EAST LANSING – The Michigan State women’s basketball team took care of business on Thursday evening, taking down the Florida A&M Rattlers 109-44 in a non-conference matchup at the Breslin Center.

MSU reached the 100-point mark for the first time in a year. The last time the Spartans made the century mark came on Nov. 17, 2021, against Bryant with a 100-60 final score.

The Spartans moved to 5-0 on the young season after the first five games against non-conference opponents, all coming at home.

After an early first-quarter struggle and offensive stalls, the Spartans went on a 23-2 run in the second quarter, led by two 3-point shots by sophomore forward Matilda Ekh.

“We tried to hold the ball and do one-on-one a lot,” said head coach Suzy Merchant. “We drove the gap, they just came and took it from us. We really talked about that as much as we could in huddles and then at halftime that was a huge point of emphasis.”

MSU outscored Florida A&M 28-6 in the second quarter.

The Spartan defense continued their stout play once again, forcing 27 turnovers on the night and making the Rattlers fight for baskets on every possession.

Graduate student Kamaria McDaniel continued her hot start to her season with 14 points and going 9-10 from the free-throw line. The Baylor transfer is now 17-21 from the line on the season.

The second half was all Spartans. Ekh would continue her hot shooting night, going 4-8 and 3-6 from beyond the arc. The fourth quarter featured a red-hot 3-point shooting performance, with three straight baskets coming from beyond the arc. Florida A&M ended the night shooting 29% from the field, and 17% from three.

The MSU bench also contributed to the scoring barrage, with eight players contributing to the stat sheet. MSU Women’s Hoops Rolls Past Florida A&M 109-44

The Spartans will travel to Mount Pleasant to take on Central Michigan on Saturday at 1 p.m in their first road game of the year.