WOMENS BASKETBALL
Michigan State 82, Penn State 61
ASSOCIATED PRESS
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Theryn Hallock scored 17 points, Julia Ayrault added 16 and No. 21 Michigan State beat Penn State 82-61 on Wednesday night for its fourth straight victory. Michigan State (16-3, 6-2 Big Ten Conference) has also won four straight in the series and eight of the last nine. Jocelyn Tate scored 12 of Michigan State's opening 27 points in building a 12-point lead. The Spartans extended their lead to 41-24 at the break after scoring 18 points off 18 Penn State turnovers. Michigan State's lead reached 31 points midway through the third quarter following a 19-3 run, with eight points from Ayrault. Hallock, Ayrault and Tate each made three of Michigan State's 13 3-pointers to counter Moriah Murray's career-high-tying eight 3-pointers for Penn State. Tate finished with 15 points, five assists and three blocks for Michigan State. Grace VanSlooten added 10 points. Murray scored 24 points for Penn State (10-10, 1-8), which was coming off a 62-59 victory over No. 9 Ohio State — its first win over an AP top-10 team since 2012. Gracie Merkle, averaging a team-high 15.7 points per game, was held to two first-half points and finished with four. Murray scored 12 of Penn State’s 24 first-half points on 4-of-6 shooting from 3-point range. She finished with five-plus 3-pointers for the sixth time this season and matched her career high set in the season opener against Bucknell.
January 22, 2025