No. 24/19 Spartan Women Open New Year at Indiana on Thursday

EAST LANSING, Mich. - No. 24/19 Michigan State women's basketball returns to the road, taking on Indiana to open the 2026 portion of the schedule on Jan. 1. Tip off time is set for 12 p.m. at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Jack Kizer and Chloe Pavlech will be on the call for BTN.

• The Spartans will play three of their next four games on the road, beginning at Indiana. Michigan State improved to 12-1 overall and 1-1 in B1G action with a win against Rutgers. The 12-1 mark matches MSU's best record through 13 games since 2012-13 when the Spartans were also 12-1.

• Indiana fell to 11-3 overall and 0-2 in the Big Ten after a 71-48 loss to Minnesota in Bloomington on Dec. 29.

• Redshirt-sophomore guard Kennedy Blair posted a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds against Rutgers, and was just four assists shy of a triple-double with four helpers. It was Blair's second double-double in the last three games as she had 11 points and 10 rebounds vs. Indiana State (12/21/25) in the opening game of the Cherokee Invitational.

• Michigan State head coach Robyn Fralick is approaching a career milestone. She is currently just two wins away from the 250 career win mark, holding a 248-96 record in 11 seasons as a head coach. She has won 56 games at MSU.

SCOUTING INDIANA
Indiana fell to 11-3 overall and 0-2 in Big Ten play after a 71-48 loss to Minnesota in Bloomington on Dec. 29. The loss snapped a three- game winning streak for the Hoosiers with victories over ULM, Eastern Michigan and Western Carolina. MSU and IU have a common opponents in Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan. Both teams went 2-0 against those squads.

The Hoosiers have three players averaging in double figures led by Penn State transfer Shay Ciezki, who leads the team in scoring with 23.7 ppg. Ciezki leads the Big Ten in scoring and is first in free throw percentage (.934). Lenée Beaumont is second with 15.2 ppg, while Zanie Socka-Nguemen is third, scoring 13.0 ppg. Socka-Nguemen has missed IU's last seven games.

Indiana is second behind Michigan State in 3-point field goal percentage, shooting 37.8 percent from long range.

Indiana head coach Teri Moren is in her 12th season at the helm of the Hoosiers with a record of 257-115. Overall in 23 seasons, she holds a record of 456-245. She also spent time at UIndy and Indiana State.

SERIES HISTORY VS. THE HOOSIERS
Michigan State holds the all-time series lead with Indiana, 51-33. In East Lansing, MSU leads 25-11, while in Bloomington, the Spartans have the a slight advantage 21-19. Over the last six games, the series is even 3-3. MSU is looking for its first win in Bloomington since a 68-46 win on Sec. 28, 2017. Last season, Michigan State earned a 73-65 win over Indiana in East Lansing on Feb. 23. In the annual Pink Game, the Spartans were led by 17 points from Grace VanSlooten and 16 points from Theryn Hallock.

DID YOU KNOW?
The 12-1 start for Michigan State matches MSU's best record through 13 games since 2012-13 when the Spartans were also 12-1.

TAKING DOWN THE BEST
No. 24/23 Michigan State knocked off No. 15/15 Ole Miss for the Spartans' highest ranked win under head coach Robyn Fralick. It is the Spartans' third overall win over an AP Top 25 team in their three seasons under Coach Fralick, with all three coming in last two years after beating No. 21 Iowa (68-66, 12/15/24) and No. 24 Michigan (88-58, 1/25/25).

BRINGING HOME THE HARDWARE
By winning the 2025 Cherokee Invitational crown, Michigan State not only defended its 2023 Cherokee Invitational championship, but also collected its second tournament title of the season after winning the Baha Mar Hoops Nassau Championship of the Junkanoo Division in the Bahamas on Nov. 30. It is also MSU's fourth tournament title in the last three seasons after winning the 2023 Cherokee Invitational and the 2024 Acrisure Classic crown last season in Palm Springs, Calif.

WELCOME BACK THERYN
After missing five games, senior guard Theryn Hallock returned to the lineup against Rutgers on Dec. 28. Hallock tallied nine points, two rebounds and one steal in playing just over 16 minutes in her return.

BY THE NUMBERS vs. RUTGERS

Sophomore center Inés Sotelo netted double-figures for the first time this season, as Sunday was just her fourth game back from injury. The 12 points on Sunday was Sotelo's eighth career game in double-digit scoring. She also dished out a career-high four assists, bettering her previous career-best of three helpers, done three times previously, most recently last year vs. Iowa (3/6/25). Additionally, Sotelo pulled down a season-high five rebounds and snared a season-high three steals.
Senior guard Emma Shumate netted a pair of 3-pointers on Sunday, as she now has nine made 3-pointers in her last three games after her career-high seven treys vs. Indiana State (12/21/25). Sunday's pair of triples marked Shumate's ninth game out of the 13 games played in which she's made multiple treys.

GETTING IN THE STARTING LINEUP
After using the same starting lineup for seven games, Michigan State used a different starting lineup against Clemson on Nov. 30. After an injury to Theryn Hallock, MSU went with the lineup for senior forward Grace VanSlooten, senior forward Marah Dykstra, senior guard Emma Shumate, junior guard Rashunda Jones and redshirt-sophomore guard Kennedy Blair. MSU is 2-1 with that lineup. MSU rolled out its third lineup against Indiana State with Blair, Jones, VanSlooten, Inés Sotelo and Sara Sambolić, which is now 1-0. The Spartans changed it up for a fourth time against No. 15 Ole Miss and Rutgers with VanSlooten, Jones, Blair, Sotelo and Isaline Alexander making the starting five. VanSlooten, Blair and Jones are the only three Spartans to start all 13 games.

FRALICK APPROACHING A MILESTONE
Michigan State head coach Robyn Fralick is approaching a career milestone. She is currently just two wins away from the 250 career win mark, holding a 248-96 record in 11 seasons as a head coach. She has won 56 games at MSU.

BIG GAME BLAIR
Redshirt-sophomore guard Kennedy Blair continues to have a break out season. Against Rutgers on Dec. 28, the 12 points scored was her fifth double-digit scoring outing in the last six games, with just seven points last time out vs. Ole Miss (12/22/25). Blair now has eight games this season with 10+ points and 11 for her career.

She also added 11 rebounds for her fourth double-figure rebounding game and third with double-double, as her career-high 15 points came with only eight points vs. Eastern Illinois on Nov. 20. With the six assists against the Scarlet Knights, Blair has dished out five or more helpers in seven of the last eight games as part of 10 of the 13 games overall this season.

Blair also added one block, tying her season-high for the fifth time this season and her career-high for the sixth overall time, last with a block in the game at Wisconsin (12/7/25).

HOME SWEET HOME
MSU played its sixth-straight game away from home on Dec. 22 against No. 15 Ole Miss as the Spartans are now 6-0 at home, 4-0 in neutral games and 1-1 in road games. When Michigan State faced Rutgers on Dec. 28, it had been 35 days since its last game at the Breslin Center against Oakland on Nov. 23. The Spartans will now play three of their next four games away from the Breslin Center.

SUNDAY FUNDAY
With the Spartans' win against Rutgers on Dec. 28, Michigan State is now 6-1 on Sunday, their most-played day of the week. MSU is also 4-1 in day games.

GVS GETS RESULTS
With the 16 points against No. 15 Ole Miss, senior forward Grace VanSlooten reached double-figures for the third game in a row and now in 11 of the 12 games this season. VanSlooten has netted 10 or more points in 30 of the last 32 games, including posting 10+ points in 40 of her 44 games played as a Spartan, being held to single digits twice last season and missing one game due to illness.

Additionally, VanSlooten has now tallied double-figures scoring 91 times out of 107 career games, registering 10+ points in 55 games during her time at Oregon.

WIPING UP THE GLASS
Michigan State had 44 rebounds against Indiana State on Dec. 21, posting their second-straight game with 40+ rebounds after pulling down a season-high 49 rebounds last time out at DePaul. Overall, it was the Spartans' third game this season with 40+ rebounds, joining 43 vs. Eastern Illinois (11/20/25). MSU had a 44-30 (+14) rebounding advantage, as the Spartans have out-rebounded their opposition in seven games, improving to 7-0 when doing so. The Spartans out-rebounded Ole Miss on Dec. 22 37-30, improving to 8-0 when out-rebounding their opponents.

LOOKING AT THE NET
In the current women's basketball NET ranking, the Spartans stand No. 11. They are fourth among Big Ten schools behind No. 4 UCLA, No. 6 Michigan and No. 10 Iowa. UConn stands No. 1.

RANKED TEAMS IN BIG TEN
This Big Ten continues to be one of the toughest conferences in the country with three teams in the top 10 in the rankings. In the AP poll, UCLA is No. 4, while Michigan and Maryland stand No. 6 and No. 7, respectively. Iowa continues to hold the No. 14 spot followed by No. 17 USC. Michigan State (No. 24), Ohio State (No. 19) and No. 20 Nebraska round out the group.

SPARTANS VS. THE NCAA
After the first 13 games, Michigan State stands fourth in the nation in assist/turnover ratio (1.88). The Spartans are third in the NCAA and first in the Big Ten in turnover margin (+13.0). Michigan State is seventh in scoring margin and second in the Big Ten (+36.2). MSU has also been strong on the defensive end of the ball, standing 13th in the country and second in the B1G in steals per game (13.8 spg). Redshirt-sophomore guard Kennedy Blair is 20th in the NCAA in assists per game (5.85 apg).

STRONG BENCH
The Spartans' 59 points scored by their bench was more than Eastern Illinois' entire team scoring of 53 points on Nov. 20. Against DePaul on Dec. 14, the Spartan bench scored 44 of 90 points. MSU kept that trend up against Indiana State with 64 bench points. This season, the MSU bench has out-scored opponents 485-227.

BIG TIME BIG TEN NUMBERS
The Spartans are second in the Big Ten in scoring offense behind Michigan, averaging 90.5 ppg and second in scoring margin (+36.2). Michigan State is also first in 3-point field goal field percentage (.386). The Spartans stand third in assists per game, averaging 21.1 apg and second in steals per game with 13.9 spg.

Individually, Rashunda Jones is second in the league in steals per game, averaging 2.6 spg, while senior forward Grace VanSlooten is tied for 10th (2.2 spg). Kennedy Blair is also fourth in assists with 5.85 apg. Jones is third in the B1G in assist/turnover ratio (2.79).

FINDING THE MAGIC NUMBER
Michigan State's 102 points against Oakland on Nov. 23 marked the Spartans' sixth time out of six games scoring 90+ points. MSU's 90 points against DePaul on Dec. 14 was the first time reaching 90 in the last four games, after the Spartans had scored 90 or more points in each of the first six games of the season. MSU is now 7-0 when scoring 90+ points.

The Spartans' 115 points in the win against Indiana State on Dec. 21 was MSU's second-most of the season, behind the season-high 125 points in the season-opener vs. Mercyhurst (11/4/25). It was Michigan State's fourth 100-point game, moving to 4-0.
WELCOME BACK
After tearing her ACL on Jan. 22, 2025 against Penn State, Juliann Woodard returned to the lineup against Eastern Michigan. 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.

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 as well the Cheryl Miller Award Watch List.

OH WHAT A NIGHT!
With her career-best 25 points against Oakland on Nov. 23, redshirt-sophomore guard Kennedy Blair is the second Spartan to score 20 points this season, 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).

One game earlier against Eastern Illinois, Blair became the first Spartan player with 15 or more rebounds since former Spartan great Julia Ayrault had 15 boards, nearly two years to the day, on Nov. 23, 2023, vs. James Madison.

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. Stanford on March 29, 2005 and most recently in a 68-66 win over Toledo on March 18, 2018.

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.

BIG TEN OPENERS
After losing its Big Ten Conference opener against Wisconsin, Michigan State is now 21-23 all-time in Big Ten openers. Last season, MSU defeated Iowa, having won eight of their last 15. The win against Iowa was the first time that the Spartans opened league play with the Hawkeyes since 2021-22 season, and the win avenged that 88-61 loss. During the 2023-24 season, the Spartans fell to Nebraska at home 80-74 on Dec. 9. During the 2022-23 season, the Spartans fell to Purdue at home 76-71 in overtime. During the 2020-21 season, the Spartans won their opener in Minneapolis, 81-68 over the Gophers.

NEW DIGS
The Spartans welcome four transfers to the 2025-26 season. Rashunda 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.

ROBYN FRALICK RADIO SHOW
Michigan State women's basketball head coach Robyn Fralick started her weekly radio call-in show, the Robyn Fralick Radio Show, on Nov. 18 at One North Kitchen and Bar. Coach Fralick joins host Dalton Shetler, the Spartans' play-by-play voice, from 12-1 p.m., for an in-depth look into the MSU women's basketball program. The show is held at One North Kitchen and Bar on 1310 Abbott in East Lansing.

Radio Show Dates
Tuesday, Jan. 6
Tuesday, Jan. 13
Tuesday, Jan. 20
Tuesday, Jan. 27
Tuesday, Feb. 3
Tuesday Feb. 10
Tuesday, Feb. 17
Tuesday, Feb. 24

No. 24/19 Spartan Women Open New Year at Indiana on Thursday

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Players Mentioned

Isaline Alexander

Julia Ayrault

Kennedy Blair

Jalyn Brown

Marah Dykstra

Theryn Hallock

Rashunda Jones

Abbey Kimball

Emma Shumate

Jaddan Simmons

Grace VanSlooten

Juliann Woodard

No. 24/19 Spartan Women Open New Year at Indiana on Thursday

Related News

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Isaline Alexander

Julia Ayrault

Kennedy Blair

Jalyn Brown

Marah Dykstra

Theryn Hallock

Rashunda Jones

Abbey Kimball

Emma Shumate

Jaddan Simmons

Grace VanSlooten

Juliann Woodard

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