EAST LANSING — Rashunda Jones isn’t expected to miss much time after leaving the Michigan State women’s basketball team’s loss to rival Michigan with an injury.
MSU coach Robyn Fralick said Tuesday, Feb. 17, that the starting guard is day-to-day. The lower leg injury was feared to possibly be more serious when Jones exited in the third quarter on Feb. 15 against the Wolverines and didn’t return.
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“We know how important Rashunda is to our team,” Fralick said. “There was a lot of things in that game that did not go well or go right and those were a few of them. Grateful that she is getting better.”
Jones is one of three players who have started all 26 games this season for the Spartans (20-6, 9-6 Big Ten). She is averaging 12.2 points and 2.3 steals and is shooting a team-best 83.5% from the free-throw line.
“She does so much for our team, both on and off the court, leadership-wise and just voicing what we need to work on in timeouts and huddles,” MSU captain Grace VanSlooten said. “She’s a really big piece for our team.”
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MSU, which is ranked No. 16 in the latest USA Today coaches poll, also lost reserve Juliann Woodard to an injury in the middle stages of the fourth quarter against Michigan. She left the Crisler Center floor in a wheelchair after play was stopped for a few minutes as she received medical attention following her fall on the court. Fralick said Woodard is out with a concussion.
“It was just a basketball play,” Fralick said of Woodard’s injury. “There was a crowd and she got an elbow going after a rebound. It was just one of those unfortunate incidents. I’m grateful she is OK. That obviously was very scary for everybody. It was an unfortunate basketball play.”
MSU has two of its final three regular-season games at Breslin Center starting when it hosts Northwestern at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 18.
Spartans to honor six seniors
Wednesday’s game against Northwestern will be the senior day for MSU, which will honor a class of six seniors. The individuals being recognized include four-year players Theryn Hallock and Abbey Kimball, as well as VanSlooten, Emma Shumate, Jalyn Brown and Marah Dykstra. VanSlooten and Shumate joined the program as transfers prior to the 2024-25 season, while Brown an Dykstra are in their first seasons at MSU.
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“A big class with so many different stories,” Fralick said. “Some kids have been here for four years, two years, one year but all have had a huge impact on our program. Always a real special day. Love that on a game day you get an opportunity to honor people who are Spartans.”
Contact Brian Calloway at bcalloway@lsj.com. Follow him on X @brian_calloway and Bluesky @briancalloway.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: MSU women’s basketball: Spartans get good news on Rashunda Jones injury
