March 26, 2008

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WNIT THIRD ROUND

MICHIGAN STATE (20-13) vs. KANSAS (17-15)

Game Information
When: Thursday, March 27 • 7 p.m.
Where: Breslin Center • East Lansing, Mich.

Media Coverage
TV: No television coverage.
Radio: WJIM 1240 AM and msuspartans.com (Rick Berkey: Play-by-Play)
Internet: Gametracker at msuspartans.com.

Ticket Information
Reserved: $15; General Admission: $10; Youth/Senior GA: $5

Coaches
MSU: Suzy Merchant (Central Michigan, 1991)
Overall: 221-133 (13th year)
At MSU: 20-13 (first year)

KU: Bonnie Henrickson (St. Cloud State, 1986)
Overall: 215-126 (11th year)
At KU: 57-64 (fourth year)

OPENING TIP
The Michigan State women's basketball team defeated Bowling Green in the second round of the WNIT last Saturday at the Breslin Center, 74-66, and will host Kansas (17-15) in the third round Thursday night at 7 p.m. Kansas, who also received a first-round bye in the 48-team tournament, beat Evansville in the second round on Monday in Lawrence, Kan., 82-60. This will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools.

With the win over Bowling Green, MSU improved to 20-13 on the year, giving the Spartans their fifth straight 20-win season and ninth in program history. In addition, MSU head coach Suzy Merchant became just the second coach in MSU basketball history - men's side included - to record 20 wins in her first season. Karen Langeland, the winningest coach in MSU women's basketball history, went 23-6 her first season in 1976-77. No men's coach at MSU has ever won 20 games in his first season. It also marked Merchant's fifth 20-win season of her career (one at Saginaw Valley State; three at Eastern Michigan).

Four Spartans scored in double figures against BGSU, including Kalisha Keane, who poured in a team-high 20 points. Keane scored nine points in the first five minutes of the second half as MSU went on an 18-6 run in building a 20-point lead.

MSU shot a season-high 60 percent from 3-point range (6-for-10) and Mandy Piechowski tied a career high with four 3-pointers. Piechowski finished with 12 points while shooting 4-for-5 from behind the arc.

The Spartans also dominated inside, winning the battle of the boards, 47-32, and outscoring the Falcons in the paint, 40-10. Allyssa DeHaan scored 12 points with nine rebounds and four blocks, while Lauren Aitch chipped in 12 points on 4-of-4 shooting from the field. Bowling Green finished its season with a 26-8 record.

MICHIGAN STATE WNIT HISTORY
• Michigan State is making its fourth overall appearance in the WNIT.
• MSU received a bye in the first round of the 48-team tournament and defeated Bowling Green in the second round, 74-66.
• There are 16 teams remaining in the tournament entering the third round. • The Spartans are 8-3 all-time in the WNIT, including Saturday's win over Bowling Green. MSU went 2-1 and advanced to the quarterfinals in both 1999 and 2000. In 2002, MSU went 3-1 before falling at Oregon in the semifinals.
• Michigan State is making its seventh straight appearance in the postseason.
• With the win over BGSU, MSU improved to 4-0 all-time in the second round of the WNIT and 4-0 in its first game of the WNIT.

MERCHANT IN THE POSTSEASON
Spartan first-year head coach Suzy Merchant is making her fifth appearance as a head coach in the postseason. While at Eastern Michigan, she took the Eagles to the NCAA Tournament in 2004 and the WNIT in 2005 and 2006. At Saginaw Valley State, she led the Cardinals to the Division II NCAA Tournament in 1997.

In the 2004 NCAA Tournament, Merchant's 14th-seeded Eagles nearly upset No. 3 seed Boston College in the first round, falling 58-56. Eastern Michigan lost in the first round of the WNIT in 2005 to Kentucky and in 2006 to Indiana State.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR
• Allyssa DeHaan has 476 points, just two shy of cracking the top 10 list for top scorers in a MSU single-season... she needs 13 points for 900 in her career...she also needs just five rebounds for 500 in her career.
• Kalisha Keane is moving up in several categories in MSU's freshman record book, and is looking to break Allyssa DeHaan's scoring record of 411 points set last season. Keane is currently second with 404 points.

Kalisha Keane scored 20 points against Bowling Green in the 74-66 victory.

A GLANCE AT KANSAS
Kansas enters East Lansing with a 17-15 overall record after defeating Evansville in the WNIT Second Round Monday at home, 82-60. The Jayhawks tied for 10th in the competitive Big 12 Conference with a 4-12 league mark.

Sophomore guard/forward Danielle McCray leads the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 14.8 points and 7.1 rebounds a game. McCray also leads the team with 50 steals.

The Jayhawks started the season strong with an 11-2 record, including victories over Hartford, Indiana and Xavier. KU struggled in Big 12 play, however, going 4-12 to tie for 10th. In the Big 12 Tournament, the Jayhawks upset Nebraska, who earned an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament. KU then fell to Oklahoma State in the quarterfinals.

COACH HENRICKSON: Coach Bonnie Henrickson (St. Cloud State, 1986) won her 200th career game earlier this season and has led Kansas to another winning season in 2007-08. She is in her fourth year at Kansas and currently owns a 57-64 record at the school.

In her second season at KU in 2005-06, the Jayhawks went 17-13 and advanced to the WNIT, the first postseason berth for the program since 2000.

Henrickson arrived at KU after seven years at Virginia Tech, where she guided the Hokies to a record of 158-62 and seven postseason appearances. During her tenure, Virginia Tech reached the NCAA tournament five times and the WNIT twice, and won 20 or more games every season.

COMMON OPPONENTS: KU and Michigan State played five common opponents this season: Hartford, Indiana, Kansas State, Oklahoma and Evansville.

Kansas went 3-3 against those teams (wins over Hartford, Indiana and Evansville, two losses to Kansas State, one loss to Oklahoma), while MSU also went 3-3 (wins over Kansas State and Evansville, split with Indiana, losses to Hartford and Oklahoma).

PROBABLE STARTERS
G - #4 Danielle McCray (So., 5-11, 14.8 ppg)
G - #20 Sade Morris (So., 5-11, 9.9 ppg)
G - #3 Ivana Catic (Jr., 5-8, 3.6 ppg)
F - #13 Taylor McIntosh (Sr., 5-11, 6.7 ppg)
C - #14 Krysten Boogaard (Fr., 6-5, 9.4 ppg)

THE BASICS
• The Spartans, with a 20-13 overall record, have won seven of their last nine games. MSU finished the Big Ten season 10-8, marking the sixth straight season it has won 10 or more games during the conference season.

• Michigan State has recorded five straight 20-win seasons and is making its seventh consecutive appearance in the postseason. The Spartans have won a postseason game five consecutive years.

• MSU is 7-1 this season in games decided by five points or less (wins over Kansas State, Delaware State, Illinois, Michigan, Purdue, Indiana, Minnesota; only loss at Hartford).

• Michigan State is one of the youngest teams in the country - out of MSU's 12 active players, nine are freshmen and sophomores, the most underclassmen of any team in the Big Ten. MSU's starting lineup the past 12 games features two freshmen, two sophomores and one junior. MSU is the only team in the Big Ten to start three freshmen (Brittney Thomas, Cetera Washington and Kalisha Keane) in a game this season. Seventy nine percent of the team's scoring comes from the underclassmen.

• Sophomore 6-9 center Allyssa DeHaan, who set a Big Ten record last season with 145 blocked shots, is second in the country with 132 blocked shots (4.0 pg). She is the first player in Big Ten history to record 100 blocks in two different seasons. A first-team All-Big Ten selection by the media, she leads the team in scoring (14.4 ppg) and rebounding (7.5 rpg). MSU's all-time leader in blocked shots with 277, DeHaan is on the Wade Watch for national player of the year. She has been named Big Ten Player of the Week three times this season.

• The Spartans are relying on a heralded freshman class for extended minutes this season. The class, ranked among the top 20 in the nation, features point guard Brittney Thomas (7.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 3.6 apg) and forwards Kalisha Keane (12.2 ppg), Cetera Washington (3.2 ppg) and Taja Wilson (2.8 ppg). The trio of Thomas, Keane and Washington started 17 times this year for the Spartans. Thomas and Keane became just the second Spartan duo to be named to the All-Big Ten Freshman Team in the same season (Lindsay Bowen, Liz Shimek in 2003). Keane is 16th in the Big Ten in scoring and has scored in double figures 21 times this season.

• Freshman point guard Brittney Thomas is one of the most versatile freshmen in the Big Ten. The honorable mention All-Big Ten selection leads conference freshmen in minutes (34.5 avg.), assists (3.6 avg.) and steals (1.8 avg.). Thomas also ranks fourth in rebounding (5.3 avg.) and field-goal percentage (.487), and fifth in scoring (7.5 avg.). In MSU's freshman record book, she is second in assists with 120. Her 174 rebounds are the most ever by a Spartan freshman guard.

• The other returning starter and tri-captain, junior guard Mia Johnson, tore her ACL during summer workouts and missed the first eight games of the season. After slowly re-entering the rotation, she started her first game of the season at Illinois on Jan. 24, and responded by scoring a season-high 20 points. She has started the last 13 games (MSU record: 9-4) and is currently averaging 3.5 points and 17 minutes per game. Johnson averaged 8.3 ppg and 3.9 rpg in 29.6 minutes a game last season, her first for the Green and White after transferring from Saint Louis University in 2005-06.

• Sophomore center Lauren Aitch (7.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg), who received a medical redshirt last season due to a torn ACL, is back and healthy this season. She has scored in double figures 11 times this season, including a career-best 16-point performance vs. Clemson Nov. 29. MSU is 8-3 when Aitch scores in double figures. She grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds at Michigan Jan. 13.

• Senior guard Courtney Davidson is having her most productive season as a Spartan. She is averaging career bests in points (7.5) and minutes (22.1). She leads the team with 42 3-pointers made, which is tied for 15th most in an MSU single-season, and has made at least three 3-pointers in eight games. Davidson has come through in the clutch several times this season - she scored a career-high 20 points on Senior Night in her last career game at the Breslin Center; poured in 18 points in the comeback win over Iowa Jan. 10; and scored 17 in the win against Purdue Feb. 11, including two free throws with 15.6 seconds left on the clock to give MSU the 56-54 victory.

• Sophomore guard Mandy Piechowski tied a career high with four 3-pointers in the win over Bowling Green. Piechowski has scored in double figures three times this season, including a career-high 14 points at Minnesota on Jan. 27. Piechowski has started the last 11 games (MSU record: 8-3).

• The Spartans lost power forward Aisha Jefferson to a season-ending knee injury in the second exhibition game against Lake Superior State. Jefferson, one of three captains named by Coach Merchant at the beginning of the season, was an honorable mention All-Big Ten pick last year after averaging 10.4 ppg and 5.6 rpg.