Brian Calloway

Lansing State Journal

EAST LANSING – A scary moment took place early in the fourth quarter of the Michigan State women’s basketball team’s Big Ten opener Sunday when Suzy Merchant collapsed on the sideline at Breslin Center.

The 47-year old Merchant hit the ground in front of the bench with just under eight minutes left in the game and was down briefly. She was eventually helped up and taken back into the locker area.

MSU associate head coach Amaka Agugua reported that Merchant was fine following the Spartans’ 71-47 victory.

"First of all that was very scary," Agugua said. "She went down pretty hard. She fainted and was a little discombobulated when she got up. She was trying to figure out what happened. She’s doing well. She knows what happened at the end of the game. She was communicating very well. She’s going to be OK."

MSU women pull away to win Big Ten opener

Michigan State released a statement Sunday night that Merchant was transported to Sparrow Hospital in Lansing for tests and will be kept overnight as a precautionary measure.

The Spartans led just 48-43 when play was stopped when Merchant fell to the floor. MSU scored 14 unanswered points after the scary moment to pull away for the victory over the Illini.

"She's our head to our monster and we play really hard for ourselves and for our teammates," MSU senior guard and captain Tori Jankoska said. "She's the one that makes us go. She's the one making all the decisions and giving up all the time with her family. When that happened, we just kind of rallied together and tried to keep our minds focused. It kind of re-energized us as a team."

Contact Brian Calloway at bcalloway@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @brian_calloway.