EAST LANSING – It’s been a successful season so far for the No. 22 Michigan State women’s basketball. The Spartans look to continue their undefeated campaign against Eastern Illinois at the Breslin Center in its fifth straight home game.
This matchup will mark the second ever game the Spartans play against the Panthers. The lone meeting between the two schools was back on Dec. 9, 2004. MSU came out on top against EIU, winning by a final score of 85-45.
All of Michigan State’s wins so far have been in convincing fashion. The most recent victory for the Green and White was against Western Michigan, where they cruised to a 98-44 victory.
For Eastern Illinois, the season hasn’t been one its fans were hoping for so far. The Panthers are currently 0-3, and in their most recent game they lost to Indiana State by 21.
A big strength the Spartans have this year is their depth. All of the players who touch the floor for MSU have provided a boost at one time or another this season.
Redshirt senior forward Isaline Alexander gave the Spartans a spark offensively off the bench in her last game. Against WMU, Alexander couldn’t miss, as she went nine for nine from the floor and totaled up 20 points in her outing. Alexander is someone Eastern Illinois needs to keep tabs on. If they can’t, Alexander might have a similar performance in back-to-back games.
Redshirt sophomore guard Kennedy Blair is also coming off an impressive performance against the Broncos. Blair was just two rebounds and two assists away from achieving a triple-double and has proven she can be a factor in many aspects on the court. If Blair continues to play like she has been, the Spartans will have a good shot to win again.
On the EIU side of the floor, junior guard Ava Stoller will be the main player MSU has to contain throughout the game. So far this year Stoller leads the Panthers in points per game with 17, and she’s also the team’s best three-point shooter. Against Purdue earlier this season, Stoller went off for 25 points and shot 75% from beyond the arc. Eastern Illinois is going to need a similar performance out of Stoller to give the Spartans a run for their money.
Michigan State has put up 90+ points in each game this season and hopes to see that trend continue.
Eastern Illinois must find a consistent way to break the full-court press MSU executes in each game and develop an offensive flow early on.
Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 20 in East Lansing. 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/.
