May 2, 2008

EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State women's basketball team will face Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Ga., on Wednesday, Dec. 3 in the second annual ACC/Big Ten Women's Challenge. It will mark the first-ever series meeting between the two schools. The Spartans won their inaugural game in the challenge last year with a 68-51 victory over Clemson in the Breslin Center.

Michigan State went 23-14 in 2007-08 and advanced to the championship game of the WNIT in head coach Suzy Merchant's debut season in East Lansing. The Spartans will return all five starters to next season's team, including first-team All-Big Ten selection Allyssa DeHaan and All-Big Ten Freshmen Kalisha Keane and Brittney Thomas. In addition, Aisha Jefferson, a 2006-07 honorable mention All-Big Ten pick, will be back in the lineup after sitting out 2007-08 with a torn ACL.

Georgia Tech finished the 2007-08 season with a 22-10 record and earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament. The Yellow Jackets tied for fifth in the ACC standings with a 7-7 mark.

Other matchups in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Dec. 3 include North Carolina at Ohio State and Penn State and Florida State. Thursday, Dec. 4, will feature six games as Clemson hosts Northwestern, Purdue takes on Maryland, Illinois welcomes Virginia, Minnesota plays host to Boston College, Duke welcomes Iowa, and Wisconsin faces Virginia Tech. The challenge wraps up on Friday, Dec. 5, as Michigan hosts NC State and Miami welcomes Indiana.

The Big Ten and ACC offices determine the 11-game schedule each season, and matchups may repeat from year-to-year in efforts to coordinate similar opponents. Each of the Big Ten's 11 institutions will participate, while the ACC will select its top 11 teams from the previous season from its 12-team membership.

In addition, the official title of the challenge will rotate each year. The 2008 event will be referred to as the ACC/Big Ten Women's Basketball Challenge and will continue to mirror the official title of the two conferences' challenge agreement for men's basketball.

Since the 1999-2000 season, the two conferences have squared off in head-to-head competition on 68 occasions with the ACC holding a 37-31 advantage. For more information about the ACC/Big Ten Women's Basketball Challenge, including a complete schedule, log on to www.bigten.org.

Game times, as well as television and broadband coverage, will be announced at a later date.

2008 ACC/BIG TEN WOMEN'S CHALLENGE SCHEDULE
Wednesday, December 3
Michigan State at Georgia Tech
North Carolina at Ohio State
Penn State at Florida State

Thursday, December 4
Northwestern at Clemson
Maryland at Purdue
Virginia at Illinois
Boston College at Minnesota
Iowa at Duke
Virginia Tech at Wisconsin

Friday, December 5
NC State at Michigan
Indiana at Miami