No. 25 Michigan State women dispatch Oakland 94-56

Posted December 22, 2020 6:00 am

The Associated Press

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Nia Clouden led a balanced attack with 15 points and No. 25 Michigan State celebrated its first Top 25 ranking this season with red-hot shooting in a 94-56 win over Oakland on Tuesday.

The Spartans (7-0) made 39 of 60 shots from the field (65%) in continuing their best start since opening 8-0 eight years ago.

Julia Ayrault added 14 points, Moira Joiner 13 and Alyza Winston 12 for Michigan State as the four double-figure scorers combined to make 21 of 30 shots. Janai Crooms grabbed 10 rebounds and Ayrault had nine to help the Spartans dominate the boards 43-25 and score 48 points in the paint.

Kahlaijah Dean scored 15 points to lead Oakland (3-4), which made just 2 of 20 3-point shots and finished at 34% (22 of 64) from the field.

Michigan State never trailed but only led 42-31 at the half and 44-37 early in the third quarter. Clouden's three-point play started a 10-0 run that became a 27-4 surge. When Kendall Bostic made consecutive baskets with less than three minutes to go in the second quarter, the Spartans led 71-41. Clouden had nine points in the run.

Michigan State's next schedule game is at Purdue on Jan. 3 to open Big Ten Conference play.

___

More AP women's basketball: https://apnews.com/womens-college-basketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

Article Comments

Article Comments

Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.