Spartans Open Cherokee Invitational Against Richmond Wednesday

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State women's basketball now begins an arduous stretch of four games away from East Lansing, beginning with the Cherokee Invitational at Harrah's Casino in Cherokee, North Carolina. MSU opens the invitational against Richmond on Wednesday, Dec. 20 at 9:30 p.m. The Spartans will then take on either Coastal Carolina or Chattanooga on Thursday, Dec. 22.

• With a 91-67 win over Central Michigan, the Spartans improved to 8-2 this season. Richmond is also off to a fast start, standing 9-2 this season after a win over Liberty on Dec. 16.

• This week, MSU stands 15th in the current NET rankings, which is third-highest in the Big Ten behind Iowa (7) and Ohio State (14).

• Michigan State head coach Robyn Fralick reached a career milestone with a win against CMU. She captured her 200th career win, now holding a 200-78 career record in eight seasons as a head coach at Ashland, Bowling Green and Michigan State.

• Against CMU, Moira Joiner netted a career-high 27 points, marking the second time in her last four games of netting a career-best 26 points, which came at DePaul (11/30). Joiner's 27 points was her second 20+ point outing of the season and fourth 20-point game of her career. She has scored in double-figures in all 10 contests this season as part of 12-straight games back to 2022-23 season, and in 13 of her last 14 games.

SCOUTING RICHMOND
The Spiders stand 9-2 coming into the Cherokee Invitational. Richmond has a 53 NET ranking heading into the week. Last time out, Richmond scored 35 points in the second quarter, leading to a, 99-73, win against Liberty on Dec. 16. The Spiders also remains perfect at home with a 5-0 mark.

Maggie Doogan leads Spiders in scoring, averaging 18.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. The 18.5 ppg is second-best in the Atlantic 10 this season. Addie Budnik is second on the squad in scoring, averaging 11.1 ppg. Grace Townsend is second in the league in assists with 4.9 apg.

Richmond leads the A-10 in scoring, averaging 77.5 ppg. The Spiders are also first in field goal percentage, shooting 47.8 percent from the field.

Aaron Roussell is in his fifth season at the helm of Richmond, holding a 74-53 record. Overall, he is in his 20th season as a head coach with a 386-175 record.

SERIES HISTORY VS. THE SPIDERS
Michigan State leads the very brief series with Richmond, 1-0. The only other meeting took place at the UCF Thanksgiving Classic on Nov. 27, 2010 with MSU coming out on top 76-52.

LAST TIME VS RICHMOND
Spartan All-American Kalisha Keane scored 26 points and Michigan State (No. 25 AP) used some suffocating second-half defense to beat Richmond 76-52 on Nov. 27, 2010 in the UCF Thanksgiving Classic.

Brittney Thomas added nine points and Courtney Schiffauer had eight for the Spartans, who improved to 4-1 after out-scoring the Spiders 37-21 in the second half.

Brittani Shells led Richmond (4-3) with 16 points. The Spiders played even with the Spartans for the first 16 minutes of the game, but couldn't maintain the pace.

CHEROKEE INVITATIONAL
Following the game against Richmond, Michigan State will take on either Coastal Carolina or Chattanooga. The winners will face each other at 9:30 p.m., while the losers of the first game will meet at 7 p.m.

This would be the first-ever meeting between the Spartans and either UTC or Coastal Carolina.

UTC is 11-1 so far this season, the second-best start to a season in program history. The Mocs have now won its last nine.

Coastal Carolina is 5-6 so far this. The Chants are averaging 66.4 points per game while shooting 38.6 percent from the field and 27.8 percent from three-point range

FRALICK HITS MILESTONE
Michigan State head coach Robyn Fralick reached a career milestone with a win against CMU. She captured her 200th career win, now holding a 200-78 career record in eight seasons as a head coach at Ashland, Bowling Green and Michigan State.

BIG TEN OPENERS
Michigan State is 20-22 in Big Ten openers, having won seven of their 13. This season, despite a hard-fought comeback, MSU fell to Nebraska at home 80-74. Last season, the Spartans fell to Purdue at home 76-71 in overtime. MSU fell to Iowa, 88-61, in the 2021-22 opener. During the 2020-21 season, the Spartans won their opener in Minneapolis, 81-68 over the Gophers.

BY THE NUMBERS VS. CENTRAL MICHIGAN
• By draining 12-of-31 from 3-point range, the Spartans' 46.6 percent from behind the arc was their second-highest when making 10+ 3-pointers, behind the season-high 73.7 percentage (14-of-19) vs. Detroit Mercy (11/16) ... the 46.6 percent was also the Spartans' best 3-point shooting percentage since 47.1 percentage (8-of-17) vs. Evansville (11/19).

• The Spartans dished out 29 assists on Sunday, their most since 29 vs. Evansville (11/19), their most in the last six games ... the 29 assists was their sixth game this season with 20+ helpers.

• Graduate guard Moira Joiner drained a career-high seven 3-pointers, including five treys in the first half and topping her season-high of four triples (done twice, last at DePaul, 11/30) and matching her previous career-high of five treys (done four previous times, last vs. Maryland, 1/7/23).

JUST CAN'T BEAT JOINER
Against CMU, graduate guard Moira Joiner netted a career-high 27 points, marking the second time in her last four games of netting a career-best 26 points, which came at DePaul (11/30). With her strong performance, she earned a spot on the Big Ten Honor Roll. Joiner's 27 points was her second 20+ point outing of the season and fourth 20-point game of her career. She has scored in double-figures in all 10 contests this season as part of 12-straight games back to 2022-23 season, and in 13 of her last 14 games.

AMONG THE BEST IN THE LAND
The Spartans are ninth in the nation field goal percentage, shooting 50.5 percent from the field. Michigan State is also third in the country in assists per game, averaging 22.8 apg. They are also first in the nation in assist/turnover ratio (2.04). The Spartans high-flying offense currently stands eighth in the nation in scoring margin, as well (+29.9). MSU is currently sixth in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage (39.9 percent).

Individually, Julia Ayrault is 13th in the nation in blocks with 28 and 11th in blocks per game (2.8 bpg). Theryn Hallock is 25th in the country assist/turnover ratio (2.86).

LIVE BY THE THREE
The only two games this season that Michigan State has made less than eight 3-pointers are the only games that the Spartans have lost this season. Against Creighton on Nov. 24, MSU went 7-for-18 from long range. In the loss to Nebraska on Dec. 9, Michigan State had its worst shooting night of the season, going 4-for-27 from beyond the arc. The Spartans have reached double figures in treys made in a game five times this season.

By draining 12-of-31 from 3-point range against CMU on Dec. 17, the Spartans' 46.6 percent from behind the arc was their second-highest when making 10+ 3-pointers, behind the season-high 73.7 percentage (14-of-19) vs. Detroit Mercy (11/16). The 46.6 percent was also the Spartans' best 3-point shooting percentage since 47.1 percentage (8-of-17) vs. Evansville (11/19).

AROUND THE BIG TEN
Early on this season, Michigan State is first in the Big Ten in scoring margin (+29.9) and first in assists (22.8 apg). The Spartans are also first in the league in 3-point field goals made, averaging 10.1 per game. MSU is first in the conference in steals, averaging 10.3 spg after 12 against Central Michigan on Dec. 17.

Graduate guard Moira Joiner leads the Spartans in scoring, averaging 16.4 points per game, which is ninth in the Big Ten. Junior guard DeeDee Hagemann is ninth in the league in assists, averaging 4.3 apg. Sophomore guard Joiner is fourth in the league in 3-point field goal percentage (.406). Guard/forward Julia Ayrault is second f in the conference in blocks, averaging 2.8 bpg, behind Wisconsin's Serah Williams.

DID YOU KNOW?
Graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault and sophomore guard Theryn Hallock both earned double-doubles against CMU on Dec. 17. Ayrault's was her second of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds against the Chippewas. Hallock captured her first career double-double with 17 points and a career-high 12 assists.

It was the first time that MSU had two players with double-doubles in the same game since Jan. 18, 2023 vs. Iowa when Moira Joiner had 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Isa Alexander had 11 points and 10 rebound.

FINDING HER RHYTHM
Sophomore guard Theryn Hallock has found her groove in the last four games. She has averaged 16.5 points during that span. She netted a career-high 17 points against Miami on Dec. 3, just to match it against Nebraska on Dec. 9 and against CMU on Dec. 17. She has scored in double figures for the fourth-straight game after 14 points last time out vs. DePaul (11/30).

Hallock also dished out a career-high 12 assists, topping her previous career-high mark of eight assists vs. Evansville (11/19). The 12 assists by Hallock was the Spartans' first double-digit helpers outing of the season.

AWESOME AYRAULT
Graduate guard Julia Ayrault earned a spot on the Cancun Challenge All-Tournament team after a solid two games. In the two games, she averaged 18.0 points and 10.5 rebounds per game to go along with 1.5 blocks and 1.0 steals per game. She started with a breakout performance against James Madison with a career-high 25 points and a career-best 15 rebounds. She had the Spartans' first double-double of the season.

Overall this season, Ayrault is having her best season as a Spartan, averaging 12.4 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. She is also second in the Big Ten in blocks, averaging 2.8 bpg. She has 28 blocks this season and 99 for her career which stands seventh in the MSU record books.

TRIPLE-DIGIT THREATS
With a 102-64 win over DePaul on Nov. 30, MSU has now broken the triple-digit mark three times in the seven games this season, the most since the 2017-18 season.

LIGHTS OUT SHOOTING
Shooting 70.9 percent from the field (39-for-55) against Detroit Mercy on Nov. 16, the Spartans had another stellar performance from the field against Evansville on Nov. 19. MSU shot 63.6 percent from the field for the game, going 42-for-66 from the field. After starting the game 0-for-6 from long range, the Spartans ended the game shooting 47.1 percent (8-for-17).

ALCOHOL SALES COME TO BRESLIN
Alcohol sales will be implemented at Breslin Center for men's and women's basketball and at Munn Ice Arena for hockey in 2024. At Breslin Center, alcohol sales begin on Jan 4 for men's basketball (vs. Penn State) and Jan. 9 for women's basketball (vs. Maryland). January 5 (vs. US National Team Development Program) will mark the first game of alcohol sales at Munn Ice Arena.

Sales will start one hour prior to announced start time at each location. At Breslin Center, sales will close at the beginning of the second half of the basketball game. At Munn Ice Arena, sales will close at the end of the second intermission.
Both beer and seltzer options will be available. All beer sold will be in 16 oz cans, while seltzer will be 12 oz cans. Cost will be $10 or $12 depending on selection. Exact locations for points of sale will be announced at a later date. Food will not be able to be purchased at the same location as alcohol.

THE DEFENSE AIN'T BAD EITHER
Michigan State has made a name for itself with its offense so far this season. But the Spartan defense hasn't been too shabby this season. MSU is first in the Big Ten in steals, averaging 11.3 spg. The Spartans are also third in the league in blocks with 4.8 per game. While scoring 91.6 ppg, Michigan State is allowing only 61.7 ppg.

LENDING A HELPING HAND
In tying the school record for assists with 34 against Detroit Mercy on Nov. 16, 11 of the 12 Spartans that played had at least one helper. Hagemann led the way with seven, which was just shy of her season high of eight. Graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault tied her career high with five assists.

COMING NEXT YEAR
MSU head coach Robyn Fralick announced the signing of four National Letters of Intent, including Sinai Douglas (Toledo, Ohio/Toledo Start High School), Helen Holley (Cleveland, Ohio/Gilmour Academy), Juliann Woodard (North Vernon, Indiana/Jennings County High School) and Inés Sotelo Miguez (Ourense, Spain).

Douglas is a 5-4 guard, who is a native of Toledo, Ohio. She attends Toledo Start High School and is coached by Dane Franklin. Douglas is currently ranked No. 87 in the ESPNW HoopGurlz Recruiting Rankings.

Holley is a 6-1 forward, who is a native of Cleveland Ohio, plays for head coach Kevin Byrne at the Gilmour Academy. As a junior, she averaged 14.7 points and 11.7 rebounds per game. She captured second-team All-Ohio honors last season.

Woodard is a 6-0 forward, who is a native of North Vernon, Indiana, plays for head coach Kristi Sigler at Jennings County High School. Woodard is currently ranked No. 58 in the ESPNW HoopGurlz Recruiting Rankings.

Sotelo Miguez is a 6-3 forward, who is a native of Ourense, Spain. She has extensive international experience, including playing with the U18 Spanish National Team last summer in Konya, Turkey at the Eurobasket Tournament.

HALL OF FAMER
Spartan All-American Tori Jankoska was inducted into the Saginaw County Sports Hall of Fame on Nov. 5. Jankoska was a four-time all-state player for Freeland High School from 2010-13 where she scored a Saginaw County record 2,333 career points, also good for No. 9 all-time in the state of Michigan. During her four years at MSU, Jankoska (2013-17) became the program record holder in career points (2,212), field goals made (707), 3-pointers made (320), and finished second in assists (489). She is currently an assistant coach at Virginia.

O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN!
Michigan State head coach Robyn Fralick has announced guard/forward Julia Ayrault and guard Moira Joiner as team captains, as voted on by the players on the 2023-24 women's basketball team. The duo are the first captains that Michigan State has had since the 2019-20 season, when Victoria Gaines and Taryn McCutcheon were tabbed team leaders.

Ayrault is a guard/forward graduate student from Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan. She is in her fifth season with the Spartans after red-shirting the 2021-22 season with a foot injury. Ayrault has played in 77 games at Michigan State, starting 15.

Joiner is a guard, who is a graduate student from Saginaw, Michigan. She is also in her fifth season with MSU after missing much of the 2021-22 season with concussion symptoms. She has played in 95 games at Michigan State, starting 54.

LAST TIME OUT
Michigan State head women's basketball coach Robyn Fralick earned her 200th career win, as the high-flying Spartan offense handled Central Michigan, 91-67, at a festive Breslin Center on Sunday afternoon.

Michigan State welcomed back former Spartan All-American and assistant coach Kristin Haynie, who is in her first season at the helm of the Chippewas. Former Spartan center Jenna Allen is also a member of Haynie's staff.

Playing with only seven available players, Michigan State was able to take jump on the Chips early. The Spartans were led by a career high 27 points from graduate guard Moira Joiner, who topped her career high of 26 points against DePaul on Nov. 30. Sophomore guard Theryn Hallock earned her first career start and made the most of it with her first career double-double. She tied her career high with 17 points and set a new career high 12 assists. Graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault also had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Spartans Open Cherokee Invitational Against Richmond Wednesday

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Players Mentioned

Julia Ayrault

DeeDee Hagemann

Theryn Hallock

Moira Joiner