Sunday, February 2
Evanston, Ill.
3 PM ET
Michigan State University
18-4,8-3Big Ten
89
at
75
Northwestern
7-13,0-9Big Ten
1
2
3
4
F
Michigan St.
15
25
25
24
89
Northwestern
20
20
15
20
75
Team Stats
MSU
NU
FG%
.525
.500
3FG%
.440
.556
FT%
.762
.667
RB
26
37
TO
11
18
STL
14
9
Game Leaders
Pts
20
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G/F
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
No. 16/17 Spartans Cruise Past Northwestern Behind Five in Double Figures
2/2/2025 6:25:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Senior guard Nyla Hampton scores a season-high 16 points in the win.
EVANSTON, Ill. - Five Spartans scored in double figures as the No. 16/17 Michigan State women's basketball team topped Northwestern, 89-75, Sunday afternoon at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Michigan State got back on track, improving to 18-4 overall and 8-3 in Big Ten action. Northwestern falls to 7-13 overall and 0-9 in league contests. The Spartans have now won four-straight games in the series against the Wildcats. MSU has also won four-straight Big Ten road games.
The Spartans had five players in double figures led by 20 points from junior forward Grace VanSlooten. It was her third 20-point game of the season with MSU improving to 3-0 in those games. Off the bench, graduate guard Nyla Hampton set a new season-high with 16 points, tying a season-high with two 3-pointers. Graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault added 14 points, tying a season-high with four blocks. Junior guard Theryn Hallock scored 13 points, with junior guard Emma Shumate adding 12 points. Shumate also tied a season-high with four 3-pointers.
The Wildcats were led by a double-double from Taylor Williams with 18 points and 12 rebounds.
The teams traded baskets early on with MSU jumping out to an 11-9 lead after a steal and a score by Hampton. The Wildcats made three-straight baskets to take a 16-13 lead with under two minutes left in the period. A 6-0 Northwestern run pushed the home team's lead to 20-13 before Hampton hit a pair of free throws to make it 20-15 at the end of the quarter. VanSlooten led the Spartans with five points through the first 10 minutes.
In the second quarter, a Shumate trey put the Spartans back on top at 32-31 with under four minutes left in the half. Michigan State used a 7-0 run after a pair of Ayrault free throws to go up 34-31. After a steal, Northwestern re-took the lead 38-37. VanSlooten's layup with one second left on the clock tied the score at 40-40 at the break. VanSlooten and Ayrault both had nine points at the half, while Ayrault added three blocks. The Wildcats held a significant edge on the boards, leading 20-11.
An early third-quarter 9-0 Spartan run, gave MSU a little breathing room, 51-43. Michigan State took its first double-digit lead at 60-50 after another Shumate trey. The Spartans kept the Wildcats from scoring for the final 2:40, as the Michigan State defensive pressure increased in the third. MSU out-scored Northwestern, 25-15. Michigan State had six steals and forced seven turnovers in the third quarter.
The Spartans put the game out of reach in the fourth quarter. Michigan State took its biggest lead at 85-67, at the 2:09 mark after a VanSlooten layup. MSU went 3-for-4 from beyond the arc in the fourth to put the game out of reach. Hallock was once against the closer for the Spartans with eight points in the final 10 minutes.
Michigan State returns home to take on Michigan on Sunday, Feb. 9 at 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast on the FS1. Sunday's game will celebrate Black History Month and National Girls and Women in Sports Day.
Michigan State Women's Basketball Post-Game Notes
• The Spartan defense swiped 11 steals Sunday for their fifth-straight contest and sixth in the last seven outings with double-digit steals . . . overall Sunday was MSU's 17th game this season out of the 22 games played in registering 10+ steals . . . Michigan State is now 15-2 when snagging double-digit steals.
• The 89 points scored by the Spartans against the Wildcats was the second-straight season that MSU has surpassed the 85-point mark. Last season, Michigan State came away with a 91-72 win in East Lansing. Prior to that, the last time that Michigan State surpassed 80 points against Northwestern was an 81-51 win in 2018 in East Lansing. It was the most points that the Green and White have scored in Evanston since a88-77 win in 1997.
• Michigan State head coach Robyn Fralick earned her first win in Welsh-Ryan Arena.
• For just the second time this season, the Spartans were tied with their opponents at half time. The other game was at Rutgers on Jan. 15 when the game was tied at 33 at the break. Today the game was at 40 through 20 minutes.
• MSU's starting line-up changed for the first time in eight games with the starting five of graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault, graduate guard Jaddan Simmons, senior guard/forward Jocelyn Tate, junior guard Theryn Hallock and junior forward Grace VanSlooten . . . This was third time that this lineup has been used with MSU holding a 2-1 record.
• For the fourth time this season, graduate guard Jaddan Simmons recorded six assists to lead the Spartans. Overall, she has led MSU in assists 11 times this season and MSU is 10-1 in those contests. Fellow graduate guard Nyla Hampton added five helpers. This was the third time this season that she has had five or more assists this season.
• While the points in the paint were tied (36-36) and second chance points per the same (17-17), Michigan State had the lead in points off of turnovers, 23-12. MSU also had an the advantage in fast break points (19-10). The Spartans are 14-4 when leading in fast break points.
Michigan State got back on track, improving to 18-4 overall and 8-3 in Big Ten action. Northwestern falls to 7-13 overall and 0-9 in league contests. The Spartans have now won four-straight games in the series against the Wildcats. MSU has also won four-straight Big Ten road games.
The Spartans had five players in double figures led by 20 points from junior forward Grace VanSlooten. It was her third 20-point game of the season with MSU improving to 3-0 in those games. Off the bench, graduate guard Nyla Hampton set a new season-high with 16 points, tying a season-high with two 3-pointers. Graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault added 14 points, tying a season-high with four blocks. Junior guard Theryn Hallock scored 13 points, with junior guard Emma Shumate adding 12 points. Shumate also tied a season-high with four 3-pointers.
The Wildcats were led by a double-double from Taylor Williams with 18 points and 12 rebounds.
The teams traded baskets early on with MSU jumping out to an 11-9 lead after a steal and a score by Hampton. The Wildcats made three-straight baskets to take a 16-13 lead with under two minutes left in the period. A 6-0 Northwestern run pushed the home team's lead to 20-13 before Hampton hit a pair of free throws to make it 20-15 at the end of the quarter. VanSlooten led the Spartans with five points through the first 10 minutes.
In the second quarter, a Shumate trey put the Spartans back on top at 32-31 with under four minutes left in the half. Michigan State used a 7-0 run after a pair of Ayrault free throws to go up 34-31. After a steal, Northwestern re-took the lead 38-37. VanSlooten's layup with one second left on the clock tied the score at 40-40 at the break. VanSlooten and Ayrault both had nine points at the half, while Ayrault added three blocks. The Wildcats held a significant edge on the boards, leading 20-11.
An early third-quarter 9-0 Spartan run, gave MSU a little breathing room, 51-43. Michigan State took its first double-digit lead at 60-50 after another Shumate trey. The Spartans kept the Wildcats from scoring for the final 2:40, as the Michigan State defensive pressure increased in the third. MSU out-scored Northwestern, 25-15. Michigan State had six steals and forced seven turnovers in the third quarter.
The Spartans put the game out of reach in the fourth quarter. Michigan State took its biggest lead at 85-67, at the 2:09 mark after a VanSlooten layup. MSU went 3-for-4 from beyond the arc in the fourth to put the game out of reach. Hallock was once against the closer for the Spartans with eight points in the final 10 minutes.
Michigan State returns home to take on Michigan on Sunday, Feb. 9 at 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast on the FS1. Sunday's game will celebrate Black History Month and National Girls and Women in Sports Day.
Michigan State Women's Basketball Post-Game Notes
• The Spartan defense swiped 11 steals Sunday for their fifth-straight contest and sixth in the last seven outings with double-digit steals . . . overall Sunday was MSU's 17th game this season out of the 22 games played in registering 10+ steals . . . Michigan State is now 15-2 when snagging double-digit steals.
• The 89 points scored by the Spartans against the Wildcats was the second-straight season that MSU has surpassed the 85-point mark. Last season, Michigan State came away with a 91-72 win in East Lansing. Prior to that, the last time that Michigan State surpassed 80 points against Northwestern was an 81-51 win in 2018 in East Lansing. It was the most points that the Green and White have scored in Evanston since a88-77 win in 1997.
• Michigan State head coach Robyn Fralick earned her first win in Welsh-Ryan Arena.
• For just the second time this season, the Spartans were tied with their opponents at half time. The other game was at Rutgers on Jan. 15 when the game was tied at 33 at the break. Today the game was at 40 through 20 minutes.
• MSU's starting line-up changed for the first time in eight games with the starting five of graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault, graduate guard Jaddan Simmons, senior guard/forward Jocelyn Tate, junior guard Theryn Hallock and junior forward Grace VanSlooten . . . This was third time that this lineup has been used with MSU holding a 2-1 record.
• For the fourth time this season, graduate guard Jaddan Simmons recorded six assists to lead the Spartans. Overall, she has led MSU in assists 11 times this season and MSU is 10-1 in those contests. Fellow graduate guard Nyla Hampton added five helpers. This was the third time this season that she has had five or more assists this season.
• While the points in the paint were tied (36-36) and second chance points per the same (17-17), Michigan State had the lead in points off of turnovers, 23-12. MSU also had an the advantage in fast break points (19-10). The Spartans are 14-4 when leading in fast break points.
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