The women’s basketball team enters tonight’s game against Ohio State with one thing on its mind - the NCAA Tournament.
Knowing a run in the Big Ten Tournament is a must for a postseason berth, the Spartans (16-11 overall, 6-10 Big Ten) are looking to upset the Buckeyes (13-14, 8-8) and keep their season alive.
Both teams are coming off huge wins to close the regular season. The Spartans are playing with enthusiasm and motivation after an upset over No. 14 Minnesota 80-72 on Sunday. On the other hand, the Buckeyes are coming in as winners of three of their last four games, the last being an 82-55 blowout of Wisconsin.
Ohio State ended MSU’s postseason a year ago with a 52-48 heartbreaker in the first round of the conference tournament. Though the Spartans defeated Ohio State 64-49 in Columbus on Jan 17, the mood will be different for the Buckeyes since they were coming off an 80-43 mauling by Purdue.
Spartan head coach Joanne P. McCallie said regardless of this season’s result, last year’s season-ending loss still is fresh in her mind.
“I hope they are thinking robbery,” McCallie said. “Last year, we played Ohio State very well, but we got robbed by them a bit.
“I would think and hope that (sophomore forward) Julie Pagel, (junior guard) Mina Reese and (senior forward) Abby (Salscheider) and the rest of the team would understand that feeling. And I hope they are excited about this opportunity.”
As much as she wants revenge, McCallie knows this Ohio State team is different from last year’s.
“They’re a very good team and a very athletic team,” McCallie said. “Their point guard Tomeka Brown is back with them, and being the very good player she is, she will lead them.”
Helping Brown with the Buckeye attack is Courtney Coleman. The 6-foot forward leads the team in points per game and rebounds per game with 15.8 and 7.7, respectively. Forward D’wan Shackleford adds 11.1 points per game and picks up 6.7 boards per contest.
Reese said stopping Brown and the rest of the Buckeye offense will be important if MSU hopes to win.
“They have very good balance on their inside game,” Reese said. “We need to disrupt their entire team’s flow.”
Recently, the Spartans have been attempting to run with their opponent, playing offensive-minded basketball. Aside from Sunday’s win, it hasn’t helped.
Returning to traditional defensive play is what freshman guard Kristin Haynie said the Spartans must do.
“We definitely have to play good as a team, especially team defense,” she said. “We need to talk and stick together out there on defense.
“We just need to make sure that we box out as a team, go out there, play well, and have fun.”
Since her freshman season, Reese said the MSU-OSU rivalry has been very intense and she expects nothing different this time around.
“We’ve always played hard against Ohio State and it seems like they’ve gotten our number every time,” Reese said. “But this time will be different. We are just going to do everything possible to get a win.
“We’re going to give everything we have because that’s where our excitement is coming from. We are the underdog and we have a chance to do a lot of damage.”
