2020–21 Michigan State Spartans women's basketball team

The 2020–21 Michigan State Spartans women's basketball team represented Michigan State University during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Spartans, led by fourteenth year head coach Suzy Merchant, played their home games at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan as members of the Big Ten Conference.

2020–21 Michigan State Spartans women's basketball
NCAA tournament, first round
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record15–9 (8–7 Big Ten)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaBreslin Center
Seasons
2020–21 Big Ten women's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
No. 7 Maryland171 .944262 .929
No. 12 Indiana162 .889205 .800
No. 21 Rutgers103 .769145 .737
No. 16 Michigan94 .692166 .727
Northwestern117 .611169 .640
Iowa118 .579209 .690
No. 22 Ohio State97 .563137 .650
Michigan State87 .533159 .625
Nebraska910 .4741313 .500
Minnesota711 .389813 .381
Penn State613 .316915 .375
Purdue414 .222716 .304
Illinois216 .111518 .217
Wisconsin218 .100519 .208
2021 Big Ten tournament winner
As of March 27, 2021
Rankings from AP poll

They finished the season 15–9, 8–7 in Big Ten play to finish in eighth place. As the seventh seed in the Big Ten tournament they defeated Penn State in the Second Round and Indiana in the Quarterfinals before losing to Iowa in the Semifinals. They received and at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they were the ten seed in the Mercado Regional. They lost in the first round to seven seed Iowa State to end their season.

Previous season

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The Spartans finished the season 16–14, 9–9 in Big Ten play to finish in eighth place. In the Big Ten tournament they lost to Purdue in the first round. They did not get a chance for further post season play, as the NCAA women's basketball tournament and WNIT were cancelled before they began due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[1]

Roster

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2020–21 Michigan State Spartans women's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
G/F1Tory Ozment6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)JrBufordBuford, GA
F2Mardrekia Cook6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)RS SrMuskegonMuskegon, MI
G3Alyza Winston5 ft 7 in (1.7 m)SoMuskegonMuskegon, MI
F4Alisia Smith6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)SrWaverly
Penn State
Lansing, MI
G5Claire Hendrickson5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)RS JrWyomingWyoming, MI
C12Lauren Rewers6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)GSLake City
Hawaii
Coeur d'Alene, ID
F14Taiyier Parks6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)SoNorth RoyaltonCleveland, OH
F20Jayla James6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)RS SoRiverdale Baptist
Penn State
Upper Marlboro, MD
G21Laurel Jacqmain5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)RS SrNouvel CatholicSaginaw, MI
G22Moira Joiner5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)SoHeritageSaginaw, MI
G23Janai Crooms5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)JrSt. Andrew's
Ohio State
Cranston, RI
G24Nia Clouden5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)JrSt. FrancesOwings Mills, MD
G40Julia Ayrault6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)SoGrosse Pointe NorthGrosse Pointe Woods, MI
F44Kendall Bostic6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)FrNorthwesternKokomo, IN
C50Cyndi Dodd6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)SoWarren CentralIndianapolis, IN
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: June 24, 2021

Schedule and results

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Source:[2]

Date
time, TV
Rank#Opponent#ResultRecordSite (attendance)
city, state
Regular season
November 27, 2020*
3:00 p.m., BTN+
Saint FrancisW 77–44 1–0
Breslin Center (0)
East Lansing, MI
December 2, 2020*
7:00 p.m., BTN+
Detroit MercyW 82–45 2–0
Breslin Center (0)
East Lansing, MI
December 9, 2020
9:00 p.m., BTN
at MinnesotaW 81–68 3–0
(1–0)
Williams Arena (0)
Minneapolis, MN
December 12, 2020
4:00 p.m., BTN+
IowaW 86–82 4–0
(2–0)
Breslin Center (0)
East Lansing, MI
December 18, 2020*
5:00 p.m., BTN+
Central MichiganW 79–70 5–0
Breslin Center (0)
East Lansing, MI
December 20, 2020*
3:00 p.m., BTN+
Northern IllinoisW 82–70 6–0
Breslin Center (0)
East Lansing, MI
December 22, 2020*
Noon, BTN+
No. 25 OaklandW 94–56 7–0
Breslin Center (0)
East Lansing, MI
December 31, 2020
Noon, BTN
No. 25 at No. 17 Ohio StateCanceledValue City Arena 
Columbus, OH
January 3, 2021
2:00 p.m., BTN+
No. 25 at PurdueW 71–64 8–0
(3–0)
Mackey Arena (152)
West Lafayette, IN
January 7, 2021
5:00 p.m., BTN
No. 23 No. 12 MarylandL 87–93 8–1
(3–1)
Breslin Center (50)
East Lansing, MI
January 10, 2021
3:00 p.m., BTN+
No. 23 NebraskaL 64–68 8–2
(3–2)
Breslin Center (0)
East Lansing, MI
January 14, 2021
7:00 p.m., BTN+
at IllinoisPostponedState Farm Center 
Champaign, IL
January 21, 2021
6:00 p.m., BTN
No. 16 IndianaPostponedBreslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
January 24, 2021
4:00 p.m., BTN
at WisconsinW 94–62 9–2
(4–2)
Kohl Center (0)
Madison, WI
January 26, 2021
7:00 p.m., BTN
No. 12 Michigan
Rivalry
PostponedBreslin Center 
East Lansing, MI
January 28, 2021
4:00 p.m., BTN
at No. 7 MarylandL 52–92 9–3
(4–3)
Xfinity Center (0)
College Park, MD
January 28, 2021
7:00 p.m., BTN+
at No. 12 Michigan
Rivalry
PostponedCrisler Center 
Ann Arbor, MI
January 31, 2021
4:30 p.m., BTN
at No. 16 IndianaL 67–79 9–4
(4–4)
Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (0)
Bloomington, IN
February 4, 2021
8:00 p.m., BTN
IllinoisW 81–60 10–4
(5–4)
Breslin Center (0)
East Lansing, MI
February 7, 2021
3:00 p.m., BTN+
No. 22 NorthwesternL 60–63 10–5
(5–5)
Breslin Center (0)
East Lansing, MI
February 13, 2021
Noon, BTN
at Penn StateW 78–65 11–5
(6–5)
Bryce Jordan Center (209)
University Park
February 16, 2021
4:30 p.m., BTN
at No. 11 Michigan
Rivalry
L 82–86 11–6
(6–6)
Crisler Center (50)
Ann Arbor, MI
February 21, 2021
11:30 a.m., FS1
PurdueW 76–73 12–6
(7–6)
Breslin Center (51)
East Lansing, MI
February 24, 2021
3:00 p.m., BTN
No. 25 RutgersL 53–63 12–7
(7–7)
Breslin Center (36)
East Lansing, MI
February 27, 2021
2:00 p.m., BTN+
at NebraskaCanceledPinnacle Bank Arena 
Lincoln, NE
March 6, 2021
2:00 p.m., BTN+
WisconsinW 67–54 13–7
(8–7)
Breslin Center (0)
East Lansing, MI
Big Ten tournament
March 10, 2021
6:30 p.m., FS2
(7) vs. (10) Penn State
Second Round
W 75–66 14–7
Bankers Life Fieldhouse (1,064)
Indianapolis, IN
March 11, 2021
6:30 p.m., FS2
(7) vs. (2) No. 9 Indiana
Quarterfinals
W 69–61 15–7
Bankers Life Fieldhouse (0)
Indianapolis, IN
March 12, 2021
4:30 p.m., FS2
(7) vs. (6) Iowa
Semifinals
L 72–87 15–8
Bankers Life Fieldhouse (0)
Indianapolis, IN
NCAA tournament
March 22, 2021*
6:00 p.m., ESPN
(10 M) vs. (7 M) Iowa State
First Round
L 75–79 15–9
Alamodome (0)
San Antonio, TX
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
M=Mercado Region.
All times are in Eastern Time.

Rankings

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Regular Season Polls
PollPre-
Season
Week
2
Week
3
Week
4
Week
5
Week
6
Week
7
Week
8
Week
9
Week
10
Week
11
Week
12
Week
13
Week
14
Week
15
Week
16
Final
APRV252523RV
CoachesRVRVRV24RVRVRVRVRVRV
Legend
 Increase in ranking
 Decrease in ranking
 Not ranked previous week
(RV) Received Votes
(NR) Not Ranked and Did not receive votes

The Coaches Poll did not release a Week 2 poll and the AP Poll did not release a poll after the NCAA Tournament.

See also

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2020–21 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team

References

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  1. ^ "NCAA cancels remaining winter and spring championships due to coronavirus concerns". NCAA.com. March 12, 2020. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  2. ^ "2020-21 W. Basketball Schedule". msuspartans.com. Michigan State Athletics. Retrieved June 24, 2021.