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MSU Women's Hoops Cruises Past Eastern Michigan
Michigan State Spartans head coach Robyn Fralick calls out to her team Thursday, March 6, 2025, in a round two game at the 2025 TIAA Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Michigan State Spartans at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

No. 23 Michigan State utilized its defensive pressure and a balanced scoring attack to beat Eastern Michigan with relative ease on Sunday afternoon, 92-60.

After leading by just four following the first quarter, MSU outscored the Eagles 29-11 in the second to extend out to a commanding 48-26 halftime advantage.

Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Spartans are now 2-0 on the season, with their first game being a record-setting 125-39 victory over Mercyhurst. EMU fell to 1-2, with its lone win coming against Canisius on the road.

Youngstown State (2-0) is next up for MSU, set for Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. ET on Big Ten Plus.

Top Performers

Three different players scored exactly 15 points for Michigan State on Sunday, which was the most on the team.

Last year's leading scorer, senior forward Grace VanSlooten, was one of them. The former transfer from Oregon also grabbed six rebounds and had five steals. That number of steals ties her career-high, which she's now done four times --- two of those instances are now the first two games of this season.

Junior guard Rashunda Jones, who transferred to Michigan State from Purdue this offseason, was another one who finished at 15 points. She also had five assists and five steals.

Yet another transfer portal addition was the other one with 15: former Arizona State Sun Devil Jalyn Brown. She averaged 18.0 points per game last year in Tempe, but is now coming off the bench at MSU and finding ways to contribute. Brown, a senior guard, did it quite efficiently, going 5-for-7 from the field and making all four of her free throws.

The only other Spartan who reached double figures was senior guard Theryn Hallock, whose 14 points were just behind the leaders. Hallock went 6-for-6 when shooting two-point field goals, 0-for-5 from long range, and was 2-for-2 on free throws. Interestingly, Hallock has now made all 12 of her two-point shots to start the season.

Even though Michigan State won by 32 points, the Spartans actually lost the battle on the glass, 31-30. A big reason MSU won convincingly is that it was plus-16 in the turnover battle, which is the type of stat that is no longer very surprising during the Robyn Fralick era.

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

This article first appeared on Michigan State Spartans on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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