Michigan State University Athletics
Spartans Hit The Road For Battle With Wildcats
2/7/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 7, 2007
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EAST LANSING, Mich. - Coming off a busy week that featured two big games, the Michigan State women's basketball team is ready to head back on the road to face Northwestern at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday.
With a 17-6 overall record and an 8-2 mark in the Big Ten, the Spartans will look to stay within two games of conference leader Ohio State.
Sophomore Aisha Jefferson re-energized the Spartans, averaging 17.5 points in two Big Ten games last week. For the week, she averaged 17.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.0 steal per game while hitting 62 percent (16-26) of her shots from the field.
Senior Rene Haynes also had two double-digit performances during the week. The senior guard contributed five points and three steals in the last five minutes to key the win.
Northwestern, with a 6-18 overall record and 0-11 mark in the Big Ten, will look for its first win of the league season against the Spartans.
The Wildcats are led by senior A.J. Glasauer's 12.4 points per game and junior Sara Stutz's 11.3 points. Junior Melissa Miller averages 5.9 rebounds per game, which is 17th in the Big Ten.
Spartan Notables • Head coach Joanne P. McCallie is 7-1 against her alma mater. She has led the Spartans to five straight wins, with the team winning by an average of 29.4 points.
• Five Spartans average in double figures in conference games (Victoria Lucas-Perry, 13.1; Allyssa DeHaan, 12.2; Rene Haynes, 11.1; Mia Johnson, 10.9; Aisha Jefferson, 10.0).
• Jefferson, with 19 points against Illinois, surpassed her freshman mark of 225 points. She has 244 points this season.
• Freshman Takeya Fortner scored in back-to-back games for the first time this year.
• The senior class of Myisha Bannister, Katrina Grantham, Rene Haynes and Victoria Lucas-Perry could become the winningest senior class in MSU history if they win their 97th career game Thursday.
• Johnson has converted on 51 of her last 58 (88 percent) free throw attempts.
• Michigan State has scored 40 points in the first half in back-to-back games against Penn State and Illinois for the first time this season.
• The Spartans set the program record for blocked shots on Sunday against Illinois. The team, with 145 blocks this year, has five more than the mark set by the 1999-2000 team.
