2016–17 Michigan State Spartans women's basketball team

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2016–17 Big Ten women's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 4 Maryland†	15	–	1		.938			32	–	3		.914
No. 11 Ohio State*	15	–	1		.938			28	–	7		.800
Michigan	11	–	5		.688			28	–	9		.757
Indiana	10	–	6		.625			23	–	11		.676
Purdue	10	–	6		.625			23	–	13		.639
Michigan State	9	–	7		.563			21	–	12		.636
Penn State	9	–	7		.563			21	–	11		.656
Northwestern	8	–	8		.500			20	–	11		.645
Iowa	8	–	8		.500			20	–	14		.588
Minnesota	5	–	11		.313			15	–	16		.484
Illinois	3	–	13		.188			9	–	22		.290
Wisconsin	3	–	13		.188			9	–	22		.290
Nebraska	3	–	13		.188			7	–	22		.241
Rutgers	3	–	13		.188			6	–	24		.200
† 2017 Big Ten tournament winner * Tournament #1 seed Rankings from AP poll

The 2016–17 Michigan State Spartans women's basketball team represented Michigan State University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Spartans, led by tenth-year head coach Suzy Merchant, played their home games at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan and were members of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 21–12, 9–7 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for sixth place. In the Big Ten Tournament, they beat Wisconsin and Michigan before losing in the semifinals to Maryland. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament as a No. 8 seed where the lost in the First Round to Arizona State.

Previous season

The Spartans finished the 2015–16 season 25–9, 13–5 in Big Ten play to finish in third place. They defeated Purdue and Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament before losing in the championship game to Maryland. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament as a No. 4 seed. They defeated Belmont in the First Round before losing to Mississippi State in the Second Round.

Roster

2016–17 Michigan State Spartans women's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Shay Colley 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) RS Fr St. Edmund Campion Secondary South Carolina Brampton, ON G 1 Tori Jankoska 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Sr Freeland Freeland, MI F 2 Mardrekia Cook 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Fr Muskegon Muskegon, MI G 3 Kalabryah Gondrezick 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) RS Fr Benton Harbor Benton Harbor, MI G 4 Taryn McCutcheon 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) Fr East Lansing East Lansing, MI G 10 Brannadais Agee 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) RS Sr Cass Technical Detroit, MI F 11 Nathy Dambo 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) RS Fr Junípero Serra Fort-de-France, Martinique F 12 Nia Hollie 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Fr Hopkins Minnetonka, MN G 13 Morgan Green 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Jr Pacific Collegiate Chabot College San Jose, CA F 15 Victoria Gaines 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) RS Fr Merrillville Merrillville, IN C 21 Hana Vesela 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) So Brimley Příbor, Czech Republic G 22 Kiara Carter 5 ft 1 in (1.55 m) Jr Homewood Flossmoor Homewood, IL G/F 24 Lexi Gussert 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Jr Forest Park Crystal Falls, MI F 32 Taya Reimer 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Sr Hamilton Southeastern Notre Dame Fishers, IN C 33 Jenna Allen 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) So North Lawrence Bedford, IN F 55 Kennedy Johnson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Jr Wildwood Catholic Galloway, NJ	Head coach Suzy Merchant (Central Michigan) Assistant coach(es) Amaka Agugua (Hofstra) Mark Simons (Michigan State) Alysiah Bond (Ohio State) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
11/06/2016* 2:00 PM		Northwood	W 82–47		Breslin Center (4,304) East Lansing, MI
Non-conference regular season
11/11/2016* 7:00 PM		Davidson	W 70–34	1–0	Breslin Center (3,640) East Lansing, MI
11/13/2016* 2:00 PM		Wyoming	W 63–51	2–0	Breslin Center (4,138) East Lansing, MI
11/15/2016* 7:00 PM		Southern	W 70–55	3–0	Breslin Center (4,027) East Lansing, MI
11/18/2016* 7:00 PM, ESPN3		at Western Michigan	W 68–64 OT	4–0	University Arena (1,788) Kalamazoo, MI
11/22/2016* 11:00 PM, P12N	No. 24	at Oregon	L 55–88	4–1	Matthew Knight Arena (2,056) Eugene, OR
11/25/2016* 8:00 PM	No. 24	vs. Delaware Radisson Thanksgiving Classic	W 81–64	5–1	Matadome (218) Northridge, CA
11/26/2016* 7:00 PM	No. 24	at Cal State Northridge Radisson Thanksgiving Classic	W 63–59	6–1	Matadome (399) Northridge, CA
11/30/2016* 7:00 PM		at No. 20 Syracuse ACC–Big Ten Women's Challenge	L 64–75	6–2	Carrier Dome (768) Syracuse, NY
12/02/2016* 7:00 PM		Oakland	W 81–76	7–2	Breslin Center (4,638) East Lansing, MI
12/06/2016* 7:00 PM		at Quinnipiac	W 71–54	8–2	TD Bank Sports Center (1,293) Hamden, CT
12/08/2016* 7:00 PM		at Rhode Island	W 85–48	9–2	Ryan Center (205) Kingston, RI
12/18/2016* 12:00 PM		Northeastern	W 78–44	10–2	Breslin Center (4,018) East Lansing, MI
12/20/2016* 7:00 PM, BTN		No. 2 Notre Dame	L 61–79	10–3	Breslin Center (7,924) East Lansing, MI
Big Ten regular season
01/01/2017 3:00 PM		Illinois	W 71–47	11–3 (1–0)	Breslin Center (5,757) East Lansing, MI
01/04/2017 6:00 PM		Purdue	L 54–66	11–4 (1–1)	Mackey Arena (5,776) West Lafayette, IN
01/07/2017 7:00 PM		Nebraska	W 93–73	12–4 (2–1)	Breslin Center (6,155) East Lansing, MI
01/10/2017 8:00 PM, BTN		No. 11 Ohio State	W 94–75	13–4 (3–1)	Breslin Center (5,538) East Lansing, MI
01/14/2017 12:00 PM, BTN		at Rutgers	L 58–62	13–5 (3–2)	Louis Brown Athletic Center (2,646) Piscataway, NJ
01/17/2017 9:00 PM, BTN		at Northwestern	L 65–76	13–6 (3–3)	Welsh-Ryan Arena (783) Evanston, IL
01/22/2017 5:00 PM, BTN		at Purdue	L 66–76	13–7 (3–4)	Breslin Center (9,808) East Lansing, MI
01/25/2017 8:00 PM		at Wisconsin	W 81–57	14–7 (4–4)	Kohl Center (3,085) Madison, WI
01/30/2017 8:00 PM, BTN		at Minnesota	W 93–74	15–7 (5–4)	Williams Arena (3,490) Minneapolis, MN
02/02/2017 6:00 PM, BTN		Indiana	W 69–60	16–7 (6–4)	Breslin Center (6,438) East Lansing, MI
02/09/2017 7:00 PM, BTN		at Iowa	L 83–87 OT	16–8 (6–5)	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (4,384) Iowa City, IA
02/12/2017 2:00 PM, ESPN2		No. 3 Maryland	L 72–89	16–9 (6–6)	Breslin Center (10,646) East Lansing, MI
02/16/2017 7:00 PM		Minnesota	W 85–69	17–9 (7–6)	Breslin Center (5,387) East Lansing, MI
02/19/2017 2:00 PM, BTN		at No. 20 Michigan	W 86–68	18–9 (8–6)	Crisler Center (12,707) Ann Arbor, MI
02/22/2017 7:00 PM		Penn State	W 73–64	19–9 (9–6)	Breslin Center (6,038) East Lansing, MI
02/26/2017 2:00 PM		at Nebraska	L 74–76 OT	19–10 (9–7)	Pinnacle Bank Arena (4,630) Lincoln, NE
Big Ten Tournament
03/02/2017 9:00 PM, BTN	(6)	vs. (11) Wisconsin Second Round	W 70–63	20–10	Bankers Life Fieldhouse (3,431) Indianapolis, IN
03/03/2017 9:00 PM, BTN	(6)	vs. (3) Michigan Quarterfinals	W 74–64	21–10	Bankers Life Fieldhouse (4,065) Indianapolis, IN
03/04/2017 6:30 PM, BTN	(6)	vs. (2) No. 4 Maryland Semifinals	L 89–100	21–11	Bankers Life Fieldhouse (5,408) Indianapolis, IN
NCAA Tournament
03/17/2017* 7:30 PM, ESPN2	(9 S)	vs. (8 S) Arizona State First Round	L 61–73	21–12	Colonial Life Arena (8,215) Columbia, SC
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. S=Stockton Region Source. All times are in Eastern Time.

Rankings

Main article: 2016–17 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings

Regular Season Polls

Poll	Pre- 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	Week 17	Week 18	Week 19	Final
AP	RV	RV	24	RV	RV	RV	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	N/A
Coaches	22	21	19	22	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR

Legend

		Increase in ranking
		Decrease in ranking
		Not ranked previous week
(RV)		Received Votes

See also

2016–17 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team