Robyn Fralick has Michigan State women's basketball playing at an elite level through the first month and a half of the season and the No. 15 Spartans just improved to 11-0 on Thursday afternoon.
At the West Palm Beach Classic on Thursday, the Spartans handled a 4-6 Montana team that really didn't stand much of a chance. They hung around early on as Michigan State led by just five after the first quarter, but the Spartans' second and third quarters were nothing short of dominant. In fact, Michigan State out-scored Montana 47-11 in the second and third quarters to head into the fourth with a 65-24 lead.
Unfortunately, Michigan State coasted in the final 10 minutes, scoring just four points in the last frame to Montana's 14, spoiling a 40-point win.
Michigan State still held on to beat the Grizzlies 69-38 to keep that undefeated record and a win on Friday over Alabama will get this team even closer to the top 10 when the new rankings come out next week.
Leading scorer Julia Ayrault had one of her average games, scoring 15 points with three rebounds, an assist, a steal, and a block on 6-of-11 shooting. Theryn Hallock scored 11 off the bench, Ines Sotelo had a season-high 13 off the bench, and Oregon transfer Grace VanSlooten scored 10.
Michigan State will face a 10-1 Alabama team on Friday and that will be the toughest test for Fralick and the Spartans until Dec. 29 when they go to Maryland to face the No. 8 Terrapins.
Big Ten play is going to be a slugfest.