Michigan State University
6-0,0-0Big Ten
Oakland
2-4,0-0Horizon
No. 22 Spartans Use Career High from Blair to Close Homestand with Victory over Oakland
11/23/2025 6:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Redshirt-sophomore guard Kennedy Blair led all scorers with 25 points.
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Redshirt-sophomore guard Kennedy Blair's career high in scoring helped No. 22 Michigan State women's basketball close out its six-game homestand with a dominating 102-41 win over Oakland Sunday at the Breslin Center.
With the win, the Spartans improve to 6-0 this young season. The Golden Grizzlies fall to 2-4 this season. Michigan State has now won 18-straight in the series.
Redshirt-sophomore guard Kennedy Blair topped her career high with 25 points, going 10-for-11 from the field. The last Spartan to reach 25 points was Theryn Hallock last season against Ohio State on Feb. 26, 2025, when she scored 29. Once again, senior forward Grace VanSlooten reached double figures with 14 points to go along with five boards. Senior guard Hallock was the final Spartan in double digits, scoring 10 points.
Oakland was led by 13 points from Layla Gold.
The MSU defense once again stymied its opponent. For the third time this season, the Spartans had at least 20 steals with 21 today. The Green and White also forced the Grizzlies to turn the ball over 33 times.
Michigan State started cold from the field, opening the game 1-for-6, but the Spartan defense started strong forcing four turnovers in the first five minutes A Rashunda Jones steal led to a fast break Hallock 3-pointer to put MSU on top 11-5 at the midway point of the quarter. MSU used a 7-0 run to take its first double-digit lead 18-8 after a Blair layup. Oakland went the final 3:33 without a field goal. The Spartans led after the end of the first quarter 22-8 with Blair scoring half of MSU's points.
In the second quarter, Oakland out-scored Michigan State 10-4 to start the period to make it a 26-18 game, before MSU went on an 11-0 run. Michigan State used a 17-2 run over 3:43 to lead 43-20. After a slow start, VanSlooten scored the final five points of the half for the Spartans. At half time, MSU led 53-22.
Van Slooten remained hot in the third quarter with two-straight baskets to put the Spartans on top 62-25 at the 7:16 mark. Michigan State used a 14-0 run to widen the gap, 77-33 with under two minutes left in the third period. MSU kept OU off the scoreboard for nearly five minutes. VanSlooten and Blair combined for 15 of the Spartans' 31 points in the period.
In the fourth quarter, the Spartan bench once again made the most of their minutes. Michigan State scored 15 of the first 18 points of the period. Senior guard Jalyn Brown, senior guard Abbey Kimball and freshman guard Amy Terrian combined for all 18 points for MSU in the final 10 minutes. The Spartans held the Grizzlies to single-figure scoring in both the first and fourth quarters.
Michigan State will hit the road for the first time this season, traveling to the Baha Mar Hoops Tournament, The Spartans will take on Temple on Friday, Nov. 28 at 6:30 p.m. MSU will then face either Western Carolina or Clemson on Sunday, Nov. 30.
Michigan State Women's Basketball Post-Game Notes
• Michigan State improved to 6-0 with Sunday's win, moving to 6-0 for the second-straight season under head coach Robyn Fralick . . . MSU is 6-0 for the third time in the last four years and fourth in the last six seasons, joining the 2020-21, 2022-23 and 2024-25 Spartan squads . . . MSU opened 8-0 in 2020-21, 7-0 in 2022-23 and 11-0 last season.
• The Spartans topped 100 points for the second game in a row as part of the third time this season, marking the second-straight season that MSU has reached the century mark three times, which also came in the Spartans' first six games of the season . . . MSU also scored 100 points in game six last year, with a 101-44 Victory for MSU over Detroit Mercy, which was their third 100-point outing.
• Michigan State's 102 points on Sunday marked the Spartans' sixth time out of six games scoring 90+ points . . . MSU continues its program history making stretch of scoring 90+ in the first six games of the season . . . last season, the Spartans scored 90+ points in the first four games, but only 79 points in game five, finishing the year with six total games scoring 90+ points, as this year's MSU squad has now tied that mark of six games with 90+ games through the just the first six games of the season.
• Sunday's 102 points marked the 24th time that the Spartans have reached the 90-point plateau under Coach Fralick, now with six in 2025-26, following six in 2024-25 and 12 in 2023-24 . . . Michigan State is now 23-1 under Coach Fralick when scoring 90+ points, with the lone loss coming in a 94-91 loss at No. 14/13 Indiana on Feb. 8, 2024.
• Michigan State improved to 22-4 all-time vs. Oakland . . . Sunday's win was the Spartans' 18th-straight over the Grizzlies, with Oakland's last win coming in 1982 . . . MSU improved to 15-2 vs. OU in East Lansing, winning the last 12 match-ups on the Spartans' home court.
• The Spartan defense forced 33 Oakland turnovers, which the Spartans converted into 43 points off turnovers, which outscored the Grizzlies' 41 total points.
• After MSU had at least four players score in double-figures for the first four games of the season, the Spartans only had three players in double-figures for the second-straight game . . . redshirt-sophomore guard Kennedy Blair led the way with a career-high 25 points, followed by senior forward Grace VanSlooten matching her jersey number with 14 points and senior guard Theryn Hallock tallied 10 points.
• After a season-low six 3-pointers vs. Western Michigan (11/16/25), the Spartans drained a season-high 13 treys last time out vs. Eastern Illinois (11/20/25) and 11 3-pointers on Sunday, for MSU's first back-to-back outings with double-digit 3-pointers . . . MSU had alternated between a game with double-digit treys and a game with single-digit 3-pointers through the first five games, before Sunday's 11 triples . . . the Spartans now have four games with 10+ 3-pointers, with the season-high 13 3-pointers vs. Eastern Illinois, and matched the season-high from the season-opener vs. Mercyhurst (11/4/25), adding 12 3-pointers vs. Youngstown State (11/12/25)
• The Spartans were 11-of-24 (.458) from 3-point range on Sunday, marking the fourth time out of six game that MSU shot 40.0 percent or better from distance, and is the same four games in which the Spartans have hit double-digit triples . . . MSU was a season-high 48.0 percent vs. Youngstown State (11/12/25), 46.4 percent vs. Mercyhurst (11/4/25) and 41.9 percent last time out vs. Eastern Illinois (11/20/25).
• The Spartans swiped 21 steals on Sunday to post their third 20+ steals outing this season, joining a season-high 24 swipes in the season-opener vs. Mercyhurst (11/4/25) and 20 steals last outing, vs. Eastern Illinois (11/20/25) . . . Michigan State has swiped 15 or more steals in all six games this season.
• MSU came into Sunday's game leading both the B1G and the NCAA in assists per game at 27.4 apg, and the Spartans were nearly right at that average with 25 assists on Sunday . . . Michigan State has distributed 20+ helpers in all six games, with 23 assists vs. Eastern Michigan (11/9/25) the season-low.
• Additionally, the Spartans were also tops in the B1G and NCAA in assist/turnover ratio at 3.34, and MSU surpassed that Sunday with a ratio of 3.57 with 25 assists against just seven turnovers.
• With the seven turnovers, MSU has had single-digit turnovers in four of the six games this season, after just three miscues in the season-opener vs. Mercyhurst, four vs. Western Michigan, six last time out vs. Eastern Illinois.
• Of the 12 Spartans to see the court Sunday afternoon, 11 scored, including 10 or more scoring 6+ points.
• A season-high seven different Spartans made at least one 3-pointer on Sunday, topping the previous top mark of six different players, done three previous times, against Eastern Michigan (11/9/25), Youngstown State (11/12/25) and Eastern Illinois (11/20/25).
• With her career-best 25 points, redshirt-sophomore guard Kennedy Blair
is the second Spartan to score 20 points this season and is the first 20-point scorer as well as the first MSU player with 25 or more points since Theryn Hallock netted 29 points last year at Ohio State (2/26/25).
• Blair's 25 points topped her previous career-high of 14 points, previously done twice and both this season, first in the season-opener vs. Mercyhurst (11/4/25) and vs. Western Michigan (11/16/25) . . . it was also Blair's third game with double-figures this season and sixth of her career.
• Senior forward Grace VanSlooten's jersey-matching 14 points was her sixth double-figure scoring outing in as many games this season . . . VanSlooten has now scored 10+ points in the last 25 games, including netting double-digits in 25 of her last 37 games played as a Spartan, being held to single digits twice last season, and she also missed one game due to illness . . .
• Sunday was VanSlooten's 100th career game, and she has now tallied double-figures scoring 87 times out of 100 career games, registering 10+ points in 55 games during her time at Oregon.
• Senior guard Theryn Hallock tallied 10 points Sunday for her fourth game this season with double-digits, as part of her 45th career game with 10+ points.
• Junior guard Rashunda Jones distributed a game and season-high eight assists . . Jones has led MSU in assists in the last five games . . . the eight assists was just one helper shy of her collegiate career-best of nine assists, which came last season vs. Minnesota (2/19/25) during her time at Purdue.
• Jones also swiped a game-best five steals, tying her season and career-high, matching five steals vs. Eastern Michigan (11/9/25).
• Senior guard Jalyn Brown and sophomore forward Juliann Woodard
shared the team lead in rebounds with six apiece . . . it marked the second time this season that Brown has led or shared the team on the boards, while its the first-time this season that Woodard has led the Spartans on the glass, while its the second time of her Spartan career.
• Woodard also led MSU's defense with two blocks, which are a new career-high, topping her previous career-best of one block, done four times previously in her career, most recently earlier this season vs. Western Michigan (11/16/25).
