No. 24 MSU Continues Homestand Against Youngstown State Wednesday

Wednesday, November 12

East Lansing, Mich.

6:30 PM

Michigan State University

Youngstown State

No. 24 MSU Continues Homestand Against Youngstown State Wednesday

11/11/2025 6:32:00 PM | Women's Basketball

MSU Notes YSU Notes Live Stats Listen Live Watch Live Gameday Promotions Flip Card

This is the first meeting between the teams.

EAST LANSING, Mich. -  Michigan State women's basketball continues its six-game homestand on Wednesday, Nov. 12 at 6:30 p.m. against Youngstown State. The Spartans have started the season 2-0 after a 92-60 win over Eastern Michigan on Sunday. Charlie Schmidgall and Madison Groff will be on the call for B1G+.

• Youngstown State has also started the season 2-0, most recently capturing a road win at North Dakota, 65-58. This is the first meeting between the Penguins and the Spartans.

• The Spartans have opened the season 2-0 for the third time in as many seasons under head coach Robyn Fralick. Michigan State also opened 2-0 for the 11th-straight season since going 1-1 to open the 2014-15 season.

• Michigan State is currently second in the NCAA and first in the Big Ten in assists per game, averaging 28.0 apg. MSU is also second in turnover margin in the nation and first in the B1G (+24.5).

• The Spartans have used large runs to pull away in their first two games. Against Eastern Michigan, MSU used a second-quarter 15-0 run to pull away. The Spartans had a 24-0 run against Mercyhurst on Nov. 4.

SCOUTING YOUNGSTOWN STATE
Youngstown State is off to a hot start, winning its first two games. The Penguins started the season with a dominating 104-33 win over Thiel at home on Nov. 3. On Nov. 7, YSU defeated North Dakota on the road 65-58.

YSU has four players averaging in double figures. Casey Santoro leads the team in scoring 13.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. Paulina Hernandez is second with 12.5 ppg.

Melissa Jackson is in her second season at the helm of Youngstown State. She holds a 14-19 record with the Penguins. Overall in seven years of coaching, she has a record of 86-88.

SERIES HISTORY VS. THE PENGUINS
This is the first meeting between Michigan State and Youngstown State.

BY THE NUMBERS vs. EASTERN MICHIGAN
The Spartans improved to 21-3 overall against Eastern Michigan, including seven in a row. Last season, MSU defeated the Eagles at home 95-49. Last season, Theryn Hallock led the Spartans with 18 points.
Michigan State took advantage of 30 Eastern Michigan turnovers. MSU was able to scored 36 points off of turnovers compared to nine by Eastern Michigan. The Michigan State defense was tough with 15 steals. MSU had 24 steals in the season opener against Mercyhurst.

WELCOME BACK
After tearing her ACL on Jan. 22, 2025 against Penn State, Juliann Woodard returned to the lineup against the Eagles. Woodard entered the game at the 3:46 mark of the fourth quarter. At the 3:39 point, she drained her first shot, which was a 3-pointer. Her trey gave the Spartans a 32-point advantage.

GETTING IN THE STARTING LINEUP
Michigan State used the same starting lineup for the second-straight game of senior forward Grace VanSlooten, senior forward Marah Dykstra, senior guard Threryn Hallock, junior guard Rashunda Jones and redshirt-sophomore guard Kennedy Blair. MSU is 2-0 with that lineup.

HOLDING ON TO THE BALL
The Spartans only had three turnovers on Nov. 4 against Mercyhurst, also setting a school record for fewest turnovers, bettering the previous record of five done three previous times, first done in a 56-55 win at Northwestern on Jan. 22, 1989, then again in a 76-69 win vs. Standford on March 29, 2005 and most recently in a 68-66 win over Toledo on March 18, 2018.

ALEXANDER RETURNS TO THE COURT
After missing all of the 2024-25 season and much of the 2023-24 season, senior forward Isaline Alexander returned to action on Nov. 4 against Mercyhurst. She scored eight points in her return to the Breslin Center.

BIG TIME BIG TEN NUMBERS
The Spartans are first in the Big Ten in scoring offense, averaging 109 ppg. Michigan State is also first in scoring margin (+59.0). The Spartans are also first in turnover margin (+24.5).

Theryn Hallock and Rashunda Jones are tied for ninth in the league in field goal percentage (.667). Kennedy Blair is also second in assists with 8.0 apg, while Grace VanSlooten is second in steals with 5.0 spg.

ADDING UP THE ACCOLADES
Senior forward Grace VanSlooten was named to the 2025-26 Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy Women's College Player of the Year Watch List Presented by AXIA Time.

She was one of 50 players named to the watch list that honors the best players in the nation.

VanSlooten is one of 13 Big Ten players named to the watch list, including her team USA teammate Hannah Stuelke from Iowa. VanSlooten was also named to the Preseason All-Big Ten team earlier this month as well the Cheryl Miller Award Watch List.

DOUBLE THE FUN
Redshirt-sophomore guard Kennedy Blair made the most of her first Spartan start against Mercyhurst on Nov. 4. She captured her first double-double with 14 points and 12 assists against Mercyhurst on Nov. 4.

SPARTANS VS. THE NCAA
After a pair of games, Michigan State stands second in the nation in assists per game, averaging 28.0 apg. The Spartans are also fifth in the nation and first in the Big Ten in scoring offense, avergaging 108.55 ppg. MSU has also been strong on the defensive end of the ball, standing second in the country in turnover margin (+24.5).

SEASON OPENERS
Michigan State has won its 12th-straight season-opener and three in a row under head coach Robyn Fralick. MSU's last season-opening loss was on Nov. 11, 2013 at #6/7 Notre Dame. The Spartans have won 16-consecutive home openers, as their last loss in the first home game of the season was on Nov. 19, 2009 vs. #5/6 Notre Dame.

VANSLOOTEN EARNS PRESEASON HONOR
Michigan State women's basketball senior forward Grace VanSlooten was named 2025-26 Preseason All-Big Ten by both the coaches and media. In her first season with the Spartans, VanSlooten earned second-team All-Big Ten honors. She was first on the team in scoring, averaging 15.5 points per game. She scored a career-high 480 points her junior season. She was tied for 15th in the Big Ten in rebounding, averaging 7.3 rebounds per game. In a win against, Vanderbilt at the Acrisure Classic on Nov. 27, she scored her 1,000th career point.

BRINGING HOME THE GOLD
Three players earned gold medals for their home countries this summer. Grace VanSlooten won the FIBA Women's Americup for Team USA. Marah Dykstra won gold for Canada in the FIBA 3x3 Junior Pan American Games. Inés Sotelo and Spain won a gold medal in the 2025 FIBA Eurobasket.

O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN!
Michigan State head coach Robyn Fralick has announced senior forward Grace VanSlooten and senior guard Abbey Kimball as team captains, as voted on by the players on the 2025-26 women's basketball team. This is the first time that either has been named a captain for Michigan State. VanSlooten is in her second season with MSU after transferring from Oregon. Kimball is in her fourth season as a Spartan.

REACHING THE CENTURY MARK
After scoring 107 points in last year's season-opener vs. Oakland in a 107-42 Victory for MSU on Nov. 5, 2024, the Spartans have scored 100+ points in back-to-back season-openers for the first time in school history after scoring 125 against Mercyhurst on Nov. 4. The closest MSU had been to reaching the century back in consecutive lid-lifters to a season was in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 season-openers when the Spartans scored 100 in a 100-58 win over Robert Morris in on Nov. 11, 2017, and then 99 the next year in a 99-69 win over Bowling Green on Nov. 6, 2018.

LOOKING AT THE SCHEDULE
For the fifth-straight season, the Big Ten Conference will play an 18-game schedule. MSU also played an 18-game schedule in both 2018-19 and 2019-20. The conference additionally had 18-game schedules in both 2015-16 and 2014-15.

The Spartans will face a maximum of 12 opponents that competed in the NCAA Tournament last season, as MSU will possibly play Ole Miss in the Cherokee Invitational. From the Big Ten portion of the schedule, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington reached the NCAA Tournament, including the Bruins advancing to the Final Four.

LAST TIME OUT
Four Spartans reached double figures, as the Michigan State women's basketball team defeated in-state Eastern Michigan, 92-60, Sunday afternoon at the Breslin Center.

The Spartans also used suffocating defense to keep the Eagles off the board. Michigan State forced 30 turnovers with 15 steals. MSU scored 36 points of off turnovers.

Senior forward Grace VanSlooten, junior guard Rashunda Jones and senior guard Jalyn Brown led the Spartans in scoring with 15 points each. Jones and Brown have both reached double figures in their first two games in the Green and White. For the second-straight game, VanSlooten has tied her career-high with five steals. Senior guard Theryn Hallock was the last Spartan in double figures with 14 points and four assists.

The Eagles were led by 18 points from Sisi Eleko.

NEW DIGS
The Spartans welcome four transfers to the 2025-26 season. Rashonda Jones is a junior guard, who comes to Michigan State after two years at Purdue. Marah Dykstra is a senior forward who spent three season at Montana State in the Big Sky Conference. Jalyn Brown is the second-straight player to come to MSU from Arizona State. The guard played two seasons at ASU. Last season, senior Jaddan Simmons spent one season with MSU. Finally, Sara Sambolić is a junior guard from Slovenia who transferred from the University of Ljubljana.