Jalyn Brown scored a season-high 20 points in her first career start and Grace VanSlooten recorded her third double-double for No. 24 Michigan State in an 80-60 win over Indiana on Thursday.
The Spartans (13-1, 2-1 Big Ten) pulled away in the second half, including an 11-1 run late in the fourth quarter that lasted over five minutes. Brown scored 18 of her points in the first half, and Rashanda Jones scored 10 of her 12 points in the second half, six in the run.
VanSlooten had 18 points and 14 boards. Kennedy Blair added 13 points.
Indiana is yet to win a Big Ten matchup in three tries, and is 11-4 overall. Indiana’s roster looks different than it did at the start of the year before conference play began: redshirt freshman Sydney Fenn was ruled out for the season after knee surgery; sophomore forward Zania Socka-Nguemen, who is averaging 9.0 rebounds per game, hasn’t played since Nov. 28 against Gonzaga; sophomore guard Valentyna Kadlecova, who had been playing 21.7 minutes per game, left Indiana to play professionally in her native Czech Republic after 11 games. Relatedly, just seven players took the court for the Hoosiers against Michigan State, with the two bench players picking up just a combined 24 minutes with 4 points.
The Spartans, meanwhile, are now 2-1 in Big Ten play, with their lone defeat on the season coming against Wisconsin. Michigan State shot 53% (29 of 55) from the field and 88% (14 of 16) from the free throw line. The Spartans have now won five games in a row.
Indiana was led by Shay Ciezki, who scored 18 points. Lenee Beaumont added 14 and Nevaeh Caffey with 10.
Up next
Michigan State: Hosts Illinois on Sunday.
Indiana: Travels to play Maryland on Sunday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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