EAST LANSING- The Michigan State Spartans defeated the Oakland Golden Grizzlies 107-42 on Tuesday night at the Breslin Center.
The Spartans played an aggressive offensive game, getting into the paint and getting fouled. MSU had 37 free throw attempts, shooting at 70.3% from the line.
Junior forward Grace VanSlooten had a huge showing tonight, with a team high of 15 points and nine rebounds. Junior guard Theryn Hallock also had 14 points and four rebounds.
Hallock moved the Spartan offense quickly by getting down the court and getting fouled, going 5-7 for free throws.
“I think honestly within this past year I think I’ve matured a lot with mistakes and moving on from them, I think coach Fralick has really had my back a lot lately,” Hallock said.
“We know you’re going to make mistakes, (Coach Fralick says to Hallock) make sure you go on the next play mentality, and I have honestly just felt more confident when I’ve had the ball, I know the work I’ve put in throughout the summer,” Hallock said.
“I know not every game is going to be perfect but to get into the next play mentality is what I am striving for,” Hallock said.
The MSU defense was on full display tonight, forcing Oakland to 33 turnovers. The Spartans held Oakland to no made three pointers, forcing the Grizzlies to go 0-17 from the arc.
These Oakland turnovers resulted in 38 fastbreak points for the Spartans, compared to only two fastbreak points for the Golden Grizzlies.
The Spartans had 46 rebounds and put up a fight under the basket, getting 19 second chance points, and holding the Grizzlies to 18 points at halftime.
Coach Fralick highlighted the importance of rebounding every game, which seems to be the focus of the Spartans this season.
MSU’s bench had a combined 48 points, and almost every roster member got a basket.
“I love the impact our entire roster made in the game,” Fralick said. “Really good teams have a lot of players who impact the game and tonight we got a lot of positive impact off the bench from a lot of different people,” Fralick said.
Depth is the key to being able to compete in the Big Ten and through March, and the depth of the Michigan State bench was working their skills last night.
The Spartans dominated throughout the entire game, scoring 107 points and holding Oakland to only 42.
“Great opening night at the Breslin for the season, I thought there’s so many things were excited about, to build on, but there’s also so many things we’re watching and thinking, we can get better at this,” Fralick said.
“I loved our effort, I loved our energy, I loved the impact that our entire roster made in the game, well enjoy it for a little bit and we’re going to learn from it, because there are a lot of things we can do better,” Fralick said.
Michigan State will take on Yale at the Breslin Center this Friday Nov. 8, at 7:00 p.m.
