Spartans Renew Intrastate Rivalry With Big Ten Foe Michigan Thursday

Jan. 17, 2007

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EAST LANSING, Mich. - There was little doubt after the Michigan State women's basketball team left the floor at Iowa on Sunday that it had shaken off the effects of back-to-back losses to top 15 programs, walking out of Carver-Hawkeye Arena with a 20-point victory.

Back on the winning track, the Spartans will turn their attention to their Big Ten neighbors to the southeast, as they travel to Ann Arbor for a Thursday showdown with Michigan at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on Comcast Local.

The Spartans, who are 13-4 overall and 4-1 in the Big Ten, received a huge lift thanks to a lineup change in their 83-63 win at Iowa. Senior Myisha Bannister entered the starting five for the first time since a knee injury ended her junior year and contributed 12 points, seven rebounds and four blocks. She replaced sophomore Aisha Jefferson, who gave the team a season-high 13 points off the bench. Jefferson also added six rebounds.

Michigan is off to an 8-11 start with a 1-5 mark in the Big Ten after dropping a 65-51 decision at Penn State on Sunday and a 62-59 loss at Wisconsin on Jan. 11. Freshman Krista Phillips leads the Wolverines, averaging 8.4 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.

Spartan Notables

• The Spartans have won the last eight meetings against the Wolverines and hold a dominating 49-14 (.778) advantage in the series.

• MSU has won 31 games on the road since the start of the 2003-04 season, winning 72 percent of the time away from the Breslin Center.

• Senior Myisha Bannister set career highs in points (12), rebounds (7) and blocks (4) in her first start of the season at Iowa.

• Five players scored in double-digits for the Spartans at Iowa for the first time this year. The team has had four players score 10 or more points six times this season.

• Freshman Allyssa DeHaan became just the 20th freshman in school history to reach 200 points in her rookie season on Jan. 14 at Iowa.

• Senior Rene Haynes needs one 3-pointer to become the eighth player in school history to reach 100 in her career.

• Michigan State's four seniors - Myisha Bannister, Katrina Grantham, Rene Haynes and Victoria Lucas-Perry - have never lost to Michigan.

• Five of the top 10 women's basketball crowds in Michigan's Crisler Arena history have come in games against the Spartans, including the top three.