Purdue forward Kalika France attempts to block senior guard Courtney Davidson as she soars to score a layup on Feb. 11. Tonight’s game against Illinois will be the last regular season game for Davidson and senior forward Alisa Wulff at Breslin Center.
Emotions will be running high for the MSU women’s basketball team when it meets Illinois tonight for its regular-season finale.
Not only is position on the line for the Big Ten Tournament, but also it will mark the last home game for seniors Courtney Davidson and Alisa Wulff.
Although the big picture matters, with every Big Ten game meaning so much and the Spartans on the NCAA Tournament bubble, MSU head coach Suzy Merchant is choosing to focus on the task at hand.
“All we can do is worry about Illinois,” she said. “If we don’t take care of that, it doesn’t matter anyway. For us, we really want to end winning five of our last six.”
Both Davidson and Wulff have seen the most minutes of their careers this season, and it has been reflected in their numbers.
Davidson is averaging 7.3 points in 22.2 minutes per game while Wulff has started 18 games and averaged 3.4 points in 15.8 minutes.
“We have to come out here and play just like we’d play any other night for any other game,” Davidson said. “It’s one more piece for the puzzle that we need to go to the NCAA Tournament.”
Wulff said she is happy for the team’s success and her academic success in her time at MSU.
“It’s going to be an emotional time, but I’m so happy for what I’ve accomplished over the years and all the opportunities I’ve been given,” Wulff said.
Illinois comes into Breslin Center as a team that has been unable to get over the hump, alternating wins and losses for six February games with the three losses coming by a combined 10 points.
Seven of the Fighting Illini’s nine league losses have come by fewer than five points.
“They defend very well and they rebound it very well,” Merchant said. “And anytime you do that, you’re going to be right in the mix.”
In the first meeting between the two teams, the Spartans picked up a 65-62 win at Illinois as sophomore center Allyssa DeHaan hit the game-winning shot with nine seconds left.
Tonight, Wulff said the key will be shutting down Illinois’ Jenna Smith, a sophomore center who leads the Big Ten with 13 double-doubles this season — and averages 19 points and 9.8 rebounds per game.
“We’re going to go out there and try to double-team her inside,” Wulff said.
“But at the same time we have to get a hand in the shooters’ faces and guard the penetrators.”
Although many things didn’t go right for MSU against Purdue on Sunday, freshman forward Kalisha Keane had her best game in some time, scoring 18 points with six rebounds. It was her best effort since scoring 23 against Northwestern on Jan. 17.
Keane played under control and took good shots, something Merchant has stressed lately.
The game tips off at 7 p.m. at Breslin Center.
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