EAST LANSING, Mich. – Behind a barrage of 3-pointers, the Michigan State women’s basketball team dominated Western Michigan, 97-49, on Sunday afternoon at the Breslin Center.
MSU improves to 3-0 through its first three contests for the eighth-straight year, a record dating to the 2015-16 campaign. WMU falls to 0-2 so far this season. The Spartans have won all three game this season by at least 30 points.
For the second-straight game, five players reached double figures. Sophomore guard DeeDee Hagemann set a new career-high with 19 points, reaching double figures for the first time this season and the 10th time in her career. Fellow sophomore guard Matilda Ekh scored 20 points, going 6-for-8 from beyond the arc. Graduate guard Kamaria McDaniel scored 14 points for the second-straight game, while junior guard Gabby Eliott and senior guard Moira Joiner both added 11.
Western Michigan was led by 17 points from Lauren Ross.
After the Broncos scored the first two points, the Spartan scored the next seven to take a 7-2 lead. After WMU took a brief 10-9 advantage, MSU went on an 11-0 run to take its first double-digit lead 20-10 with less than two minutes remaining in the first quarter. Behind 11 points from Hagemann, MSU was on top 23-14 after the first 10 minutes.
Michigan State scored the first seven points of the second period, leading to a Broncos timeout with 7:45 left in the half. The run increased to 11-0 as MSU opened up its first 20-point margin, 34-14. MSU out-scored WMU 23-5 in the second period. At half time, Michigan State was on top 46-19 behind a game-high 17 points from Ekh. MSU shot 56.3 percent from the field and 50.0 percent from 3-point range to maintain its lead.
Midway through the third quarter, Michigan State jumped out to palindromic 62-26 advantage. The Spartans held at least a 30-point lead for the bulk of the third period, taking as big a lead as 40 points with 2:27 left in the quarter.
With the big lead, Michigan State was able to play 14 players. Freshman guard Abbey Kimball made her collegiate debut against the Broncos with bench players seeing much of the action. The fourth quarter was the closest with MSU leading 20-13.
The Spartans are back in action on Tuesday, Nov. 15 against another in-state squad, Oakland, at 7 p.m. The game against the Golden Grizzlies is the fourth of five-straight home games to start the season.
Michigan State Women’s Basketball Post-Game Notes
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