FT%

.600

.609

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Balanced Scoring Leads Spartans Past Delaware State on School Day

11/7/2022 6:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score MSU 86, DSU 37 (PDF)Post-Game Quotes

Junior guard Gabby Elliott leads all scorers with 14 points.

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Behind a balanced scoring attack, Michigan State women's basketball breezed past Delaware State, 86-37, in a School Day matinee on Monday afternoon.

In front of several thousand local area students, MSU kicked off the 2022-23 season with four players in double figures. The Spartans have won their season opener for the ninth-straight season, improving to 1-0 this season. MSU is now 35-15 in season openers and 28-2 when the opener is in East Lansing. Coach Merchant is 13-3 in season openers at MSU.

Junior guard Gabby Elliott led the Spartans in scoring in her first game at MSU with 14 points. Senior guard Moira Joiner added 13 points off the bench off the bench up return from concussion issues last season. Graduate transfer guard Stephanie Visscher added 13 points and six rebounds in her first MSU game, while senior forward Taiyier Parks added 10 points.

No Spartan played more that 23 minutes in the balanced win.

Michigan State scored the first nine points of the game. MSU opened up a 16-6 lead after an old-fashioned three by Joiner. At the end of the first period, four Spartans scored, including four points from both Parks and Visscher.

A 6-0 run in the second quarter put the Spartans up 35-12 with two minutes remaining in the half. Three- straight treys extend the run to put MSU up 38-12 with 1:44 remaining in the half. In the first half, Michigan State's bench out-scored Delaware State's 23-5.

Michigan State made five of its first six baskets to start the second half to take a 53-19 advantage. The Spartans were up at least 30 points for the remainder of the third quarter. With 2:22 left in the quarter, redshirt-junior guard Julia Ayrault made her first basket of the season. She missed all of the 2021-22 season with an injury.

In the fourth quarter, the Spartans scored 13 of the first 15 points of the quarter to extend their dominating performance. MSU's biggest lead of the game was 51 points after Visscher 3-pointer.

The Spartans continue their five-game homestand on Thursday, Nov. 10 against Purdue Fort Wayne at 7 p.m.

Michigan State Women's Basketball Post-Game Notes
• Michigan State improved to 35-15 in season-openers, including 28-2 when the opener is in East Lansing ... MSU is now 13-3 under head coach Suzy Merchant, who has won 19 of her last 22 season-openers including her time at EMU.

• MSU netted 86 points in its 2022-23 season-opener ... the Spartans netted 93 points in last year's 93-31 win over Morehead State.

• Junior guard Gabby Elliott had a smashing official Spartan debut with a game-high 14 points to lead four MSU players in double-figures ... Elliott also shared top-game honors in rebounding with six boards, matching Stephanie Visscher.

• Senior guard Moira Joiner tallied 13 points off the bench in her first action since Jan. 12, 2022 vs. Ohio State, after missing the remainder of the 2021-22 season due to injury ... Joiner's 13 points was her 15th career double-figure scoring game ... Joiner also netted three 3-pointers Monday, matching her season-high from last year ... with 13 points Monday, Joiner now has double-figures in both of the last two season-openers with 10 points in the 2020-21 lid-lifter vs. Morehead State.

• Graduate guard Stephanie Visscher also had a successful Spartan debut with 12 points off the bench ... Visscher also shared top-game honors in rebounding with six boards, matching Gabby Elliott.

• Senior forward Taiyier Parks posted 10 points for her 24th career double-figure scoring game, as well as her third in the last four games dating back to last season.

• Sophomore guard DeeDee Hagemann picked up right where she left off from her Big Ten All-Freshman Team and honorable mention All-Big Ten campaign a year ago, dishing out a game-best five assists ... Monday's five helpers marked Hagemann's 18th game with five or more assists in 28 career games.

• Fellow Big Ten All-Freshman Team and honorable mention All-Big Ten honoree, sophomore guard/forward Matilda Ekh netted a pair of 3-pointers for six points in the game, for her 20th game with multiple 3-pointers in 31 career games, as well as the last three in a row dating back to last season.