Takeaways from the Michigan State vs. Wayne State exhibition
EAST LANSING- The Michigan State Spartans beat the Wayne State Warriors 101-40 in an exhibition game at the Breslin Center on Monday night.
Graduate guard and captain Julia Ayrault played against her sister Annabel Ayrault, a sophomore guard for the Warriors.
This was a historic matchup for the two sisters, who were competing against each other for the first time, and they had multiple family members present to support them.
The Spartans showed their skills and teamwork, which resulted in a blowout win. Now, here are some takeaways from the Spartans’ first look on the court and what we can expect to see from them this season.
Rebounding is key
Michigan State head coach Robin Fralick mentioned the necessity of improving MSU’s rebounding this year in her preseason press conference.
“Rebounding is undeniably important for every game, every opponent if you just look at the analytics, it is so important in winning,” Fralick said.
“It’s been an emphasis, it’s been a focus, we’ve been working on it, but the reality is, there has to be a habit of it every single time a shot goes up,” Fralick said. “Tonight was better, but we’ve gotta stay in pursuit as a consistent rebounding team.”
Junior forward Grace VanSlooten made a name for herself as a new transfer from Oregon and was exactly the player this team needed to dominate the rebounding game.
Not only can VanSlooten rebound, but she can successfully score while doubled because she finds ways to control the ball and fake out the opposing defense.
Junior forward Abbey Kimball also had a dominant rebounding performance with nine rebounds, as well as senior guard/forward Jocelyn Tate with five rebounds.
Quick ball movement
Graduate guard Julia Ayrault was very quick in her time of possession of the ball, looking to move it down the court with deep passes and fast dribbles.
Ayrault can read the play minutes before the opposing team, being able to spot open players all the way down the court.
Jocelyn Tate had a great defensive block in the second half, which resulted in a layup after the fast break, where she remained in complete control of the ball.
The Spartan offensive speed allowed MSU to beat their opponents to the rim and get to the basket before the defense could set up.
Control of the ball is necessary in these breakaway plays, as well as communication between teammates, to complete deep passes.
Defense
The defense from the Spartans held the Warriors to zero points in the first nine minutes of the game, and they continued to outscore their opponents by 65% in the paint, also while forcing the Warriors to 19 turnovers.
The Spartans managed to create multiple scoring droughts for the Warrior’s offense and challenge any open-shot attempts the Warriors had.
Ayrault was very strong defensively, with four blocked shots and four rebounds, denying any WSU scoring opportunities.
Freshman center Inés Sotelo had two blocked shots and a back-to-back bucket after forcing a WSU turnover, Sotelo created a big show for her first game played with MSU.
Defense is something that will need to continue to be locked down, especially when playing the regular season against tougher offensive opponents.
Team Chemistry
With many roster moves in the offseason, this exhibition game was a test to the new faces of MSU, and how well they could perform as a consecutive unit.
Communication is the driving factor in any good offense, and that type of communication with the team happens on and off the court.
“We talk a lot about being a team,” Fralick said. “We have a lot of experience on this team, we have a lot of kids who have played a lot of minutes, we have a high expectation of how they show up, how they communicate, how they care about the team,” Fralick said.
Ayrault and her teammate graduate guard Nyla Hampton were named in leadership roles as captains of the team.
“I think coach Fralick has kinda just pushed myself and Nyla with communication and extending our leadership, building off of last year and kind of focusing on what we can do better each day,” Ayrault said.
“We need to make sure we are leading ourselves before we can lead anyone else, that has been our main focus I would say,” Ayrault said.
The Spartans have their first game of the season against Oakland on Nov. 5.
