EAST LANSING- Michigan State women’s basketball is back in action Sunday with an afternoon matchup against the Eastern Michigan Eagles. The Spartans look to rack up another win in non-conference play and start the season 2-0.
The Spartans are coming off a historic win vs Mercyhurst, in which the team set a program record with 125 points scored in the 125-39 win. The Spartans had seven players score double digit points in a dominant performance. It was a total team win, as the Spartans also racked up over 30 assists on the night and spread the ball around.
MSU is led by senior forward Grace VanSlooten and senior guard Theryn Hallock. The two stars combined for 37 points and 11 steals, but sophomore guard Kennedy Blair is making noise on the young season. Blair excelled in the exhibition game against Michigan Tech and put up another stellar performance against Mercyhurst. Blair had 14 points and 12 assists, along with five rebounds and three steals. If Blair can keep this up, it makes the Spartans even more dangerous.
The Spartans also saw a huge impact from a few of the newcomers. Senior guard Jalyn Brown and junior guard Rashunda Jones made several key plays, combining for 27 points and six assists in their first game since transferring to MSU. Brown also grabbed eight rebounds, and Jones had four steals. Freshman guard Amy Terrian stole the show with five makes from beyond the arc, totaling 15 points in her first real game at the collegiate level. Terrain also had four assists and was exceptional offensively. The newcomers making an instant impact will help the Spartans greatly and can take some of the load off the veterans.
For Eastern Michigan, this will be their biggest test of the season. The Eagles are coming off a road win vs Canisius and sit at 1-1, so it will be a rather quick turnaround for them.
The Eagles have undergone significant changes in the offseason, only bringing back one of their top four scorers from last year. Senior forward Sisi Eleko was their leading scorer with 17.9 ppg last season, and scored 24 in their loss to ULM Monday, along with seven rebounds. Freshman Peyton Hill also scored 15 in the opener, so the Eagles will look to her to contribute more scoring.
Senior Brooklyn Thrash contributed in the loss, totaling 11 points, five rebounds, and two steals. The Eagles need big performances out of their stars if they want to pull off the road upset.
Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. ET on Sunday, November 9 at the Breslin Center. Brian Rivers and Josh Lee will be on the call, and the game can be listened to locally on 88.9 FM or at https://impact89fm.org/.
