The MSU women's basketball team looks to conclude a hectic span of basketball with a victory.
The Spartans (3-3) will play their seventh game in 14 days when they travel to Oakland to take on the Grizzlies (2-1) at 7 p.m. tonight. But there is another interesting ingredient to the game.
Former Spartan standout Eileen Shea-Hilliard is in her first year as Oakland's head coach. Shea-Hilliard was a three-time All-Big Ten honoree and was named MSU's Athlete of the Decade for women's basketball. She also was awarded the Big Ten Medal of Honor and won a gold medal at the U.S. Olympic Festival.
"She was a fantastic All-Big Ten player here," MSU head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. "She sets a great example of somebody with great work ethic, and I think she'll definitely do a fantastic job at Oakland.
"She seems very focused and intense."
Yet aside from past connections, Spartan players are focused of walking out of the 'O'rena 4-3. But they know that won't be easy.
Senior guard Katie Wolfe leads an Oakland team that just knocked off a previous 6-1 squad. The Grizzlies beat Pikeville College 94-68. Wolfe poured in 28 points while leading a cast of five Grizzlies that were in double figures.
The Grizzlies also have been strong defensively all season. No opponent has scored over 68 points in a game, and they are averaging more than eight steals a game.
"We know that we have to take care of the ball and play very hard and smart," senior Syreeta Bromfield said. "We have to play our defense and don't stop until we get the ball - it's all about playing together as a team."
The 6-foot forward is one of the players that will be counted on to offset Oakland's offense. Bromfield is coming off a career-high 30 points in MSU's 85-72 win over Kent State on Tuesday. She leads MSU in scoring with 15.8 points per contest and is second on the team with 7.3 rebounds per game.
This will only be the second meeting between the schools since 1983. The other meeting was a nailbiter last season. The Spartans squeaked out a 55-53 win at Breslin Center.
Free throws from junior forward Julie Pagel helped seal the deal, giving MSU a 6-4 all-time series advantage.
"It's just a test of will this year," Pagel said. "Last year we won at home by two, and I think we took them a little bit for granted. They've been to the NCAA Tournament and we haven't.
"We're the underdogs. We have to come out and play hard-nosed defense and play our kind of basketball."
