EAST LANSING– Michigan State women’s basketball returned to the floor Thursday night to take on Purdue Fort Wayne in the second game of its five-game homestand to start the season. The Spartans controlled the game in all four quarters on their way to an 85-53 victory.

It was a true team effort for MSU as five different Spartans reached double-digits including senior forward Taiyier Parks. Parks finished the game with a career-high 18 points and nine rebounds.

“It was good to see multiple people score,” said head coach Suzy Merchant. “ I thought Mo and Theryn were really good. I thought K-Mac did a great job playing north and south getting herself to the free-throw line. I thought Taiyier was really good today.”

MSU struggled offensively in the first quarter against Delaware State on Monday, but that wasn’t the case in this one. The Spartans jumped out to a fast start, using the fast break to take a 10-2 lead with 7:19 to play in the first.

Merchant was critical of the team’s slow starts against Saginaw Valley State and Delaware State and the Spartans responded against the Mastodons. MSU shot 63.2% from the field in the first quarter and the Spartans took a 30-20 lead into the second.

The Mastodons were able to keep themselves in it thanks to some impressive three-point shooting. PFW shot 5-9 from 3-point range in the quarter and had two come from junior guard Amellia Bromenschenkel who finished the game with 11 points after fouling out in the third quarter.

The second quarter was the polar opposite of the first quarter for both teams’ offenses. MSU made just three field goals in the entire period and the first didn’t come until the 7:43 mark.

The two teams combined for more turnovers (12) than made field goals (7) in the second quarter as the Spartans led 40-29 at the half.

MSU dominated the entire second half of this game and it started at the beginning of the third quarter. The Spartans opened the second half on a 19-2 run with the help of Parks and freshman Theryn Hallock who both scored six points over that stretch to make it a 61-31 lead. PFW ended the quarter with an 11-2 run of its own to make it 63-44.

The Spartans put their foot down in the fourth quarter, with strong defense holding the Mastodons to 1-12 on 3-pointers in the quarter. MSU finished the game on a 20-5 run as the Spartans closed out the 85-53 victory.

MSU scored 85 points on the night despite shooting just 2-18 from three. The Spartans used their size advantage over PFW to get inside for easy looks or get to the free throw line.

“I thought that was a real positive to put up 85 points and only hit two threes,” Merchant said. “It was good to see our ability to get to the line.”

The full-court press for the Spartans helped force 26 turnovers for the third time in three games this season. Merchant said that she wasn’t as happy with the half-court defense in this game, but the press has been good.

MSU returns to the court on Sunday, Nov. 13 at 3 p.m. and will host the Western Michigan Broncos.