EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State women’s basketball continues its season-opening five-game homestand, hosting Purdue Fort Wayne on Thursday, Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. It is the Spartans annual Hoops for Troops game.
• The Spartans are 1-0 this season after an 86-37 win over Delaware State on Monday. Purdue Fort Wayne also got off to a fast start with a season-opening 90-45 win over Goshen on Nov. 7.
• Michigan State improved to 35-15 in season-openers, including 28-2 when the opener is in East Lansing. MSU is now 13-3 under head coach Suzy Merchant, who has won 19 of her last 22 season-openers including her time at EMU.
• Junior guard Gabby Elliott had a smashing official Spartan debut with a game-high 13 points to lead four MSU players in double-figures. Elliott also shared top-game honors in rebounding with six boards, matching Stephanie Visscher.
• In recognition of the signing of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 of the Civil Rights Act on June 23, 1972, Spartan Athletics will honor selected individual achievements as well as team milestones from the last half century.
SCOUTING PURDUE FORT WAYNE
Purdue Fort Wayne earned a 90-45 season-opening win against Goshen on Monday. Amellia Bromenschenkel had a career-high 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting. She also led the team with six rebounds. Three other Mastodons scored in double figures with Destinee Marshall scoring 11 and Shayla Sellers and Audra Emmerson both scoring 10 points. Sellers earned third-team All-Horizon League honors last season. She was the first Mastodon to be named to an All-League team since 2014-15.
Head coach Maria Marchesano is in her second season at the helm of the Mastodons. She is an Indiana native who graduated from Butler in 2005.
SERIES HISTORY VS. MASTODONS
Michigan State leads the all-time series against Purdue Fort Wayne. The teams have not met since 2013 when the Mastodons won 81-76. The Spartans have been in victorious in the other three meetings. In MSU’s last win, the Spartans earned a 64-36 win in 2012. All four meetings have been in East Lansing.
SEASON OPENERS
All-time, the Spartans are 35-15 in season openers, but 28-2 when the opener is in East Lansing. Coach Merchant is 13-3 in season openers at MSU, and has won 19 of her last 22, including her time at Eastern Michigan. Last season, the Spartans earned a dominating 86-37 win over Delaware State on Nov. 7.
WELCOME BACK SPARTANS
Senior guard Moira Joiner tallied 13 points off the bench in her first action since Jan. 12, 2022 vs. Ohio State, after missing the remainder of the 2021-22 season due to injury. Joiner’s 13 points was her 15th career double-figure scoring game. Joiner also netted three 3-pointers Monday, matching her season-high from last year. With 13 points Monday, Joiner now has double-figures in both of the last two season-openers with 10 points in the 2020-21 lid-lifter against Morehead State.
Redshirt-junior guard Julia Ayrault also made her return to the lineup after missing all of last season. Ayrault scored her first two points of the season in just six minutes of action.
BY THE NUMBERS VS. DSU
• Matilda Ekh netted a pair of 3-pointers for six points in the game, for her 20th game with multiple 3-pointers in 31 career games, as well as the last three in a row dating back to last season.
• Senior forward Taiyier Parks posted 10 points for her 24th career double-figure scoring game, as well as her third in the last four games dating back to last season.
PLAY THE BEST TO BE THE BEST
Michigan State will play seven teams that are ranked in the preseason top 25 polls, led by No. 4/6 Iowa (Jan. 18). At the Phil Knight Invitational, the Spartans will face two ranked teams. MSU will start with another team from the Hawkeye State in No. 8/9 Iowa State on Nov. 24. MSU will face either No. 12/12 North Carolina or No.20/20 Oregon in the final game of the PKI on Nov. 27. Big Ten teams Indiana, Ohio State, Maryland, Nebraska and Michigan are all ranked in both preseason polls.
MEET THE NEWBIES
MSU introduces four freshmen to the team this season, featuring Abbey Kimball (Grand Rapids, Mich.), Theryn Hallock (Grands Rapids, Mich.), Maddy Skorupski (Clarkston, Mich.) and Oliva Porter (Chapel Hill, North Carolina).
The Spartans also added three transfers to this season’s squad. Detroit native Gabby Elliot is a junior guard who comes to MSU from Clemson. Graduate guard Kamaria McDaniel, who hails from Inkster, was an All-Big Ten honoree from Penn State, before transferring to Baylor. Graduate guard Stephanie Visscher from Lulea, Sweden, was an all-conference performer from Stephen F. Austin.
GUESS WHO’S BACK
Despite losing All-American Nia Clouden, the Spartans bring back a lot of fire power. MSU returns two starters in sophomore guard Matida Ekh and sophomore guard DeeDee Hagemann. Ekh was third on the team in scoring, averaging 11.8 points per game. She was also eighth in the B1G in 3-pointers made with 2.3. Hagemann was sixth on the team in scoring, averaging 7.7 ppg and was fourth in the conference in assists (5.3 apg).
TITLE IX CELEBRATION
Throughout the season, Michigan State will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of Title IX. MSU Athletics kicked off its year-round celebration on June 23, 2022. While the work in advancing women’s athletics is not complete, the Spartans will celebrate the advancements that have been made in the last 50 years.
LEGENDARY SPARTAN
Former Michigan State women’s basketball guard Nia Clouden was drafted 12th in the first round by the Connecticut Sun at the 2022 WNBA Draft. Clouden was the 12th Big Ten student-athlete drafted by the Sun franchise (which began as the Orlando Miracle from 1999-2002). Clouden, an Owings Mills, Maryland native, became the eighth Spartan to be selected in the WNBA draft. Tori Jankoska was the ninth overall pick in the 2017 draft by the Chicago Sky, while Aerial Powers was the fifth overall pick in 2016 going to the Dallas Wings.
Maxann Reese and Kristen Rasmussen were the first Spartans selected in the WNBA, drafted in 2000. Reese was taken in the third round, while Rasmussen was selected in the fourth. In 2003, Syreeta Broomfield was drafted in the third round. In 2005, Kristin Haynie was the ninth overall pick by Sacramento, while Liz Shimek was taken in the second round by Phoenix in 2006.
LOOKING AT THE SCHEDULE
The Spartans will once again play a very difficult schedule. Nine of the MUS’s 2022-23 regular-season opponents competed in the NCAA Tournament last season, including MSU’s ACC/Big Ten Challenge opponent Georgia Tech. All three teams at the Phil Knight Invitational competed in the NCAA Tournament with MSU facing Iowa State in the first game. The Spartans will then face either Oregon or North Carolina in the next game. From the Big Ten portion of the schedule, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska and Ohio State reached the NCAA Tournament.
SPARTANS: THE NEW CLASS
Michigan State women’s basketball head coach Suzy Merchant announced the signing of two National Letters of Intent on Thursday, including Jordan Wood (Chicago, Illinois/Carmel Catholic High School) and Bree Robinson (Mississauga, Ontario/ Webb School).
Wood is a 6-4 forward, who is a native of Chicago, Illinois. She attends Carmel Catholic High School and is coached by Ben Berg. Wood is currently ranked No. 62 in the ESPNW HoopGurlz Recruiting Rankings. As a junior, she scored 1,000 points, as well as leading the Corsairs to a Class 3A Illinois State Championship. Last season, she averaged 14.4 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, while also leading the team in assists (3.2 apg). She is a three-time All-East Suburban Catholic Conference and All-Area honoree, as well as capturing First-Team All-State accolades. Wood played AAU for Midwest Elite, competing on the EYBL Nike National circuit for coach Ralph Gesuado.
Robinson is a 5-8 guard, who is a native of Mississauga, Ontario, plays for head coach Matthew Shewmake at the Webb School (Tenn.). She helped lead the Webb school to a Tennessee State Championship, earning First-Team All-District 3 honors in the process. She also has a vast amount of international experience playing for Team Canada. She was the captain for Team Canada, playing in the U16 FIBA Americas in 2021, capturing a silver medal. She was also named Canletes 2022 All Canadian Player of the Year. She played for AAU Become One, competing on the GUAA Under Armour circuit for coach Handel Kipp.
