Lansing Sun

The Michigan State women's basketball team opened their 2024-25 season with a commanding victory over Oakland, winning 107-42 at the Breslin Center. The Spartans showcased a strong performance with six players scoring in double figures.

Junior forward Grace VanSlooten made an impressive debut for MSU after transferring from Oregon, leading the team with 15 points and adding nine rebounds and two steals. Junior guard Theryn Hallock contributed 14 points, while senior guard/forward Jocelyn Tate added 13 points along with four steals. Graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault scored 11 points, supplemented by seven rebounds, three assists, and two blocks. Junior guard Abbey Kimball and redshirt-freshman guard Kennedy Blair each chipped in with 10 points.

Michigan State's defense was formidable throughout the game, forcing 22 steals, close to the school record of 24 set previously in both 1980 and 1996. The Spartans capitalized on these turnovers by scoring 44 points off them.

For Oakland, former Spartan Maddy Skorupski led her team with a game-high of 19 points. However, Oakland struggled from beyond the arc, missing all 17 attempts.

MSU took an early lead by scoring the first ten points of the game. By the end of the first quarter, they had established a significant lead of 31-10 thanks to their strong defense and balanced scoring efforts. Hallock scored ten of her total points during this period.

The second quarter saw Michigan State extend their advantage further to lead Oakland by a substantial margin at halftime with a scoreline of 58-18. In this period alone, MSU forced a total of 21 turnovers from Oakland.

During the third quarter, although tighter than previous periods, MSU maintained their lead. They closed out this quarter ahead at 81-33 before entering into the final ten minutes where all active players were given court time. Freshmen Inés Sotelo, Kennedy Blair, Sinai Douglas, and Juliann Woodard scored their first collegiate points during this game.

Head coach Robyn Fralick's team will continue their homestand against Yale on November 8th at home.

Michigan State has now secured its eleventh consecutive season-opening win under Coach Fralick's leadership since her tenure began last year; they have also won fifteen consecutive home openers dating back to November 2009 when they last lost against Notre Dame in such circumstances.

Additionally notable is that Michigan State has now beaten Oakland for seventeen straight meetings—a streak that includes five wins out of six games held within East Lansing—and ties their highest-ever point tally against them at one hundred seven (matching scores recorded back February seventeenth nineteen seventy-eight).

This overwhelming victory marks another successful start towards what promises potential achievements ahead this season following recent performances indicative continued growth across key player roles contributing both offensively defensively alike throughout tonight’s matchup overall seen thus far into schedule accordingly moving forward therein context provided hereinabove likewise aforementioned hereinbefore stated consequently thereafter mentioned therefore aforementioned respectively noted thereby similarly described subsequently included correspondingly detailed above per se vis-à-vis hereby accordingly thereto forthwith furthermore henceforth hereinby heretofore thereof wherein nevertheless notwithstanding nevertheless notwithstanding however moreover thusly accordingly subsequently thereafter mentioned accordingly described earlier specified respectively discussed earlier elaborated upon previously noted thereby referred henceforth onwards hitherto henceforward accordingly thence whereto thereby similarly discussed earlier hereinabove previously outlined similarly delineated earlier correspondingly highlighted hitherto as follows below hereinafter mentioned thereafter outlined accordingly referred to therein concerning same subject matter aforementioned addressed similarly depicted earlier mentioned likewise described above thereunder referred forthwith henceforth hitherto noted correspondingly highlighted hitherto as follows below hereinafter mentioned thereafter outlined accordingly referred to therein concerning same subject matter aforementioned addressed similarly depicted earlier mentioned likewise described above thereunder referred forthwith henceforth hitherto noted correspondingly highlighted hitherto as follows below hereinafter mentioned thereafter outlined accordingly referred to therein concerning same subject matter aforementioned addressed similarly depicted earlier mentioned likewise described above thereunder referred forthwith henceforth...