Spartan Women Return Home to Face Detroit Mercy Sunday

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State women's basketball returns to the friendly confines of the Breslin Center to take on Detroit Mercy on Sunday, Dec. 18. Tip off time is set for 3 p.m. on BTN+ with Brendan Schabath and Zach Surdenik calling the action. The Spartans are looking to snap a five-game losing streak.

• The Spartans hold a 6-5 overall record this season and are 0-2 in Big Ten action play. Detroit Mercy stands 2-7 overall and are 0-2 in Horizon League action.

• Michigan State's defense has been tough this season. The Spartans are third in the Big Ten in steals, averaging 11.7 spg. MSU is also second in the league in turnover margin (+7.9), just behind Ohio State (+13.5).

• In making her second start of the season against Ohio State on Dec. 11, senior guard Moira Joiner tallied a team-high 16 points, one shy of her season-high 17 points vs. Central Michigan (Nov. 19), and her fifth double-digit scoring contest, but first in the last five games, after posting double-figures in the first three games and four of the first six games of the season.

• Michigan State will end the 2022 portion of the season with three-straight home games. After completing finals, the Spartans will take on Detroit Mercy (Dec. 18) and Prairie View A&M (Dec. 20), before returning to B1G action against Indiana on Dec. 29.

SCOUTING DETROIT MERCY
Detroit Mercy comes to East Lansing with a 2-7 overall record and a 0-2 mark in the Horizon League. Last time out, the Titans lost a close overtime battle with Georgia Southern at home, 82-79. In just her second career start, freshman Ana Cabañas Llorens scored a career-high 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting going 3-for-5 from 3-point range in the loss.

Irene Murua is the only Titan averaging in double figures, pitching in 11.9 points per game, while also averaging 9.7 rpg. Imani McNeal is second in scoring with 9.8 ppg.

As a team, Detroit Mercy is averaging 58.8 ppg, while allowing 73.0 ppg. The Titans have been dominate on the boards with 42.1 rpg, while allowing only 38.0 rpg. Detroit Mercy averages 5.9 steals and 3.4 blocks per game this season. The Titans take the floor this season with seven returners and eight newcomers for a total of 15 players.

Detroit Mercy named Kate Achter the 14th Titan head coach on April 27, 2022. Achter was an All-American basketball player at Bowling Green and has also coached at Loyola Chicago, St. Bonaventure and Xavier.

SERIES HISTORY VS. TITANS
Michigan State leads the overall series with Detroit Mercy, 23-7. The Spartans have won the last 18 games in the series, leading 17-1 in East Lansing. MSU holds a 6-5 record in Detroit, while Detroit Mercy has won the only meeting in neutral territory. In 1994, the Titans topped the Spartans, 75-70 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, which was Detroit Mercy's last victory against MSU. Early in the series, it was all Titans with Detroit Mercy earning the first three games in the series in 1979.

The have not met since the COVID-19 shortened 2020-21 season. In East Lansing on Dec. 2, 2020 MSU came away with a 82-45 win. Six of the last seven meetings have taken place at the Breslin Center.

BY THE NUMBERS VS. OHIO STATE
• Michigan State's starting line-up of graduate guard Kamaria McDaniel, junior guard Gabby Elliott, sophomore guard/forward Matilda Ekh, senior guard Moira Joiner and sophomore forward Isaline Alexander was the Spartans' first game with that starting five. It was MSU's fourth different starting line-up.

• Junior guard Gabby Elliott was one rebound shy of a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds, before leaving the game with an injury sustained at the end of the third quarter. Elliott tallied her second-straight double-figure outing and sixth of the season.

A NEW AYRAULT
Without Gabby Elliott and Taiyier Parks in the lineup against at the end of the Ohio State game on Dec. 11, redshirt-junior guard Julia Ayrault stepped up. She scored eight points with nine rebounds against the tough Buckeyes. She scored six points and added three rebound in the second half alone as MSU mounted its comeback.

CLOSE CALLS
During the Spartans five-game losing streak, four of the five loses have come by a margin of eight points or less. On Nov. 27, MSU fell to No. 18/18 Oregon, 86-78. MSU lost to Georgia Tech on Dec. 1, 66-63, before falling in overtime to Purdue on Dec. 5, 76-71. Against No. 3/4 Ohio State, the Spartans fell, 74-68. Michigan State has lost its last four games by a total of 22 points.

LAST TIME VS DETROIT MERCY
Six Spartans reached double figures as the Michigan State women's basketball team stopped Detroit Mercy, 82-45, on Dec. 2, 2020 at the Breslin Center.

MSU also now stands at 23-7 all-time against Detroit Mercy, winning the last 18 match-ups. For the second-straight game, junior guard Nia Clouden led the Spartans with 15 points. She also added four rebounds and four assists. Sophomore forward Taiyier Parks had a very balanced game with 12 points and eight rebounds, going 5-for-10 from the field.

STOPPING THE STREAK
The Spartans are looking to snap their five-game losing streak. The last time that Michigan State had a streak that long was a five-game skid from Jan. 23, 2020 to Feb. 10, 2020.

BIG TEN OPENERS
Michigan State is 20-21 in Big Ten openers, having won seven of their 12. MSU is 9-7 in league openers in Coach Merchant's 16 seasons after losing to Iowa in last season's league opener. During the 2020-21 season, the Spartans won their opener in Minneapolis, 81-68 over the Gophers.

FACING THE TOP DOGS
The game against No. 3/4 Ohio State was the second top-10 game for Michigan State this season. On Nov. 24, the Spartans fell to No. 5/4 Iowa State, 80-49, in Portland. Last season, MSU went 1-2 against top-10 foes with a win No. 4/4 over Michigan (Feb. 24) and losses to No. 9/11 Iowa (Dec. 5) and No. 7/7 Indiana (Feb. 12).

DID YOU KNOW?
Rebounding is key for the Spartans, as Michigan State is 5-2 when it has more second chance points. MSU also stands 6-1 when out-rebounding its opponents and are 0-4 when being out-rebounded.

BENCH PRODUCTION
The Michigan State bench has provided a lot of production this season. The Spartans are 6-2 when their bench out-scores their opponents. MSU gets 37.6 percent of its offense from its bench compared to 30.4 percent by its opponents. A total of 329 of MSU's 875 points have been produced by its bench.

KMAC ON THE RIGHT TRACK
Graduate guard Kamaria McDaniel netted 28 points against No. 18/18 Oregon on Nov. 27, not only posting her first 20-point outing of the season, but doubling her previous season-high of 14, tallied three times, most recently vs. Florida A&M (11/17). McDaniel's 28 points is the most by an MSU player this season, as well as the Spartans' second 20-point scorer this season, joining 20 points by Matilda Ekh vs. Western Michigan (11/13). Her streak of three-straight 20-point games came to an end against No. 3/4 Ohio State on Dec. 11.

MORE MO PLEASE
Senior guard Moira Joiner has had a resurgence since returning from concussion symptoms that shortened her 2021-22 season. In 11 games this season, she has averaged 9.0 points per game. Against Central Michigan on Nov. 19, she scored a season-high 17 points. She also tied her career high with five made 3-pointers. She also made five treys against Rutgers on Jan. 20, 2020 and Northwestern on Jan. 23, 2020, which were back-to-back games.

She has now started games against Iowa State (Nov. 24) and Ohio State (Dec. 11). Against the Buckeyes, she was just short of here season high with 16 points to go along with four assists. She also played a season-high 34 minutes against OSU. Overall, she has scored in double figures in five games this season.

FREQUENT FLYER
Sophomore guard Matilda Ekh returned to the lineup for the Spartans against Oregon on Nov. 27. After playing against Central Michigan on Nov. 19, Ekh traveled to Sweden for a National Team game against Israel. She arrived in Portland on Friday and scored 14 points for the Spartans against Oregon on Nov. 25. She also scored 14 points against Georgia Tech on Dec. 1 and 12 against Purdue on Dec. 5.

BALANCED ATTACK
Without All-American Nia Clouden to dominate the box score this season, the Spartans are looking for a more balanced attack. In 11 games this season, Michigan State has spread out the scoring. Senior forward Taiyier Parks led in scoring with a career-high 18 against Purdue Fort Wayne. Sophomore guard Matilda Ekh was atop the score sheet with 20 against Western Michigan and 16 against Florida A&M. Three players led MSU in scoring against Central Michigan with sophomore forward Isaline Alexander, junior guard Gabby Elliott and senior guard Moira Joiner all scored 17 points. Graduate guard Kamaria McDaniel scored 22 points against Purdue for her third-straight 20-point game.

TOPPING THE CHARTS
Michigan State is among the Big Ten's leaders this season. The Spartans are currently second in the B1G in turnover margin (+7.9) and third in steals (11.7 spg). MSU is also first in the league in offensive rebounds (15.2) and fourth in the conference in assists (15.5 apg).

Sophomore guard Matilda Ekh is eighth in the Big Ten in 3-point field percentage, shooting .391. She is also fourth in made 3-pointer per game with 2.5. Sophomore guard DeeDee Hagemann stands fourth in the Big Ten in assist/turnover ration (2.7). Graduate guard Kamaria McDaniel is 16th in the league in scoring, averaging 14.1 ppg.

AROUND THE NATION
This week, Michigan State is 18th in the nation and fourth in the Big Ten in assists, averaging 18.5, behind Ohio State (20.6 apg). MSU is also 12th in the nation and second in the Big Ten in turnover margin (+7.9).

Individually, sophomore DeeDee Hagemann is 20th in the NCAA and fourth in the Big Ten in assist/turnover ratio (2.73). Graduate guard Kamaria McDaniel is 22nd in the nation and fourth in the league in total free throws made with 50.

SEASON OPENERS
All-time, the Spartans are 35-15 in season openers, but 28-2 when the opener is in East Lansing. Coach Merchant is 13-3 in season openers at MSU, and has won 19 of her last 22, including her time at Eastern Michigan. Last season, the Spartans earned a dominating 86-37 win over Delaware State on Nov. 7.

UP NEXT
Before taking break for the Holidays, MSU will face Prairie View A&M on Tuesday, Dec. 20 at 7 p.m. The Spartans will end the 2022 portion of the schedule against Indiana on Thursday, Dec. 29 at 3 p.m.

TITLE IX CELEBRATION
Throughout the season, Michigan State will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of Title IX. MSU Athletics kicked off its year-round celebration on June 23, 2022. While the work in advancing women's athletics is not complete, the Spartans will celebrate the advancements that have been made in the last 50 years.

LEGENDARY SPARTAN
Former Michigan State women's basketball guard Nia Clouden was drafted 12th in the first round by the Connecticut Sun at the 2022 WNBA Draft. Clouden was the 12th Big Ten student-athlete drafted by the Sun franchise (which began as the Orlando Miracle from 1999-2002). Clouden, an Owings Mills, Maryland native, became the eighth Spartan to be selected in the WNBA draft. Tori Jankoska was the ninth overall pick in the 2017 draft by the Chicago Sky, while Aerial Powers was the fifth overall pick in 2016 going to the Dallas Wings.

Maxann Reese and Kristen Rasmussen were the first Spartans selected in the WNBA, drafted in 2000. Reese was taken in the third round, while Rasmussen was selected in the fourth. In 2003, Syreeta Broomfield was drafted in the third round. In 2005, Kristin Haynie was the ninth overall pick by Sacramento, while Liz Shimek was taken in the second round by Phoenix in 2006.

SPARTANS: THE NEW CLASS
Michigan State women's basketball head coach Suzy Merchant announced the signing of two National Letters of Intent on Thursday, including Jordan Wood (Chicago, Illinois/Carmel Catholic High School) and Bree Robinson (Mississauga, Ontario/ Webb School).

Wood is a 6-4 forward, who is a native of Chicago, Illinois. She attends Carmel Catholic High School and is coached by Ben Berg. Wood is currently ranked No. 62 in the ESPNW HoopGurlz Recruiting Rankings. As a junior, she scored 1,000 points, as well as leading the Corsairs to a Class 3A Illinois State Championship. Last season, she averaged 14.4 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, while also leading the team in assists (3.2 apg). She is a three-time All-East Suburban Catholic Conference and All-Area honoree, as well as capturing First-Team All-State accolades. Wood played AAU for Midwest Elite, competing on the EYBL Nike National circuit for coach Ralph Gesuado.

Robinson is a 5-8 guard, who is a native of Mississauga, Ontario, plays for head coach Matthew Shewmake at the Webb School (Tenn.). She helped lead the Webb school to a Tennessee State Championship, earning First-Team All-District 3 honors in the process. She also has a vast amount of international experience playing for Team Canada. She was the captain for Team Canada, playing in the U16 FIBA Americas in 2021, capturing a silver medal. She was also named Canletes 2022 All Canadian Player of the Year. She played for AAU Become One, competing on the GUAA Under Armour circuit for coach Handel Kipp.

CLOSING OUT THE GAMES
The Spartans have been extremely effective closing out games over the last couple years, winning 244 of its last 257 games (.949) when leading with five minutes left, including 194 of their last 209. In Coach Merchant's tenure, Michigan State is 278-21 (.930) when holding a lead with five minutes left. This season, MSU is 6-0 when leading with five minutes remaining.

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 176 of their last 208 games (.846) when scoring at least 70 points, and the Spartans are 196-43 (.820) under head coach Suzy Merchant when hanging at least 70 points on the scoreboard. This season, MSU is 6-2 this season when scoring 70 points. The Spartans have losses to Oregon and Purdue went reaching the 70-point mark.

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Players Mentioned

Isaline Alexander

Julia Ayrault

Nia Clouden

Matilda Ekh

Gabby Elliott

DeeDee Hagemann

Moira Joiner

Kamaria McDaniel

Taiyier Parks