EAST LANSING — Grace VanSlooten discovered pretty early in her basketball days her ability to outrace opponents down the court.
VanSlooten saw it as something she could use to her advantage and it’s been a plus for the Michigan State women’s basketball team in the season’s early stages.
The Oregon transfer made a big impact with her athletic ability with the Spartans since her arrival in the offseason. That continued Wednesday as she played a big role in the Spartans improving to 6-0 with their 101-44 victory over Detroit Mercy at Breslin Center.
VanSlooten set the tone with 14 points in an opening quarter MSU closed on a 26-2 run. She finished with 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting and added seven rebounds and five assists in just under 18 minutes.
Much of her production came in the paint, using her ability to sprint down the court for easy early opportunities near the basket while fueling the Spartans’ strong start
“I like to play fast,” VanSlooten said. “I like to get out in transition. It’s really what I’m used to. My teammates did a great job of finding me in transition and really knowing where I want the ball and when I want it so all kudos to them.”
VanSlooten, who was named to the preseason watch list for the Cheryl Miller Award that honors the nation’s top small forwards, has scored in double figures in the first five games of her career as a Spartan. She is averaging 16.6 points and 8.6 rebounds and proving to be all that MSU coach Robyn Fralick expected when landing her from the transfer portal.
“We’ve always thought she was a special player (with) great size and athleticism,” said Fralick, who remembers seeing VanSlooten as a high schooler when she attended a team camp at Bowling Green. “I think what I love the most that I’ve gotten to learn from being up close every day and getting to coach her is her focus and her work ethic are really good. You match that with her size and with athleticism and some cool things happen.
“She loves being here. She loves being a Spartan. I always say as a coach we obviously want to find great players, but you also want to find the right players. Grace is one of those kids that is both because she’s dialed in to being a teammate, she’s dialed in to getting better and she’s passionate about what our program can do.”
VanSlooten doesn’t remember many of the interactions she had with coaches at that camp while a high school athlete in Toledo, Ohio. But she’s glad that fate led to her crossing paths with Fralick again.
“Obviously I’ve known of Coach Fralick’s track record at Bowling Green just because it was close to my home, but I knew what a great fit it would be,” VanSlooten said. “I want to play for a winner. That definitely attracted me.”
VanSlooten was one of five players to score in double figures for the Spartans, who played without starter Julia Ayrault. Fralick said Ayrault had a tweak in practice Tuesday.
Juliann Woodard had a game-high 17 points off the bench on 7-of-8 shooting and knocked down 3-of-4 3-pointers, while Jaddan Simmons scored a season-high 15 points for MSU. Theryn Hallock added 11 points, Kennedy Blair scored 10 and Jocelyn Tate finished with nine points, seven rebounds and four assists for the Spartans.
Contact Brian Calloway at bcalloway@lsj.com. Follow him on X @brian_calloway.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Grace VanSlooten making big early mark for MSU women’s basketball
