No. 15 Michigan State women beat Montana 69-38 in the West Palm Beach Classic

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Julia Ayrault scored 15 points, Ines Sotelo added 13 and No. 15 Michigan State beat Montana 69-38 on Thursday in the West Palm Beach Classic to extend its best start to a season in program history.

Michigan State (11-0), which has topped the previous best starts of 8-0 in the 2012-13 and 2020-21 seasons, has won 16 regular-season games dating to last season.

Michigan State scored 21 straight points in the second quarter, with seven points apiece from Ayrault and Theryn Hallock, to help build a 39-15 lead and the Spartans led by 20-plus points for the rest of the game.

Michigan State added a 19-0 run in the third quarter, with six points from Sotelo, for a 65-22 lead. Montana combined to make just 5 of 22 shots in the second and third quarters.

Michigan State scored 43 points off 30 Montana turnovers.

Hallock finished with 11 points and Grace VanSlooten added 10 for Michigan State. Ayrault also had three rebounds after entering just shy of a double-double with 19.3 points and 9.2 rebounds per game over her last six contests.

Adria Lincoln scored a team-high seven points for Montana (4-6). The Lady Griz have also played two other Big Ten teams this season: a win over Washington and a loss to Minnesota.

Both teams are back in action on Friday, with Montana playing Tulsa and Michigan State facing No. 24 Alabama.