Michigan State’s women wasted little time putting its new-look roster on display Wednesday night.
In the Spartans’ only exhibition of the season, five players finished in double figures and MSU rolled past Michigan Tech 100-53 at the Breslin Center. Freshman guard Monique Bobongie set the pace with 21 points, while senior transfer Carter McCray opened her Michigan State career with 20. Junior guard Kennedy Blair added 13, junior forward Tabitha Betson had 12 and graduate guard Theryn Hallock chipped in 11 after missing much of last season.
Thirteen of the 15 Spartans who dressed got on the floor, and the debut list was a long one. McCray, freshman Kathy-Emma Otto, freshman Emma Broliorn, Bobongie, Betson, sophomore Uche Kaine, sophomore Anna Wypych and junior Alie Bisballe all made their first appearances in Green & White.
Michigan State set the tone right away, scoring the first eight points and pushing the lead to 13-4 before an 11-0 burst stretched the margin to 24-6. The Spartans finished the first quarter on a 16-3 run and led 29-9 after 10 minutes, with Bobongie already up to 10 points.
Michigan Tech answered a bit in the second quarter, knocking down back-to-back threes to trim the gap to 31-15. The Huskies did a better job offensively in that stretch and kept MSU from blowing the game open even further before halftime. Bobongie had 16 first-half points, and McCray had 10.
The third quarter is where Michigan State really separated. A 10-0 run over 3:03 helped push the lead to 60-30, and the Spartans kept Michigan Tech without a field goal for the final 2:56 of the period. MSU shot 66.7 percent in the quarter and went a perfect 6-for-6 at the line, heading to the fourth up 72-38.
The final 10 minutes brought production from all over the floor. Eight different Spartans scored as MSU outscored the Huskies 28-15, with Betson and Emma Broliron each putting up six points in the frame. Bisballe added four, and the defense kept pressing, forcing nine turnovers in the quarter and 19 overall.
Michigan Tech got 16 points from Kaitlyn Maxwell. The game also had a few familiar faces mixed in, with Anna Wypych facing her sister, MTU senior Alyssa Wypych, and MSU associate head coach Kim Cameron and assistant coach Maria Kasza both having previous ties to Michigan Tech. The matchup was the second straight exhibition meeting between the schools, after Michigan State won 101-58 a year ago.
MSU finished at 58.7 percent from the field, making 37 of 63 shots, and went 7-for-23 from beyond the arc. The Spartans also hit 19 of 24 free throws, forced 19 turnovers and won the rebounding battle 39-24. Bobongie led the team with seven boards, while Kennedy Blair grabbed six, Anna Wypych and Kathy-Emma Otto had five each, and Tabitha Betson and Carter McCray pulled down four apiece.
Hallock’s return stood out as well, with the graduate guard back in the lineup after missing much of last season with a foot injury. Her last game came against Rutgers on Dec. 28, 2025.
Michigan State now turns to the home opener Tuesday, Nov. 3 against Valparaiso at 6:30 p.m. at the Breslin Center.
In Other News...
Michigan State Just Got A New Reason To Circle Oregon
Oregons midseason shakeup adds another layer to a matchup Michigan State already had circled. Dan Lanning moved on from his offensive coordinator after the loss to Illinois, and the Ducks have now turned to former Spartans coordinator Jay Johnson in that role on a temporary basis. For Michigan State, it is the kind of storyline that makes a late-season trip a little more personal, because the staff on the other sideline now includes a familiar face from East Lansing.
The timing matters, too, because Oregon is trying to steady itself after a rough stretch that has included three losses and the season-ending injury to quarterback Dante Moore. Johnson stepping in gives the Ducks a different look offensively at a moment when they need answers fast, and Michigan State will get a chance to see how that transition settles in before it plays out on the field. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Is Finally Making A Serious Push To Rebuild Fast
Pat Fitzgeralds first season in East Lansing has not delivered the kind of on-field turnaround Michigan State was hoping for, but the bigger picture around the program may be starting to move in a much more ambitious direction. New athletic director Dan Bartholomae has already signaled that he wants the Spartans to spend at a level that can keep them among the Big Tens financial heavyweights, a clear acknowledgment that roster building now matters as much as any coaching change.
According to a report by Justin Spiro, that shift could show up in a major way this offseason, with Michigan State planning to spend in the high-$30 million range on its football roster. If that number holds, the Spartans would be putting themselves in the top five for Big Ten spending, a sign that the school is trying to speed up its rebuild rather than wait for it to happen gradually. The question now is whether that investment can translate into the kind of immediate competitive jump the program has been searching for. [Read more 🡒]
Jack Velling Reignites A Familiar Michigan State What-Might-Have Debate
Jack Vellings NFL path has already taken a familiar turn for Michigan State fans who remember the promise and the inconsistency from his two seasons in East Lansing. The undrafted rookie tight end landed with the Falcons after the preseason, only to be released, leaving him back in the market for another practice-squad opportunity as he tries to keep his pro career moving.
For Spartans followers, Velling is one of those players who naturally triggers the what-might-have-been conversation. His college stint offered flashes without fully settling into the kind of breakout run that changes a programs view of a player, and now his next stop will say plenty about whether there is still untapped NFL value waiting to be found. [Read more 🡒]
