EAST LANSING, Mich  - Michigan State women's basketball embarks on a three-game road trip, beginning at Fordham on Sunday, Nov. 21 at 2 p.m. The Spartans will then remain in the Empire State to take on St. Francis College on Tuesday, Nov. 23 at 2 p.m.

• Michigan State enters the battle with the Rams with a 4-0 record after a quartet of home games. Fordham is 2-1 coming off a tough, 71-56, loss to Notre Dame on Nov. 18. This is the first meeting between the Spartans and the Rams since Dec. 27, 1979, when Fordham earned the win.

• The guards have been leading the charge for the Spartans with guard Alyza Winston (17.5 ppg), Nia Clouden (16.5 ppg) and DeeDee Hagemann (10.0ppg) holding the top three spots on the stat sheet. Winston and Clouden have both scored in double figures in all four games. MSU has also been sharing the ball with the Spartans standing first in the nation in assists with 97.

• Suzy Merchant reached the 300-win mark as head coach of the Spartans against Bryant on Nov. 19, holding a 300-187 record at Michigan State. Karen Langeland is the all-time leader with a 376-290 record at MSU. Merchant is also 12 wins away from tying Langeland for the most Big Ten wins by a MSU coach with 156. Merchant also reached 500 career wins against Valparaiso on Nov. 16. Overall, she holds a 501-277 record and stands 200-157 at Michigan State.

• The win against Bryant on Nov. 19 win secured a 4-0 start for Michigan State. The Spartans have started out the season 4-0 or better in seven of the last 10 seasons, including four times in the last five years.  

SCOUTING FORDHAM
The Rams enter the matchup with a 2-1 overall record. Fordham opened the season with a home win against Quinnipiac, 79-71, followed by a road victory over Seton Hall, 82-63. On Nov. 18, the Rams suffered their first loss of the season at Notre Dame, 71-56.

Last time out, Fordham started slow against Notre Dame and despite a tight three quarters were not able to overcome the Fighting Irish. Kaitlyn Downey scored 13 of her team-high 15 points in the second half, while Asiah Dingle (14) and Anna DeWolfe (10) both finished in double figures.

Dingle leads the team in scoring and rebounds, averaging 20.0 ppg and 8.3 rpg. Anna DeWolfe (14.3 ppg) and Kendell Heremaia (13.7 ppg), both are scoring in double figures. As a team, the Rams are scoring 72.3 ppg, while allowing only 68.3.  

SERIES HISTORY VS. RAMS 
The Spartans are preparing for just their second-ever meeting with Fordham on Sunday. The first came in December 1979, in then-head coach Karen Langeland's fourth season at the helm. Michigan State fell 73-63 to the Rams in a game that was part of the Queens College Tournament in Flushing, New York. The Spartans finished 16-11 overall that year.   

MERCHANT MILESTONES
Spartan head coach Suzy Merchant reached the 300-win mark as head coach of the Spartans against Bryant on Nov. 19, holding a 300-187 record at Michigan State. Karen Langeland is the all-time leader with a 376-290 record at MSU. Merchant is also 12 wins away from tying Langeland for the most Big Ten wins by a MSU coach with 156. Merchant also reached 500 career wins against Valparaiso on Tuesday, Nov. 16. Overall, she holds a 501-277 record and stands 200-157 at Michigan State. 

Merchant captured her 200th win at Illinois on Feb. 24, 2016. In that game, All-American Aerial Powers also became MSU's all-time leader in double-doubles, passing Mary Kay Itynre with her 44th.

LOOKING ACROSS THE NATION
Michigan State is among the nation's best in several categories. The Spartans are first in the NCAA in assists with 97, while standing second in the nation and second in the Big Ten in assists per game with 24.3 apg. Penn State leads the nation with 26.0 apg. MSU is also 12th in the country and fourth in the Big Ten in scoring offense, averaging 88.8 points per game.

TOUGH STRETCH
After starting the season with four-straight home games, the Spartans will hit the road for three-straight games. MSU faces a tough challenge of three games in six days. After taking on Bryant on Nov. 19, the Spartans traveled to New York to take on Fordham on Nov. 21, before ending the difficult stretch taking on St. Francis College on Tuesday, Nov. 23. After Thanksgiving, the Spartans will make the short trek to Rochester to battle with in-state foe Oakland on Friday, Nov. 26.

MAKING AN IMPACT
Several newcomers had new season and careers-best numbers against Bryant on Nov. 19. Graduate student forward Tamara Farquhar made her first career start for the Green & White and tied her season-best of 12 points. Freshman center Brooklyn Rewers had a season-high four points. Fellow freshman guard/forward Lauren Walker came up with two points and two blocks, her first as a Spartan and guard/forward Matilda Ekh had a season-high 12 points scored with three treys made, making for her third double-figure scoring game of the season.  

SOLID FROM THE STRIPE
The Spartans tied a school record going 10-for-10 from the charity stripe against the Beacons on Nov. 16. The last time MSU didn't miss from the free throw line with at least 10 attempts was against Central Michigan in the NCAA Tournament, going 11-for-11 on March, 23, 2019. The last time at the Breslin Center was when MSU went 19-for-19 against Michigan on Feb., 23, 2016.

SEASON OPENERS
All-time, the Spartans are now 34-15 in season openers, but 27-2 when the opener is in East Lansing. Coach Merchant is 12-3 in season openers at MSU, and has won 18 of her last 21, including her time at Eastern Michigan. This season, the Spartans earned a dominating 93-31 win over Morehead State on Nov. 9 paced by six MSU players reaching double figures. 

CLIMBING THE CHARTS
With 21 points against Bryant on Nov. 19, senior guard Nia Clouden continues to rise up the charts. Clouden now has 1,347 career points and is just 23 points from passing Kelli Roehrig (2001-05) for No. 12 on the all-time MSU scoring list.  Roehrig scored 1,370 career points in the Green and White. Clouden also now has 350 career assists, passing Kiana Johnson (2011-14) for No. 12 in all-time assists. Clouden is now just six assists away from passing Vnemina Reese (1998-02) for the No. 11 spot. Reese had 356 helpers during her time with MSU.

IT'S RAINING THREES
The Spartans set a new school record with 17 3-pointers against Morehead State on Nov. 9. The previous record 15 by Michigan State vs. Bowling Green on Nov. 6, 2018 at the Breslin Center. Michigan State shot 60.7 percent from long range, led by junior guard Alyza Winston's 4-for-7 performance. Senior guard Laurel Jacqmain set a new career high with 11 points, highlighted by back-to-back-to-back treys in the fourth quarter.

HAGEMANN EARNS B1G HONOR    
DeeDee Hagemann was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week on Monday. The Detroit, Michigan native captured the first Freshman of the Week honor of the season after a stellar first week of action, scoring in double figures in both games. For the week, she averaged 10.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, while adding 6.0 helpers per contest. She is the first Spartan named Big Ten Freshman of the Week since Nia Clouden on Dec. 31, 2018. 

LAST TIME OUT
The Spartan women's basketball team improved to 4-0, while head coach Suzy Merchant reached another milestone, as MSU defeated Bryant, 100-60, Friday afternoon at the Breslin Center.

Win the win Michigan improved to 4-0 on the season. The Spartans have started out the season 4-0 or better in seven of the last 10 seasons, including four times in the last five years. The Bulldogs fall to 0-4 with the loss.

MASK UP, MICHIGAN
Currently, masks are required indoors for all individuals. Michigan State University requires all campus visitors, faculty, staff and students to wear a mask while indoors, regardless of vaccination status.

KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR CLOUDEN
Senior guard Nia Clouden added to her preseason accolades. Clouden was named to the John R. Wooden Award® Women's Preseason Top 50 Watch List and the 2022 Wade Trophy preseason Watch List, as well as the Naismith Watch List. She had already been named to the Lieberman Watch List and earned preseason All-Big Ten honors.

CLOSING OUT THE GAMES
The Spartans have been extremely effective closing out games over the last couple years, winning 227 of its last 240 games (.946) when leading with five minutes left, including 177 of their last 192. In Coach Merchant's tenure, Michigan State is 262-19 (.932) when holding a lead with five minutes left. This season, MSU is 3-0 when leading with five minutes remaining. 

CLOUDEN EARNS PRESEASON HONORS
Michigan State women's basketball senior guard Nia Clouden has been named 2021-22 Preseason All-Big Ten by both the coaches and media, capturing the honor for the second-straight season. During the 2020-21 season, Clouden was fifth in the Big Ten in scoring, averaging 18.7 points per game.  It was the most points per game by a Spartan since Tori Jankoska averaged 22.6 ppg during the 2016-17 season. An Owings Mills, Maryland, native, Clouden earned her third-straight All-Big Ten honor after being named to the first team last season.

MAGIC NUMBERS
In head coach Suzy Merchant's tenure, when two numbers on the scoreboard were achieved it typically has been a sign of a MSU win. The Green & White have won 161 of their last 186 games (.866) when scoring at least 70 points, and the Spartans are 181-32 (.850) under head coach Suzy Merchant when hanging at least 70 points on the scoreboard. This season, MSU is now 4-0 this season when scoring 70 points.

MEET THE NEW SIGNEES
Michigan State women's basketball head coach Suzy Merchant announced the signing of two National Letters of Intent, including Theryn Hallock (Grand Rapids, Michigan/ Forest Hills Central High School) and Abbey Kimball (Grand Rapids, Michigan/ West Catholic High School).

Hallock is a 5-11 guard, who is a native of Grand Rapids, Michigan, attends Forest Hills Central and is coached by Kristina Prins.  As a junior, she averaged 23.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 6.6 steals per game. She reached the 1,000-career point mark as a junior last season. She also earned first-team all-state honors. Hallock is a three-time all-conference honoree, including capturing first-team honors as a junior. 

Kimball is a 5-10 guard, who is a native of Grand Rapids, Michigan, plays for head coach Jill VanderEnde at West Catholic High School. She is rated No. 80 nationally overall and No. 18 at her position by HoopGurlz. During her junior season, she averaged 22.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 5.0 steals per game. Kimball has captured first-team all-conference honors for three-straight seasons. 


 

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