The two teams split the season series, with Purdue beating the Spartans 67-49 on Jan. 23 and MSU knocking off the Boilermakers 67-52 in overtime less than two weeks ago.

Kiana Johnson and a number of other Spartans said Friday night’s game would offer MSU to put its season-low 15 point first half in the teams’ first meeting behind them and show the overtime win wasn’t a fluke.

Even though the Spartans beat Purdue by 15 points less than two weeks ago, head coach Suzy Merchant refused to classify it as a convincing victory and said her team will have to be ready, because MSU played its worst game of the season in the teams’ first game.

“They’re really, really talented,” Merchant said of Purdue.

“They’re big, they’re athletic inside, they can block shots, their guard play is as good as anybody in the league … (and) they’re a senior group. They’ve got five or six seniors that have been there, done that, and so it’s going to be a tough challenge.”

Purdue features a number of dynamic playmakers, led by guards Brittany Rayburn, Courtney Moses and K.K. Houser.

Rayburn was named Second Team All-Big Ten with an average of 14.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, but MSU was able to force her into six turnovers and 4-for-11 shooting in the teams’ last meeting.

The Boilermakers do have experience on their side, but Merchant was able to play 10 players eight minutes or more in the Spartans opening round victory over Indiana on Thursday, and sophomore guard Klarissa Bell said she thinks that will help the younger players get a sense of the big stage.

“I think it’s really big that we got everybody that could play off the bench and got them some minutes,” she said. “It gives everybody confidence that they can play at this level, (and) we need confidence from everybody because we have three more games and people physically are probably going to be tired and we need everybody to come out with their A-game.”

The entire team has been playing at an elite level recently, as MSU has won five straight games and eight of the past nine and senior forward Lykendra Johnson said the team’s confidence has never been higher.

“We’re very confident,” she said. “We’re believing in each other, trusting in each other, and it all shows on the court. As long as that’s happening we’re getting more wins and more confidence.”

No Spartan may be more confident than Kiana Johnson, who harassed Houser into a 3-for-14 shooting performance in the when the two point guards last met.

Less than an hour after last night’s game ended, Kiana Johnson said she couldn’t wait to get back on the floor to face Purdue.

“We’re looking forward to Purdue, we’re very prepared for them,” she said. “I think we all have that in the back of our minds that they think we’ve played our best, and as a team we didn’t play our best. … We’re just ready, ready to play … anxious.”