EAST LANSING — It has been a long road back for Isa Alexander after injuries have kept her off the court the last two seasons.
But the senior forward has navigated the long road to recovery from ACL and foot injuries to get back to contributing on the court instead of watching as a spectator for the Michigan State women’s basketball team.
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And Alexander is finding success as she has begins to get back into a groove of playing again for the Spartans.
That success included the best scoring game of her career Sunday, Nov. 16, as No. 24-ranked MSU rolled to a 98-44 victory over Western Michigan at Breslin Center.
Alexander had a career-high 20 points and was 9-of-9 from the field while playing just under 12 minutes off the bench.
Michigan State’s Isaline Alexander, right, and Mercyhurst’s Gabby Sweeney battle for a rebound, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in East Lansing.
“The last few years have obviously been hard,” Alexander said. “I had to do a lot to get back to where I am now and I’m I’m still kind of working to get back to feeling whatever normal is, and I’m still trying to figure that out too. It means a lot just being able to finish and see myself actually doing it. Obviously you do it in practice, but doing it in the game is obviously different. Being able to do that means a lot to me and I’m so happy that my teammates have my back all the time and the coaches have my back as well.
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“All the hard work that I’ve been putting in is starting to show off and I’m starting to get back into my rhythm and how I play and how I can help my team.”
Alexander exceeded the previous career high of 17 points she set against Central Michigan nearly three years ago on Nov. 19, 2022. Sunday marked the seventh game in double figures scoring in the college career for Alexander and first since she had 11 points in a win over Wright State on Nov. 12, 2023. That was the second of three games she played in the 2023-24 season before suffering a season-ending foot injury.
“Just to see how hard she’s worked, I’m genuinely so proud of her,” said MSU guard Kennedy Blair, who sat out the 2023-24 season along with Alexander. “I know it’s been a hard two years for her. She’s been in the gym, put in the time, she has gotten herself in great shape. This is just the beginning for her.
:I think that she has a great year ahead of her and I’m excited to see it. It’s really easy when you have a really reliable post to pass to and I think she did a fantastic job showing what she’s been working on the last six months.”
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MSU coach Robyn Fralick said it was great to see Alexander deliver and pointed her out in the locker room after the game because of her journey to get to this point.
“It’s really hard to be out for two whole seasons and all the pieces that go with that,” Fralick said. “(There’s) the mental piece, the emotional pieces and then keeping your physical body ready for when you do return. She’s getting her game rhythm. I think (this game) was a great example of her getting her balance. We did a great job finding her, giving her the ball in the right spots and then she finished.”
More: Two years of injuries behind her, MSU’s Isa Alexander finding love for basketball again
Alexander was one of four players in double figures for MSU as it moved to 4-0 ahead of its home game against Eastern Illinois on Thursday, Nov. 20. Grace VanSlooten had 19 points and eight rebounds, Kennedy Blair had 14 points, eight rebounds and eight assists and Rashunda Jones had 13 points.
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The Spartans opened the game on an 18-0 run and led 31-5 after the opening quarter. After being outscored in the second quarter, MSU had a dominant second half highlighted by a third quarter where it outscored the Broncos (1-3) 33-7.
Contact Brian Calloway at bcalloway@lsj.com. Follow him on X @brian_calloway and Bluesky @briancalloway.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Isa Alexander contributes to MSU women’s basketball’s rout of WMU
