Alexander's Career-High 20 Points Leads No. 24 MSU Past Western Michigan, 98-44

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Senior forward Isaline Alexander's career night helped the No. 24 Spartan women's basketball team past Western Michigan, 98-44, on Sunday afternoon at the Breslin Center.

With the win, the Spartans improve to 4-0 this season for the seventh-straight season. The Broncos fall to 1-3 with the loss.

For the fourth-straight game, the Spartans had at least four players reach double figures led by a career-high 20 points from Alexander off the bench. Her previous career high was 17 points against Central Michigan on Nov. 19, 2022. She missed nearly two seasons with injury and reached double-figures in scoring for the first time this season.

Senior forward Grace VanSlooten added a season-high 19 points, adding eight points and four assists. Redshirt-sophomore guard Kennedy Blair overcame a slow start and ended with 14 points to go along with eight rebounds and eight assists. Junior guard Rashunda Jones scored 13 points with four steals.

Michigan State held Western Michigan to single digits in two of the four quarters.

Western Michigan was led by 11 points and six rebounds from De'Ahna Richardson.

The Spartans scored the first 11 points of the game, leading to an early WMU timeout. The run stretched to 18-0 before a 3-pointer by Kailey Starks. Hallock gave Michigan State its first 20-points game 23-3 with under three minutes left in the quarter. The Spartan defense was tough to start the game forcing four turnovers in a 4:13 stretch and seven for the period. MSU lead after the first 10 minutes 31-5.

In the second quarter, the Broncos continued to fight as the Spartans went cold. MSU went 2:18 without scoring before a VanSlooten broke the cold spell making it a 41-18 game with 2:53 remaining in the half. Western Michigan out-scored Michigan State 17-14 in the second quarter. The 14 points scored in the second quarter were the least by MSU in a period this season. Michigan State entered the locker room with a 45-22 lead.

The Spartans used a 6-0 run to take a 51-25 advantage with just under eight minutes remaining in the third period after an old-fashioned 3-point play by Blair. Michigan State used a 15-2 run over 3:55 to re-establish its dominance, 60-27. MSU forced eight turnovers over a 5:14 span to help broaden the gap. With two seconds left in the period, Hallock stole the ball, banking in a half court shot to put MSU up 78-29.

In the fourth quarter, Michigan State's bench saw more time. Senior guard Abbey Kimball led the way with five points. Both sophomore guard Juliann Woodard and senior guard Jalyn Brown added four points in the final 10 minutes of action.

The Spartans ended the game with 68 points in the paint and 40 bench points.

Michigan State will continue its six-game homestand to start the season against Eastern Illinois on Thursday, Nov. 20 at 6:30 p.m.

Michigan State Post-Game Notes

• Michigan State improved to 4-0 for the third time in as many seasons under head coach Robyn Fralick and the seventh-straight season overall, as the Spartans were 3-1 through the first four games of 2018-19.

• Sunday marked the 27th all-time meeting between Michigan State and Western Michigan in women's basketball action . . . the Spartans have won 12-straight against the Broncos, and now lead the all-time series, 19-8, including 9-3 in East Lansing.

• The Spartans' 98 points scored on Sunday marked the highest scoring output against the Broncos, topping 97 points in the 97-49 Victory for MSU over WMU on Nov. 13, 2022 . . . Sunday's 98 points was the Spartans' third game in the series with 90+ points, along with 93 points in a 93-71 MSU win over WMU on Nov. 25, 1995.

• Michigan State's defense has held Western Michigan under 50 in each of the last three meetings, winning 97-49 on Nov. 13, 2022; 79-42 on Nov. 17, 2024 and with Sunday's 98-44 Spartan rout, MSU has out-scored WMU, 274-135, in the last three match-ups, an average of 91.3 - 45.0.

• MSU's 98 points marked the fourth time out of the four games this season that the Spartans scored 90+ points . . . MSU has now scored 90 or more points in the first four games of the last two seasons . . . the Spartans have netted 90+ points a total of 22 times under Coach Fralick, now with four in the 2025-26 season after six in 2024-25 and 12 in 2023-24.

• Michigan State scored 31 points in the first quarter and 33 points in the third quarter and have now scored 30+ points in a quarter five times, as the 33 points was the second-highest scoring quarter, trailing the season-high for points in a quarter of 36 points in the first frame vs. Mercyhurst (11/4/25)

• Michigan State opened the game on an 18-0 run . . . MSU had its largest lead of the day at 59 points at 93-34 with 5:10 left in the fourth quarter . . . the Spartans started the 18-0 run with their first points 29 seconds into the game, and led from there on out, for 39:31 of the game.

• The Spartans swiped 17 steals for the second-straight game with 17 on Sunday and 17 last time out vs. Youngstown State on Tuesday . . . MSU has 15+ steals in all four games this season.

• Michigan State entered Sunday leading the B1G and ranking seventh in the NCAA in steals per game with 18.7 spg, and MSU was right at that average on Sunday swiping 17 steals.

• MSU also entered the game ranked second in both the NCAA and the Big Ten in assists per game, averaging 27.3 apg, and the Spartans were right at that average on Sunday with 28 helpers . . . Michigan State has dished out 20+ assists in all four games, with 23 helpers vs. Eastern Michigan (11/9/25) the season-low.

• Additionally, the Spartans were second in the both the B1G and NCAA in assist/turnover ratio at 2.65, and MSU was at more than double that average at 7.0 on Sunday with 28 assists against just four turnovers.

• MSU's four turnovers marked the Spartans' second game out of the four this season in single-digit turnover after just three miscues in the season-opener vs. Mercyhurst.

• Along with only committing four turnovers, the Spartan defense forced 29 Western Michigan miscues for a +25 turnover margin, as MSU also entered Sunday leading both the Big Ten and the NCAA in turnover margin at +20.7 . . . the MSU defense has forced 25+ turnovers by the opposition in all four games this season.

• Michigan State was out-rebounded by Western Michigan by a 43-37 edge, marking the second time out of the four games this season that MSU was out-rebounded by the opposition, joining a slim 31-30 disadvantage to EMU.

• Of the 10 Spartans to see action Sunday, eight of them scored, including four in double-figures . . . MSU has had at least four score 10+ points in all four games so far this season.

• Senior forward Isaline Alexander led the four Spartans in double-figure scoring with a game and career-high 20 points, followed by fellow senior forward Grace VanSlooten with 19 points, while redshirt-sophomore guard Kennedy Blair added 14 points and junior guard Rashunda Jones tallied 13 points.

• Alexander's career-high 20 points topped her previous career-high of 17 points from Nov. 19, 2022 vs. Central Michigan for her first career 20-point outing and just her seventh career double-figure scoring outing . . .

• The senior forward Alexander netted her career-best 20 points on a perfect 9-of-9 shooting from the floor, also a career-high, bettering her previous career-high field goal outing of seven field goals, vs. Oregon (11/27/22).

• Alexander had a combined 21 points in MSU's first three games of the season, making nine field goals on the year on 9-of-13 shooting, before nearly matching her scoring outing with 20 points and matching her field goals made for the year with nine field goals Sunday.

• Alexander netted her career-high scoring outing in just 11:32 of playing time, just shy of her fewest minutes played of the season by 11 seconds, as she played 11:21 last time out vs. Youngstown State (11/12/25).

• VanSlooten's 19 points were a season-high, topping her 18 points from the season-opener vs. Mercyhurst (11/4/25) . . . the Spartan senior forward scored 15 of her 19 points in the first half, helping MSU to a 45-22 halftime lead.

• VanSlooten has scored double-figures in all four games this season as part of 23-consecutive games with 10+ points, netting double-digits in 33 of her last 35 games played as a Spartan, being held to single digits twice last season, and she also missed one game due to illness . . . for her collegiate career, VanSlooten has now tallied double-figures scoring 85 times out of 98 career games, registering 10+ points in 53 games during her time at Oregon.

• By netting a season-high nine field goals, VanSlooten topping her previous top shooting outing of the season of eight field goals, done twice, most recently last time out vs. Youngstown State (11/12/25) and also doing so vs. Mercyhurst in the season-opener.

• Van Slooten pulled down a team-high tying eight rebounds, which is also a season-high, bettering her previous season-high outing of six boards, done twice, also most recently vs. YSU and vs. Eastern Michigan (11/9/25), as she now has six or more boards in each of the last three games.

• After entering Sunday without registering a block this season, VanSlooten swatted a season-high three blocks.

• Redshirt-sophomore Kennedy Blair tallied 14 points to tie her season-high for the second time this season, also with 14 points in the season-opener vs. Mercyhurst for her second double-digit scoring outing of the season and sixth of her career.

• Blair was two rebounds and two assists shy of a triple-double, notching eight boards and eight helpers, despite only playing three quarters, as she did not play in the fourth quarter after being subbed out of the game with 2:11 left in the third quarter

• Blair's eight rebounds was a new career-high, topping her previous top mark of the season of five boards, last doing so vs. YSU, while bettering her previous career-high of seven rebounds, vs. Yale (11/8/24).

• Junior guard Rashunda Jones was the fourth Spartan in double-figures, tallying 13 points, as she has now scored 10+ points in three of the four games this season

Alexander's Career-High 20 Points Leads No. 24 MSU Past Western Michigan, 98-44

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Team Stats

Isaline Alexander

Grace VanSlooten

Kennedy Blair

Rashunda Jones

Players Mentioned

Isaline Alexander

Kennedy Blair

Jalyn Brown

Rashunda Jones

Abbey Kimball

Grace VanSlooten

Juliann Woodard