MSU Women Celebrate Senior Day Against Illinois Thursday

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State women's basketball will play its final regular-season home game against Illinois on Thursday, Feb. 29 at 8 p.m. The Spartans will also celebrate its two seniors in the Leap Day game, as MSU says goodbye to Moira Joiner and Tory Ozment. Sloane Martin and Meghan McKeown will be on the call for the Big Ten Network.

• The Spartans have now won three-straight games, improving to 20-7 overall and 10-6 in Big Ten action. MSU has now reached the 20-win mark for the first time since the 2018-19 season. MSU has won at least 10 B1G games since the 2015-16 season when it went 13-5.

• This is the first meeting of the season between Michigan State and Illinois. The Fighting Illini come to town with a 13-13 overall record and are 7-9 in league action. On Feb. 19, Illinois captured its biggest win of the season over Indiana, 86-66.

• MSU head coach Robyn Fralick is the third Spartan head coach to win 20 games in their first season. Karen Langeland went 23-6 in her first season (1976-77), and Suzy Merchant was 23-14 in her first year at the helm (2007-08). Merchant also went 10-8 in B1G action and there was no Big Ten schedule in 1976-77.

• The Spartans also broke the single-season school record for 3-pointers in a season against the Scarlet Knights on Feb. 24. MSU came into the game needing 11 to break the record and hit 14 in the game. The Spartans have now recorded 255 3-pointers this season, breaking the record set during the 2016-17 season.

SCOUTING ILLINOIS
In their only meeting of the regular season, the Fighting Illini come to East Lansing with a 13-13 overall record and hold a 7-9 mark in Big Ten play. Illinois has won five of its last eight games, including a marquee win against Indiana, 86-66, on Feb. 19. Last time out, the Illini lost a high scoring affair to Iowa, 101-85, in Iowa City.

Illinois is seventh in the Big Ten in scoring offense, averaging 75.0 ppg, while also standing seventh in scoring defense, allowing only 67.4 ppg. The Illini are third in turnover margin (+3.12) right behind Michigan State (+6.78).

Makira Cook is ninth in the Big Ten in scoring, averaging 15.3 ppg, while Genesis Bryant is 14th with 14.1 ppg. Kendall Bostic is third in the league in rebound, averaging 10.3 rpg.

Shauna Green is in her second season at Illinois with a 35-23 overall record, leading the Illini to the NCAA Tournament last season. Overall, she holds a career record of 191-98 with stops at Dayton and Loras before heading to Illinois.

SERIES HISTORY VS. THE FIGHTING ILLINI
Michigan State holds a 46-29 series lead over Illinois, including leading at home 25-10. MSU is 18-16 against Illinois in Champaign, while the series is tied on neutral ground 3-3. After losing 10-straight games, the Fighting Illini captured last year's meeting in Champaign on Jan. 20, 2023. The last time the team's met in East Lansing was on Dec. 9, 2021 when the Spartans came out on top 75-60.

LAST TIME VS ILLINOIS
Despite four players reaching double figures Michigan State women's basketball dropped a tough 86-76 battle to No. 22/22 Illinois at the State Farm Center on Jan. 29, 2023.

The Spartans played without former head coach Suzy Merchant who missed the game due to a medical incident.

Four Spartans reached double figures led by 23 points from graduate guard Kamaria McDaniel, which was her sixth 20-point game of the season. Sophomore guard DeeDee Hagemann was near a double-double with 10 points and eight assists, tying her season-high in helpers. Off the bench, senior forward Taiyier Parks scored 13 points with five rebounds, while senior guard Moira Joiner had 11 points and six boards.

FAMILIAR FACE
Spartan fans will see a familiar face on the Illini bench. Senior forward Kendall Bostic played her freshman season at Michigan State during the 2020-21 season. She has earned All-Big Ten honors both seasons at Illinois.

SPREADING THE WEALTH
The Spartans have found their success this season using a balanced attack. For the last 12 games, a different players has led the team in scoring. Five Spartans have been on top of the score sheet this season. Julia Ayrault leads the way, being the top MSU scorer eight times this season.

BY THE NUMBERS VS. RUTGERS
• The 93 points that Michigan State scored against Rutgers were the most since scoring 92 against Wisconsin on Jan. 24, 2021. Michigan State has scored at least 90 points in five Big Ten games this season. Overall, MSU is now 11-1 when scoring 90 or more points this season.

• The Spartans recorded 27 assists on 37 made baskets against Rutgers. It was the most helpers for MSU since recording 29 against Central Michigan on Dec. 17. MSU's season high in assists was 34 in the Spartans' 104-44 win against Detroit Mercy on Nov. 16. Junior guard DeeDee Hagemann led the way with seven assists, while junior guard/forward Jocelyn Tate tied her career high with six helpers.

• Michigan State out-rebounded Rutgers 34-29, behind seven rebounds from Jocelyn Tate and six from Julia Ayrault. The Scarlet Knights came into the game ninth in the Big Ten in rebound margin (+0.97).

TATE DOES IT ALL
Against Rutgers on Feb. 24, junior guard/forward Jocelyn Tate really did it all. She tied her career high with six assists. Her previous high came against Buffalo last season while she was at Bowling Green. She also scored nine points and seven rebounds. Tate also led the team with three steals.

SETTING NEW STANDARDS
The Spartans have now won three-straight games, improving to 20-7 overall and 10-6 in Big Ten action. MSU has now reached the 20-win mark for the first time since the 2018-19 season. MSU has won at least 10 B1G games since the 2015-16 season when it went 13-5.

DOUBLE TROUBLE
Junior guard DeeDee Hagemann registered her second career double-double with 13 points and a career-high 11 assists at Purdue on Feb. 21. Both of Hagemann's double-doubles have come in the state of Indiana and in the month of February, joining her 19 points and 10 assists outing at Indiana (2/8/24). Hagemann had 11 assists with no turnovers in the game.

RE-WRITING HISTORY
The Spartans also broke the single-season school record for 3-pointers in a season against the Scarlet Knights on Feb. 24. MSU came into the game needing 11 to break the record and hit 14 in the game. The Spartans have now recorded 255 3-pointers this season, breaking the record set during the 2016-17 season. Graduate guard Moira Joiner leads the team with 68 3-pointers. The single-season record for individual treys was 122 by All-American Tori Jankoska during the 2016-17 season.

LOOKING TO BEAT THE BEST
Michigan State is still looking for its first win over a ranked team this season. The Spartans are 0-4 this year with losses to then-No. 4/3 Iowa and then-No. 17-16 Ohio State. On Feb. 8, Michigan State lost another close battle to No. 14/14 Indiana, 94-91, before falling to No. 5/5 Ohio State on Feb. 11. Three of the Spartans' four losses to ranked teams have come by five points or less. MSU's last win against a ranked team came against Indiana. On Dec. 29, 2022, the Spartans upset No. 3/3 Indiana, 83-78 in East Lansing.

AMONG THE BEST IN THE LAND
The Spartans are ninth in the nation field goal percentage, shooting 48.1 percent from the field. Michigan State is also seventh in the country in assists per game, averaging 19.2 apg. They are second in the nation in assist/turnover ratio (1.67). The Spartans high-flying offense currently stands sixth in the nation in scoring offense, as well (84.6 ppg). MSU is currently eighth in the nation in 3-pointers made (9.4/game).

Individually, Julia Ayrault is 22nd in the nation in blocks with 59 and 21st in blocks per game (2.2 bpg). DeeDee Hagemann is third in the country assist/turnover ratio (3.05).

NET RANKING
Through Feb. 25, Michigan State holds a NET ranking of No. 22, which is fourth-best in the Big Ten. Iowa is first at No. 6, followed by Ohio State at No. 8 and Indiana at No. 13.

OH WHAT A NIGHT
Graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault had the hot hand against No. 14/13 Indiana on Feb. 8. Ayrault netted a B1G season-high 25 points topping her previous B1G season-high of 20 points vs. Maryland (1/9/24). She netted a career-high five 3-pointers, bettering her previous top mark of four triples vs. Coastal Carolina (12/21/23). The five triples was her third game in the last four with multiple triples as part of the eighth game this season with more than one 3-pointer. Ayrault ended the game 9-for-11 from the field.

HISTORY HAS ITS EYE ON YOU
First-year Michigan State head coach Robyn Fralick is the first Spartan head coach to post a Victory for MSU over Michigan in their first meeting since Karen Langeland's first season of 1976-77 in a 63-62 triumph on Jan. 24, 1977. Overall, Fralick is the third MSU head coach to do so, joining inaugural head coach Mikki Baile in the first-ever meeting between the Spartans and Wolverines on Feb. 3, 1973. With MSU's win in Ann Arbor on Feb. 18, Fralick joined Baile and Langeland as the only two coaches to sweep the Wolverines in their first attempt.

DID YOU KNOW?
Heading into the final week of the season the Spartans still have a lot to play for. MSU is alone in fifth place with a 10-6 record with two games left. Nebraska is fourth with an 11-6 record and one game remaining. Ohio State has clinched the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten record with a 15-1 record, while Indiana stands in second with a 14-3 record, and Iowa is third at 13-3. Michigan State will face Illinois at home and Wisconsin on the road for its final two games of the regular season.

KIMBALL RETURNS TO FORM
Sophomore guard Abbey Kimball returned to form in MSU's win against Rutgers on with 17 points on Feb. 24, including going 4-for-5 from beyond the arc. She had gone five games without reaching double digits in scoring. Her last double-figure outing was scoring 16 points at Rutgers on Jan. 30, when she was 4-for-8 from long range. For the season she is now averaging 8.6 points per game.

GETTING IN THE LINEUP
Michigan State's starting five for Saturday's game made up of junior guard DeeDee Hagemann, sophomore guard Abbey Kimball junior guard/forward Jocelyn Tate, graduate guard Moira Joiner and graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault was MSU's 18th-consecutive game with those five Spartans on the court for tip-off. Michigan State has started a total of 24 games this season with that starting five, improving to 17-7 on the season. The only other two Spartans to start this season are sophomore guard Theryn Hallock and junior forward Isaline Alexander.

NEW KID ON THE BLOCK... RECORD BOOK
Julia Ayrault's one block against Rutgers on Feb. 24 gives her 59 rejections this season, which are the most by a Spartan in a single-season since 2009-10 when Allyssa DeHaan had 101 rejections. With the 59 blocks, Ayrault remains in the No. 5 spot on MSU's single-season blocks list, passing No. 6 with Kristen Rasmussen (1999-2000), who was at the No. 5 spot with 57 in the 1998-98 season.

Blocked Shots
1.   Allyssa DeHaan       150   2007-08
2.   Allyssa DeHaan       145   2006-07
3.   Allyssa DeHaan       107   2008-09
4.   Allyssa DeHaan       101   2009-10
5.   Julia Ayrault 58   2023-24
6.   Kristen Rasmussen   57   1998-99
7.   Kristen Rasmussen   53   1999-00
8.   Kelli Roehrig 50   2004-05
9.   Kristen Rasmussen   45   1997-98
10. Lykendra Johnson 44   2010-11

BRING ON THE BENCH
All season, the Michigan State bench has been a key part of the Spartans' success all season. MSU is 18th in the nation and first in the Big Ten in bench points, averaging 26.5 per game. Against Rutgers on Feb. 24, Michigan State's bench out-scored RU's 19-10. Against the Scarlet Knights four different players scored off the bench, led by eight points from Tory Ozment. The Spartans improved to 17-5 when out-scoring its opponents bench. This season, the MSU bench has scored 709 points through 27 games. Hallock is fourth on the team in scoring, averaging 11.0 ppg.

MOVIN' ON UP
Several Spartans are moving up the MSU record books. Graduate guard Moira Joiner now has 195 made 3-pointers. Joiner made six 3-pointers against Rutgers to separate from a tie with Kalisha Keane (2007-11) for the No. 5 spot on MSU's career 3-pointers list. Even though she is just a junior, guard DeeDee Hagemann already has 424 career assists. Hagemann dished out a team-high seven assists against Rutgers on Feb. 24. She is just the ninth player in MSU program history to reach the 400-career assists plateau, standing alone for No. 7 in the MSU career record books. Deb Traxinger is No. 6 with 443 (1978-82) career assists.

JULIA AYRAULT... SCORING MACHINE
Graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault has now scored in double figures for nine-straight games, including scoring 17 against Rutgers on Jan. 24. She is second on the team in double-figure games with 22 just behind Moira Joiner's 24. The Spartans are 18-4 when she scores in double figures this season. For her career, she has 36 double-digit scoring games with MSU standing 27-9 in those games. She leads the team in scoring, averaging 15.0 ppg after only averaging 3.6 ppg last season.

With the 405 points, graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault needs just 29 more points to equal the combined sum of her previous three seasons in a Spartan uniform, as she had a combined 434 points in the 2019-23 seasons.

IF YOU CAN'T BEAT HER...JOINER
Graduate guard Moira Joiner topped the 1,000 career point mark with a 3-pointer at the 6:39 mark for her fifth point of the game against Purdue on Jan. 24. She becomes the 30th Spartan women's basketball player to join the MSU 1,000-Point Club and the first since All-American Nia Clouden hit her 1,000th point on Jan. 7, 2021 vs. Maryland. Clouden finished her career in 2022 with 1,882 points. Joiner now has scored 1,116 career points which puts her 26th all-time in the MSU record books, passing with Bella Engen (1994-98).

AROUND THE BIG TEN
This season, Michigan State is third in the Big Ten in scoring margin (+17.1) and second in assists (18.9 apg). The Spartans are also second in the league in 3-point field goals made, averaging 9.27 per game. MSU is second in turnover margin (+6.62) and first in assist/turnover ratio (1.66).

Graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault leads the Spartans in scoring, averaging 15.0 points per game, which is 11th in the conference, while graduate guard Moira Joiner is 12th with 14.7 ppg. Ayrault is also 10th in rebounding with 7.1 rpg and fourth in field goal percentage (.524). Junior guard DeeDee Hagemann is sixth in the league in assists, averaging 5.2 apg and first in assist/turnover ratio (3.05). Ayrault is also second in the conference in blocks, averaging 2.2 bpg, behind Wisconsin's Serah Williams. Joiner stands second in the league in 3-points field goal percentage (.420).

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

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.

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.

LAST TIME OUT
Michigan State women's basketball celebrated 4-H Day at the Breslin Center with a dominating, 93-57, win over Rutgers in front of 7,696 fans on Saturday afternoon.

All nine Spartans that played in the game scored for MSU, as Michigan State distributed the ball well. Graduate guard Moira Joiner led the way with 22 points in only 23 minutes of action. Both sophomore guard Abbey Kimball and graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault added 17 points with Ayrault adding six rebounds. Junior guard/forward Jocelyn Tate added nine points and a team-high seven boards.

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Players Mentioned

Isaline Alexander

Julia Ayrault

DeeDee Hagemann

Theryn Hallock

Moira Joiner

Abbey Kimball

Kamaria McDaniel

Tory Ozment

Taiyier Parks

Jocelyn Tate