Senior guards Alisa Wulff and Courtney Davidson were hoping Feb. 28 would be the last time they would play at Breslin Center.
But as the cards fell and slots filled, the MSU women’s basketball team realized it would in fact return to its home court for March Madness in the WNIT.
Heading into their first WNIT game Saturday, the Spartans want to convey the message they should not have been overlooked by the NCAA — and they plan to speak through their play on the court.
“Our goal now is to win five games and be the WNIT champions, same goal as every team that’s in it,” MSU head coach Suzy Merchant said. “We have some things to prove, and it starts on Saturday.”
The Spartans received a first-round bye and will play either Dayton or Bowling Green, who played Thursday night. Merchant said she knows more about Bowling Green from her nine years as head coach at Eastern Michigan because they were in the same conference. She knows it doesn’t matter who they play, however — it’s all about which MSU team shows up.
“Dayton is a senior-laden team, while Bowling Green kind of has a younger team, so it’s probably a good coin flip either way,” Merchant said. “Honestly, it isn’t about anyone except ourselves and it always has been.
“We can prepare them until we’re blue in the face, but if the emotion, intent, energy and focus isn’t what we need, it doesn’t matter what we’re doing (so much as) how we’re doing it.”
Merchant talked about the mechanics the team will need to fine-tune come Saturday, but stressed the importance of the emotion of the team come game time — it could decide the game for MSU.
The team she is adamant about never seeing again is the flat, heartless team that showed up against Illinois in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals.
“The team that showed up against Illinois better not show up on Saturday — that’s what we’ve talked about,” Merchant said. “That’s where we have to grow, that’s where the seniors can finish their season on high and leave a legacy. I’m glad we’re playing again and it’s up to us to fuel our own fire.”
With such a young team, Merchant admits being denied an NCAA Tournament bid may help the young Spartans squad learn for future seasons.
“I feel like any time you fall down, it’s a character thing in how you stand up and how you fight from it,” she said. “Are we going to give in or are we going to fight harder?”
Wulff said the most improved aspect of this team is its ability to fight until the bitter end.
“In the beginning of the season, we wouldn’t put 40 minutes of fight together,” Wulff said. “I think down the stretch this season we were able to dig out those wins and really give our will and heart and soul to finish the games on top.”
The game tips off at 2 p.m. Saturday at Breslin Center.
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