EAST LANSING — On Tuesday night, the Michigan State women’s basketball team used a group effort to defeat the Prairie View A&M Panthers, 98-50. The Spartan rotations off the bench once again made a huge impact, marking this their seventh game of the season where they scored more than 40 points. 

“The last two games in particular the team has had more energy,” said head coach Suzy Merchant. “They realize with the loss of Elliot, they need to band together and get things done, and that is a group effort.” 

The opening quarter was a close one as graduate guard Kamaria McDaniel led the Spartans with nine points and the Panthers were led by senior forward Kennedy Paul with eight. 

Final score.#RiseUp × #SpartanStrongHER pic.twitter.com/c5ZPLUEtI6

— Michigan State Women's Basketball (@MSU_WBasketball) December 21, 2022

The Panthers shot 57% from beyond the arch, while MSU only shot 25%. In just the first quarter alone, the Spartans were sent to the line 16 times, but only made 10 of those 16 attempts. The first quarter ended 26-20 for MSU. 

In the second quarter, MSU outscored Prairie View 15-6, due to the Spartans’ successful full-court press. The Panthers could not get a basket and shot 2-14 from the floor. 

The Panthers went from shooting 43% in the first quarter to just 14% in the second. 

Michigan State was led by graduate guard Stephanie Visscher in the second quarter with five points, who would go on to set her new season-high 10 points by the time the game ended. Michigan State went into halftime with a comfortable 41-26 lead. 

In the third quarter, MSU guard Matilda Ekh made four three-pointers in a row, and the Spartans went on an 18-1 run. 

Both teams went 7-for-11 from the free-throw line in the third quarter. Neither the Panthers nor the Spartans capitalized on all of their free throw attempts during this game. Both teams shot under 65%. The Spartans outscored the Panthers 33-15 in the third quarter, making it 74-39 with 10 minutes left to play. 

In the final stretch, Merchant let her bench shine as she went on to use every single player on the roster. The bench scored 47 points in the game, which is the third-most points scored by the bench this season. 

The Spartans set a program record for most chances at the line in one game (45). Four Spartans recorded double-digits in points, and all but three players on the roster scored during the game. 

The Spartans will play their next game after the holiday break on Dec. 29 when they host the Indiana Hoosiers at the Breslin Center. Tip-off against the Hoosiers is set for 3 p.m. ET.