MSU Women Celebrate Alumni Day with Commanding Win Over Rutgers

EAST LANSING, Mich. - With alumni and Title IX trailblazers in the stands, the Michigan State women's basketball team celebrated pioneers with a wire-to-wire win over Rutgers, 85-63, Sunday afternoon at the Breslin Center.

The Spartans celebrated both Alumni Day and Title IX throughout the game. Michigan State honored all women athletes who set the path for current Spartans, as well as honoring women's basketball alumni during half time.

Michigan State snapped its four-game losing streak with the win, improving to 11-9 overall and 3-6 in league play. Rutgers fell to 8-13 overall and 2-7 in league contests.

The Spartans got contributions for nearly everyone who played with 11 for the 15 players that saw action scoring at least on three points. Michigan State had four players in double figures led by senior forward Taiyier Parks who scored 14 points with seven rebounds off the bench. Senior guard Moira Joiner, freshman guard Abbey Kimball and sophomore guard/forward Matilda Ekh all adding 13 points. Sophomore guard DeeDee Hagemann tied her season high with eight assists.

Rutgers was led by a game-high 27 points from Kaylene Smikle.

Michigan State scored the first nine points of the game highlighted by a Joiner trey. A Tory Ozment layup with under four minutes remaining in the period gave MSU its first double-digit lead 15-5. Michigan State ended the period on an 8-0 run to take a commanding 27-10 lead. Eight different Spartans scored in the first 10 minutes of the game.

In the second quarter, MSU continued to use balanced scoring to maintain its lead. Back-to-back treys by Hagemann and Kimball gave the Spartans their first 20-point advantage, 43-21 with under three minutes left in the half. MSU continued its offensive push with an 11-0 run. The Scarlet Knights offense continued to struggle, going the final 5:37 without a field goal. Kimball led the Spartans with six points in the second quarter.

Looking to fight its way back into the game, Rutgers scored the first six points of the second half to lead to an early Michigan State timeout. Scarlet Knight eventually used another 6-0 run to cut it to a 52-41 RU deficit with under five minutes left in the stanza. The Spartans responded with a 6-0 run of their own to re-establish it lead, 58-41, leading to a RU timeout. Despite the Scarlet Knights shooting 63.6 percent in the period, Kimball and Joiner helped MSU take a 19-point lead into the final period.

Parks scored half of her 14 points in the fourth quarter, playing over seven minutes. MSU was able to utilize its bench throughout the period with 14 players seeing action. The Spartans took their biggest lead of 24 points with 1:23 left after a Theryn Hallock free throw.

The Spartans will now hit the road for a pair of tough battles. Michigan State will take on No. 21/23 Illinois on Sunday, Jan. 29 at 6 p.m. ET, before facing Nebraska on Thursday, Feb. 2 at 8:30 p.m. ET. Both games will be televised on the Big Ten Network.

Michigan State Women's Basketball Post-Game Notes: vs. Rutgers

•   Four Spartans cracked double figures in scoring on Sunday afternoon, bringing MSU's record to 6-1 overall when four players reach that mark.
•   The Spartans nearly doubled the Scarlet Knights in assists, building up a 23-12 margin in the category. MSU climbs to 10-3 in games when winning the assist battle.
•   Michigan State was dominant in the paint, out-scoring Rutgers by a 46-24 margin down low. The Green & White climb to 9-3 when out-scoring their opponent in the paint this season.
•   The Spartans saw a significant outpouring of points from the bench, dominating the Scarlet Knights with a 48-15 differential in bench scoring. When out-scoring its opponent off the pine, Michigan State climbs to 11-6 overall.
•   The Green & White capped off a 27-point first quarter with an 8-0 scoring run over the last 2:27 of the period, aided by a pair of 3-pointers from sophomore guard Matilda Ekh and freshman guard Theryn Hallock.
•   Michigan State surged ahead by a 46-21 margin after booking an 11-0 scoring run beginning at the 5:38 mark of the second quarter, with freshman guard Abbey Kimball notching a pair of 3-pointers in quick succession to put MSU ahead by 25.
•   Senior forward Taiyier Parks finished as MSU's leading scorer and reached double digits for the sixth time this season and 29th time in her career. The Cleveland native tallied 14 points on 6-for-8 shooting while hauling in seven boards.
•   Freshman guard Abbey Kimball shattered her career high in scoring with 13 points on 5-for-10 shooting. Her previous career-best mark of seven was set in MSU's last game against Iowa on Jan. 18 inside the Breslin Center. Kimball also set a new career highs in minutes played (16), assists (two) and steals (two), also matching her career high in rebounds with a pair.
•   Senior guard Moira Joiner climbed into double figures on the scoreboard for the 11th time this season and 25th time in her career, scoring 13 points on 5-for-9 shooting from the floor.
•   Freshman guard Theryn Hallock recorded four steals on Sunday, setting a new career high in the category. Her previous career high of three came on two prior occasions, most recently against Prairie View A&M on Dec. 20, 2022.
•   Sophomore guard Matilda Ekh reached double figure scoring for the second straight game, 14th time this season and 33rd time in her career with 13 points on 4-for-9 shooting. Ekh also recorded five assists, matching her season high set in her last time out against Iowa on Jan. 18.

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Team Stats

Taiyier Parks

Abbey Kimball

Matilda Ekh

Moira Joiner

Players Mentioned

Matilda Ekh

DeeDee Hagemann

Theryn Hallock

Moira Joiner

Abbey Kimball

Tory Ozment

Taiyier Parks