The MSU women's basketball team might be headed into unfamiliar territory this weekend, but for head coach Joanne P. McCallie, the East Coast is like home.
McCallie came to the Spartans after an eight-year tenure as head coach at Maine. Under her leadership, the Black Bears appeared in the NCAA Tournament six straight years.
But the tournament wasn't all roses.
In its first NCAA tourney appearance with McCallie, Maine was pitted against Connecticut during the Huskies' undefeated 1995 national championship season.
"We were their first victim," McCallie said, chuckling.
Despite the setback at the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Connecticut's homecourt - McCallie made sure the two teams met during the regular season the following year at the same place. The result wasn't pretty - the Bears lost by 22 - but McCallie gained invaluable experience.
She hopes to use that experience against Texas Christian at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at Gampel Pavilion. If the Spartans win, they could possibly play No. 1 seeded Connecticut on Tuesday.
"Once the tournament sites were announced my parents were going for Storrs all the way," she said. "It's comfortable there, kind of like going home."
TCU (19-13) earned an automatic bid as a No. 9 seed by upsetting Cincinnati 85-76 in overtime for the Conference-USA championship. Prior to the postseason, the Lady Frogs had won nine of their last 10 matchups.
Tulane assistant coach Kellie Kennedy said this could be a dangerous time for the Spartans to catch TCU.
Kennedy's squad downed the Lady Frogs 74-65 at the end of the season, only to come up short in the conference tournament days later, 78-65.
"Right now the biggest thing for them is that they're playing great, they've peaked at just the right time," Kennedy said. "They have so many different weapons. At this point in time, that many weapons and that much depth, it's a great advantage for them."
Leading TCU's arsenal is forward Sandora Irvin. She holds the team's best marks both on offense (12 ppg) and defense (9.6 rpg), and makes up half of a tandem of deadly post players.
Forward Tiffany Evans is the other half, averaging 9.2 points and 6.6 boards per contest. Evans is a dead-eye from long-range, canning nearly 40 percent of her 3-point attempts.
The Lady Frogs also possess two things the Spartans do not - height and depth. On a 15-player roster, TCU has 10 players that eclipse the 6-foot mark, with the shortest athlete standing 5-foot-8. TCU usually operates with a 10-11 player rotation.
In contrast MSU has just five players taller than 6-feet and injuries and other complications have limited its playing rotation to a steady seven.
For the third straight year, TCU is trying to knock off a Big Ten squad in the first round.
"We spent most of the conference staring up at the teams ahead of us," Mittie said. "The last three years we felt like we play our best basketball in February and March, and hopefully that continues for us.
"If we were to look past (MSU) it would be a huge mistake for us."
The Lady Frogs aren't untouchable. During the regular season, fellow Big Ten team Purdue, a team the Spartans split with this year, trounced TCU by 19 points.
MSU has a dependable spread of offensive scoring, notching five players in double digits to TCU's two, and is home to a conference-best five all-Big Ten players.
Spartan senior center Jennifer Callier said her team loves the underdog role.
"Oh that definitely gets the fire lit under us," Callier said. "We want to gain respect nationally, and this is the time we've been preparing for every day.
"We want to make our statement."
