Suzy Merchant's Spartans to Wear Pink Thursday for Annual PinkZone Game
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GAME INFORMATION
Date: Thursday, Feb. 18 Time: 7 p.m. ET
Location: East Lansing, Mich. Arena: Breslin Center
Radio: WVFN 730 AM (Rick Berkey – play-by-play; Mo Gerhardt – analyst)
Internet: Live broadcast on BigTenNetwork.com (Lisa Byington – play-by-play; Julie
Dombroski – analyst); Live audio and stats at MSUSpartans.com
TV: Big Ten Network (tape delayed) – Sat., Feb. 20 - 9 a.m. ET
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COACHES
Michigan State Illinois
Suzy Merchant (Central Michigan ‘91)   Jolette Law (Iowa ‘90)
Overall Record: 263-153 (15) Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Overall Record: 43-48 (3)
Record at MSU: 62-33 (3) Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Record at Illinois: same
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SERIES HISTORY
Michigan State leads 32-26
At home: 18-8 On the road: 11-15 Neutral: 3-3
Last Meeting: Feb. 5, 2009 – MSU 63, MSU 50 (Champaign, Ill.)
Streak: MSU won last game and 10 of the last 12. MSU has won four straight at Breslin.
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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
• Allyssa DeHaan (484), who tied the NCAA Division I career blocks record on Thursday,
needs three blocks vs. Illinois to rebreak the record of St. Mary’s Louella Tomlinson (486).
• Allyssa DeHaan is one of only fi ve Spartans in the top-10 all-time in both scoring and rebounding.
She moved into fourth in points on Sunday with 1,595 and also is fourth with 883 rebounds.
• MSU has held 10 of its last 11 opponents below 40% from the fi eld (33.4% during stretch).
• Over the last fi ve games, opponents have shot 22.2% from 3-point range and made only 18 3’s.
• Incoming Spartan Madison Williams was named a McDonald’s All-American last Thursday.
• Brittney Thomas had a career high 10 assists at Iowa on Sunday; the most assists by a
Spartans since Kristin Haynie posted 10 on March 27, 2005 against Vanderbilt.
• The Spartans have an RPI of 17 and strength of schedule of 10, best in the Big Ten,
according to CollegeRPI.com. The conference is fourth in RPI and second in SOS.
• MSU was the fi rst team in the nation to beat two top-10 teams and only one of fi ve teams to
have accomplished the feat (Connecticut, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, Stanford).
• Porsche Poole became the ninth different Spartan to lead the team in scoring.
• Lykendra Johnson leads the Big Ten in offensive rebounds (3.2) and is third in rebounds (8.2).
• Lykendra Johnson is one of two in the Big Ten top-15 in both blocks and steals (Illinois’ Lacey
Simpson), and is also among the league leaders in points and rebounds.
• Aisha Jefferson became the 11th Spartan with 1,000 points and 600 rebounds. She is 15th
all-time with 1,117 points and 627 rebounds.
• Lauren Aitch became the 12th Spartan to make a 3-pointer this season; most in the Big Ten.
• The Spartans are fourth in the nation in blocks per game (6.7) and have the second most
blocks in the nation over the past three-plus seasons with 777.
• MSU leads the Big Ten in fi eld goal pct. defense (.349), blocks (6.72), and offensive rebounds
(14.60). They are also second in rebound margin (+5.9) and scoring margin (+7.4).
• The Spartans hold a 28.9-13.3 edge in bench scoring. MSU leads the Big Ten in bench points.
• Michigan State has outrebounded its opponents in 22 of 25 games.
• MSU’s margin of defeat in its seven losses is only 5.3.
• MSU is second in the Big Ten in attendance, averaging 6,031 fans per game.
• MSU has won 12-straight overtime games. The streak is the longest among Big Ten schools.
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POSSIBLE STARTING FIVE ppg rpg apg misc
C 41 Allyssa DeHaan (Sr., 6-9, Grandville, Mich.) 11.9 6.3 0.9 3.3 bpg; 82.4 ft%
F 22 Aisha Jefferson (R-Sr., 6-1, Dayton, Ohio) 7.3 4.0 1.2 1.5 orpg; 72.2 ft%
F 30 Lykendra Johnson (R-So., 6-1, River Forest, Ill.) 8.8 8.2 1.6 47.1 fg%; 3.2 orpg
G 20 Brittney Thomas (Jr., 5-10, Bolingbrook, Ill.) 6.6 3.3 3.4 1.3 spg; 76.8 ft%
G 1 Jasmine Thomas (Fr., 5-7, Flint, Mich.) 5.8 3.0 1.8 0.8 spg; 78.8 ft%
