EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State women’s basketball hits the road for another tough test, taking on Minnesota on Saturday, Jan. 20 at Williams Arena at 3 p.m. ET. The Spartans improved to 13-4 overall and 3-3 in Big Ten action after a dominating 91-72 win over Northwestern at home on Jan. 17. Andrew Cornelius and Gianna Richie will be on the call for Big Ten Plus.
β’ Minnesota holds an identical 13-4 overall record and 3-3 mark in league play. Last time out, the Golden Gophers lost to a tough Indiana squad on the road 85-62.
β’ Graduate guard Moira Joiner is inching near the 1,000 point mark. With 14 points against Northwestern, she now has scored 988 points in her Spartan career. With four 3-pointer against the Wildcats, she also stands sixth all-time in the MSU record books with 174 treys.
β’ The Spartans’ are off to the best start since beginning the 2018-19 season with a 13-4 record. Β MSU ended that year with a 21-12 record and a 9-9 mark in Big Ten play. That season was the last time that Michigan State reached the 20-win mark. The Spartans reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament during the 2018-19 season before falling to Notre Dame in South Bend.
β’ Junior guard DeeDee Hagemann tallied 10 points and tied a season-high with eight assists. Hagemann’s eight assists matched her season-best vs. Wright State (11/12/23). It was her 13th game with three or more helpers, as part of the ninth game with five or more assists.
SCOUTING MINNESOTA
The Golden Gophers have an 13-4 overall record and an even 3-3 B1G ledger. Minnesota is 2-2 in its last four games, losing to Maryland (72-64) on Jan. 3, then bouncing back to beat Michigan, 82-66, on Jan. 9, and Nebraska, 62-58 on Jan. 14, before losing at No. 16 Indiana, 85-62, last time out on Jan. 17.
In the loss to the Hoosiers, the Gophers were down 20-13, but five unanswered points pulled them within 20-18, but didn’t get any closer. Indiana pulled away for a 47-29 halftime score and stretched the advantage to 64-47 after three quarters and won going away, 85-62. Freshman guard/forward Grace Grocholski led Minnesota with 19 points, which tied her B1G season-best, and is the only B1G freshman to net 19 or more points in two conference contests this season.Β
Minnesota is seventh in the B1G in…
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