Blue Demons Fall on the Road to No. 24 Michigan State

Sunday, December 8

East Lansing, MI

1 p.m.

DePaul University

3-7,0-0Big East

No. 24 Michigan State

9-0,0-0Big Ten

DePaul

Michigan St.

Blue Demons Fall on the Road to No. 24 Michigan State

12/8/2024 3:59:00 PM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

EAST LANSING, Mich – Jorie Allen and Grace Carstensen scored 15 points apiece to lead DePaul in an 89-61 setback against 24th-ranked Michigan State on Sunday afternoon.

The Blue Demons, facing their fourth-ranked opponent in a seven-game stretch, were held to just 28-percent shooting from the field while the Spartans knocked down 13 three-point field goals at a 50-percent clip.

Allen finished in double figures for the 10th-straight game to open the season and recorded her first double-double of the 2024-25 campaign with 11 rebounds. She dished out a season-high 7 assists and grabbed three steals. The graduate forward held MSU's leading scorer Grace VanSlooten to a season-low three points.

Carstensen had a career-outing knocking down five triples on eight attempts for a 62-percent conversion rate from distance.

Junior guard Taylor Johnson-Matthews finished in double figures for the eighth time in 10 games this season with 10 points.

The Blue Demons forced 21 Michigan State turnovers, its second-highest total of the season. Shakara McCline grabbed a career-high five steals while matching her season-best with seven points.

Four Spartans finished in double figures led by Jaddan Simmons' 18 points on 6-for-8 shooting.

How It Happened
Michigan State took an 11-3 lead midway through the first quarter before consecutive baskets from Johnson-Matthews cut the deficit to three, 11-8, at the media timeout. The Spartans embarked on 9-0 run out of the break, before Carstensen snapped the run with a triple in the corner. McCline scored the quarter's final field goal to bring DePaul within seven, 20-13.

The Blue Demons were off the mark in their first five attempts from the field in the second quarter and the Spartans capitalized by converting on their first three shots of the period including two from deep to take a 30-15 advantage. Carstensen knocked down a pair of triples on consecutive trips down the floor for DePaul's first field goals of the period at the midway point. DePaul was without a point for the final 4:08 of the half as Michigan State took a 42-25 advantage into the intermission.

A three from Johnson-Matthews trimmed the deficit to 16 points with 3:30 gone by in the third quarter. Meg Newman converted back-to-back layups in transition in a two-minute span to close the period, but Michigan State held a 61-42 margin heading into the fourth.

The Spartans hit four triples in the early going of the fourth quarter to widen their lead to the largest of the game, 79-52, with 4:47 remaining in the game. Carstensen's fifth triple of the outing would be the final basket of the afternoon for the Blue Demons who fell 89-61.

Up Next
The Blue Demons will return home to begin a five-game homestand on Friday, Dec. 13 when UIC visits Wintrust Arena. Tipoff on Marquee Sports Network is set for 7 p.m. CT.

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