In a season where the record book is constantly being rewritten for women's basketball, it is only fitting that one more record be tied and many more are on the way to being broken.
With Sunday's win against Illinois, the No. 9 women's basketball team became just the second team in history to record back-to-back 20-win seasons.
The first time it was done was during the 1976-77 and 1977-78 seasons. Ironically, the 1976-77 team also holds the record for most wins in a single season at 23 wins, something that this year's team is on pace to break.
"We are changing the legacy here at MSU," junior forward Liz Shimek said. "It is awesome to be a part of it and to get the results that we have been working for all year so far."
The Spartans are not satisfied with just the 20-win season though. They know they have the potential to do even greater things before this year is over and they also understand that it is going to take hard work and a continuous commitment to get things done.
"We will never be satisfied until we are number one," junior guard Lindsay Bowen said.
"We are always working in practice to get to the higher level and we know we have to fight every night to continue to get better."
So far this year, the Spartans have their best record through 23 games and are off to an 11-0 start at home which is fourth best in history to start a season.
The senior class became the winningest class in school history earlier this year, and each win it picks up the rest of the way will just add to the record. The key thing about this stat is the next year's senior class will have the ability to re-write the record book in that category.
"It means a lot to be apart of this team," senior guard Kristin Haynie said. "We have all worked hard and worked together to get to this point and now we just need to continue to get better down the stretch."
The records do not stop there though. During the Spartans' 101-40 win over Northwestern earlier this year, the team set a school record for most field goals, 42, in a game and tied the school record for largest margin of victory.
"We are on our way to the summit of the mountain but we are not there yet," Shimek said. "We all know we aren't there yet and so we will continue to work towards that goal for the rest of the season."
MSU head coach Joanne P. McCallie agrees with that statement and feels that this team is something special, but knows they have a long way to go.
"We really haven't accomplished anything yet," McCallie said.
Right now all we have done is give us something to read about after the season. We just need to continue to grow and the rest will fall into place."
As the Spartans continue to grow, McCallie and future teams are likely to make back-to-back 20-win seasons the norm, and not something that happens every 27 years.
