In the final leg of a three-game road trip, the No. 18 MSU women's basketball team faces Illinois.
The Spartans (15-3 overall, 5-2 Big Ten) will be tested again, coming off an upset win at then-No. 9 Minnesota (15-3, 4-3).
They know that going down to Champaign, Ill., is no easy task, despite the struggles of the Fighting Illini (7-11, 1-6).
"Our next opponent is Illinois, and they are really tough, but we just have to approach it like any other game," sophomore forward Liz Shimek said. "It's a Big Ten game; it's going to be physical and real competitive."
Currently, the teams are headed in two opposite directions, with the Illini losing five straight games and the Spartans winning five in a row.
"We take it a game at a time, but I think we will go down there and play like we've been playing," freshman guard Rene Haynes said.
"Everybody trusts each other, and I think we'll pull through."
If the Spartans pull through, they have a favorable schedule coming up, with four of the next five games to be played at Breslin Center. The only game not at home is the Feb. 12 game at Michigan, so the team doesn't leave the state of Michigan for three weeks.
Illinois head coach Theresa Grentz has watched tape and heard a lot of MSU and knows what to expect.
"They try and shorten the game up and make every possession count," Grentz said. "You have to take your hat off to them; they are having a lot of success with what they are doing."
Last season, Illinois won the only meeting between the two schools, in East Lansing, 75-65. This season, the Illini were 7-6 before losing senior Aminata Yanni to a season-ending knee injury.
Illinois is still led by three players averaging double-digit scoring, junior Angelina Williams with 16.6 points per game, junior Tiffanie Guthrie with 13.1 points per game and senior Cindy Dallas with 12.2 points per game. Dallas is second in the Big Ten, averaging 9.6 rebounds per game, and her battle down low with Shimek could be a key to the game.
The Spartans must show their strength to the rest of the league and beat the Illini, thus keeping themselves in the Big Ten race.
Right now, MSU is third, behind No. 5 Penn State (15-3, 8-0) and No. 6 Purdue (16-2, 6-1).
"We have to finish our road swing with a win," junior guard Kristin Haynie said. "We have a tough game against Illinois, and we just have to do what we did at Minnesota and Northwestern.
"We just have to focus on us, take care of the ball and play good defense."
A win would give MSU 16 wins, one shy of last season's win total for the whole season.
