# 2022–23 Michigan State Spartans women's basketball team

The 2022–23 Michigan State Spartans women's basketball team represented Michigan State University as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 2022–23 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Spartans, led by 16th-year head coach Suzy Merchant played their home games at Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan. They finished the season 16–14, 7–10 in Big Ten play to finish in ninth place. They defeated Nebraska in the second round of the Big Ten tournament before losing to Indiana. The Spartans were invited to the National Invitation Tournament, but declined the invitation due in part to the Michigan State shooting on campus.
On January 28, 2023, head coach Suzy Merchant was involved in an automobile crash which led to her being hospitalized. Assistant coach Dean Lockwood took over as the acting head coach for the remainder of the season. Merchant stepped as head coach after the conclusion of the season. On March 31, the school named Bowling Green head coach Robyn Fralick the team's new head coach.
The team's statistical leaders included Kamaria McDaniel with 427 points scored, DeeDee Hagemann with 146 assists, and Taiyier Parks with 152 rebounds.

## Previous season

The Spartans finished the 2021–22 season 15–15, 8–9 in Big Ten play to finish in eighth place. In the Big Ten tournament they defeated Purdue in the before losing to Ohio State in the quarterfinals.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| October 30, 2022* 3:00 p.m., BTN+ | | Saginaw Valley State | W 90–56 | – | Breslin Center East Lansing, MI |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 7, 2022* Noon, BTN+ | | Delaware State | W 86–37 | 1–0 | Breslin Center (5,462) East Lansing, MI |
| November 10, 2022* 7:00 p.m., BTN+ | | Purdue Fort Wayne | W 85–53 | 2–0 | Breslin Center (2,314) East Lansing, MI |
| November 13, 2022* 3:00 p.m., BTN+ | | Western Michigan | W 97–49 | 3–0 | Breslin Center (3,326) East Lansing, MI |
| November 15, 2022* 7:00 p.m., BTN+ | | Oakland | W 85–39 | 4–0 | Breslin Center (2,199) East Lansing, MI |
| November 17, 2022* 7:00 p.m., BTN+ | | Florida A&M | W 109–44 | 5–0 | Breslin Center (2,145) East Lansing, MI |
| November 19, 2022* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Central Michigan | W 84–54 | 6–0 | McGuirk Arena (1,460) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| November 24, 2022* 7:30 p.m., ESPNU | | vs. No. 5 Iowa State Phil Knight Invitational semifinals | L 49–80 | 6–1 | Chiles Center (1,219) Portland, OR |
| November 27, 2022* 1:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | vs. No. 18 Oregon Phil Knight Invitational 3rd place game | L 78–86 | 6–2 | Veterans Memorial Coliseum (3,938) Portland, OR |
| December 1, 2022* 8:00 p.m., BTN | | Georgia Tech ACC–Big Ten Women's Challenge | L 63–66 | 6–3 | Breslin Center (2,748) East Lansing, MI |
| December 5, 2022 7:00 p.m., BTN | | Purdue | L 71–76 | 6–4 (0–1) | Breslin Center (3,015) East Lansing, MI |
| December 11, 2022 4:00 p.m., BTN | | at No. 3 Ohio State | L 68–74 | 6–5 (0–2) | Value City Arena (6,979) Columbus, OH |
| December 18, 2022* 3:00 p.m., BTN+ | | Detroit Mercy | W 91–41 | 7–5 | Breslin Center (3,240) East Lansing, MI |
| December 20, 2022* 7:00 p.m., BTN+ | | Prairie View A&M | W 98–50 | 8–5 | Breslin Center (2,495) East Lansing, MI |
| December 29, 2022 3:00 p.m., BTN+ | | No. 4 Indiana | W 83–78 | 9–5 (1–2) | Breslin Center (4,533) East Lansing, MI |
| January 2, 2023 8:00 p.m., BTN+ | | at Northwestern | W 71–64 | 10–5 (2–2) | Welsh–Ryan Arena (1,282) Evanston, IL |
| January 7, 2023 1:00 p.m., BTN+ | | at No. 13 Maryland | L 85–94 | 10–6 (2–3) | Xfinity Center (6,494) College Park, MD |
| January 11, 2023 7:00 p.m., BTN+ | | Wisconsin | L 80–84 $^{OT}$ | 10–7 (2–4) | Breslin Center (2,672) East Lansing, MI |
| January 14, 2023 1:00 p.m., BTN+ | | at No. 17 Michigan Rivalry | L 55–70 | 10–8 (2–5) | Crisler Center (10,534) Ann Arbor, MI |
| January 18, 2023 7:00 p.m., BTN+ | | No. 10 Iowa | L 81–84 $^{OT}$ | 10–9 (2–6) | Breslin Center (3,359) East Lansing, MI |
| January 22, 2023 3:00 p.m., BTN+ | | Rutgers | W 85–63 | 11–9 (3–6) | Breslin Center (5,015) East Lansing, MI |
| January 29, 2023 6:00 p.m., BTN | | at No. 22 Illinois | L 76–86 | 11–10 (3–7) | State Farm Center (5,096) Champaign, IL |
| February 2, 2023 8:30 p.m., BTN | | at Nebraska | L 67–71 | 11–11 (3–8) | Pinnacle Bank Arena (4,549) Lincoln, NE |
| February 5, 2023 3:00 p.m., BTN+ | | No. 18 Michigan Rivalry | L 67–77 | 11–12 (3–9) | Breslin Center (9,220) East Lansing, MI |
| February 8, 2023 7:30 p.m., BTN+ | | at Wisconsin | W 88–63 | 12–12 (4–9) | Kohl Center (4,254) Madison, WI |
| February 12, 2023 3:00 p.m., BTN+ | | Penn State | W 81–75 | 13–12 (5–9) | Breslin Center (5,335) East Lansing, MI |
| February 15, 2023 7:00 p.m., BTN+ | | at Purdue | Canceled due to Mass Shooting at Michigan State | Canceled due to Mass Shooting at Michigan State | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, IN |
| February 18, 2023 3:00 p.m., BTN+ | | No. 8 Maryland | L 61–66 | 13–13 (5–10) | Breslin Center (3,439) East Lansing, MI |
| February 22, 2023 4:00 p.m., BTN+ | | Minnesota | W 71–67 | 14–13 (6–10) | Breslin Center (2,392) East Lansing, MI |
| February 25, 2023 2:00 p.m., BTN+ | | at Penn State | W 80–65 | 15–13 (7–10) | Bryce Jordan Center (4,394) State College, PA |
| Big Ten tournament ||||||
| March 2, 2023 12:30 pm, BTN | (9) | vs. (8) Nebraska Second round | W 67–64 | 16–13 | Target Center (4,908) Minneapolis, MN |
| March 3, 2023 12:30 p.m., BTN | (9) | vs. (1) No. 2 Indiana Quarterfinals | L 85–94 | 16–14 | Target Center (5,544) Minneapolis, MN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||
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