The MSU women's basketball team will hit the Breslin Center floor tonight having played only one game in the last 10 days.
After a disappointing two-loss performance in the Paradise Jam, followed by an eight-day layoff before Sunday's 82-64 win over Pepperdine, the Spartans finally get back on a regular schedule with a 7 p.m. tipoff against Detroit Mercy.
The team might have had a lot of time to dwell on their blowout losses to Tennessee and Maryland, but junior guard Rene Haynes said the Spartans have forged ahead.
"We go into each game with the same mentality to focus and wanting to come out with a victory," Haynes said.
"Things didn't go our way in St. Thomas, but it's things that we knew that we needed to improve on. So we took those things and we worked on them."
MSU head coach Joanne P. McCallie said having such a long period between games can take a toll on a team's ability to stay motivated, and it's the players' responsibility to fight off lethargic tendencies and keep the energy level high.
"Motivation can come from the coaches, and it does, but the best motivation is from the players," McCallie said. "Sometimes it could be the case where people aren't doing what they should be doing in practice, or aren't motivated enough, but we're always hopeful that the players step up and lead and demand of their teammates."
The layoff was the last the Spartans will see for a while.
After the game against Detroit Mercy, the Spartans face three long road trips in an 18-day stretch, with away games against South Florida, Oklahoma, and No. 3 LSU.
Senior forward Liz Shimek said the Spartans know they have to stay focused because they can't afford to get lazy against such top-tier opponents.
"We all know what's in front of us," Shimek said. "We've played some tough games, and we have a lot more tough games in front of us, so there's no margin for error. You can't relax with that kind of schedule." Though long layoffs might be taxing on the team's energy level, the extra rest and practice time can also be helpful. McCallie said the Green and White have taken the extended break as an opportunity to rest up and get everyone back to full strength.
"We've got a lot of aches and pains," McCallie said. "We played those three in a row, and that was very physical and very challenging. We've got a lot of bumps and bruises and things like that."
McCallie said the Spartans have a laundry list of things they need to improve on, not just for tonight's game, but for the rest of the season.
"What we've concentrated on is ourselves, and getting better from Pepperdine," McCallie said.
"The focus is to improve a lot of different things — second-half defense, moving our feet, one-on-one stops, rebounding prowess, cutting down on turnovers.
"We take all of that from Pepperdine and we apply that to the next game."
