“They’re always like, ‘We’re trying to get you there, we’re trying to get you there,’” Alton said. “It’s the accumulation (of my) senior year, (and the) Final Four’s in Denver. It would be a wonderful opportunity if we could go back there.”

The dream of reaching Denver begins this weekend, when the No. 10-seed MSU women’s basketball team (20-11) takes on No. 7-seed Louisville (22-9) on Saturday (1:45 p.m., ESPN2) in College Park, Md.

The Spartans and Cardinals are evenly matched in a number of statistical categories, with the teams’ scoring averages and points-allowed averages separated by fewer than two points.

MSU and Louisville also outrebound their opponents by more than four rebounds a game, average nearly 10 steals a game and feature two scorers that average double figures in points.

Best “FEET” forward
But a noticeable difference between the two squads is the way they enter the tournament.

Louisville is 5-5 in its last 10 games, but MSU has won eight of its last 10, and with more than a week passing since the Spartans’ last game, head coach Suzy Merchant said the team has been using the extra practice time to continue building on the recent momentum.

“We’ve been able to work both sides of the ball and really be aggressive and compete a little bit more, and I feel like everybody’s gotten better this week,” she said. “I use the acronym ‘FEET.’ To me, we want focus, we want energy, we want effort and we want toughness. That’s what we need in the postseason to win, so that’s what we wanted out of every practice. We kept talking about FEET, FEET, FEET, FEET.”

The extra practice time was particularly beneficial for senior guard Porschè Poole, who struggled through one of her worst games of the past month in a loss to Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament’s quarterfinals.

Poole said she spent the last week studying what Purdue did defensively to contain her, and checking projected tournament brackets three times a day.

“We (were) back here practicing like we were going to play in the NCAA Tournament,” she said. “I feel like everybody’s been practicing well, people have been stepping their game up (and Merchant) has been on us like we need her to be.”

Senior forward Lykendra Johnson said the week of practice combined with the experience gained in the Big Ten Tournament helped the Spartans’ younger players feel more comfortable before playing in the Big Dance.

“It’s one and done pretty much, and I’m pretty sure the (underclassmen) know if it’s one and done, you’ve got to leave everything (on the court),” she said. “They want to play for (the seniors), they don’t want to see our season end, (so) you keep telling them how important this tournament is and not to let each other down. We keep telling them that, and everything will fall into place.”