MSU women's basketball: Seniors savor their experience

EAST LANSING - They've enjoyed their share of triumphs, together and individually.

A stunning Sweet 16 berth. An all-time women's basketball record. Beating Duke.

They've endured personal and team tribulations.

A coaching change. Missing the NCAA Tournament. Injuries. Death.

But the four senior captains on Michigan State's women's team - Lauren Aitch, Allyssa DeHaan, Aisha Jefferson and Mandy Piechowski - each feel like they solidified their close bond because of those ups and downs throughout their careers.

"We've definitely been through so much. We got through it with resiliency," former Waverly High star Aitch said. "We're definitely a special senior class, and I think we're all going to walk out of here with a lot of learning experiences and knowledge."

Today's game with Minnesota is their final game at Breslin Center as Spartans. Here's a look at each the path each has forged to this point.

• Lauren Aitch: After enjoying solid freshman year, the 6-foot-1 center suffered a torn knee ligament that ended her 2006-07 season before it began.

At the end of that season of rehabilitation ended, Aitch's father Matt - a former MSU men's captain - died. Then, two weeks later, the coach who had recruited her - Joanne P. McCallie - left for Duke.

"The fact she's had some personal adversity is something that I think everyone wants a success story, loves seeing someone in a tough situation and a little bit down and just by her own good graces, stand up a little bit taller the next day and the next day," coach Suzy Merchant said earlier this year. "I can tell you there's a lot of kids I go to for a lot of different reasons, but I can tell you one of the first places I go to when I need something is to Lauren Aitch. ... She's probably one of my all-time favorite kids I've ever coached."

Aitch wears a locket with Matt's ashes to honor her father and switched her number from 5 to 45 to honor her dad, who was the captain of the 1966-67 Big Ten Championship team. The fifth-year player has provided valuable minutes off the bench with her deft scoring touch around the basket and physical post presence, every time looking toward the rafters for her dad's title banner and feeling his spirit.

"My mom and my sister are going to walk out with me - they're definitely two influential people in my life," Aitch said of what she expects from today's senior ceremony. "I wish my dad could be here, but then, I know he is. It's going to be an emotional day."

• Aisha Jefferson: Few players have ever coped with as many injuries as the 6-1 forward from Dayton, Ohio. A torn knee ligament in a preseason game cost her the 2007-08 season, along with having those joints scoped and drained more than a few times. She's torn her meniscus three times yet played through it. Shoulder issues required a brace, digestion issues required medication.

Listening to her run down the list, it makes you wonder if Jefferson could receive an honorary M.D.

"She's definitely an emotional leader, and she's been through a lot of injuries," Aitch said of her roommate Jefferson. "And that in itself is amazing - all the stuff she's been through, and she's still out here and giving her all."

There is a reason why Merchant made Jefferson just the fifth three-year captain in MSU history and keeps her in the starting lineup. Though those maladies have robbed her of some mobility and stamina, Jefferson's pain threshold and desire to win keeps her on the court when it matters most.

In her fifth year, Jefferson has risen to 15th in school history in both points (1,133) and rebounds (635) entering today's game and is just the 11th Spartan to clear 1,000 points and 600 boards for her career.

"I feel like every minute for me counts because I'm restricted to limited minutes, so I want to make sure that I'm doing something with my minutes," said Jefferson, who twice has been named All-Big Ten honorable mention. "I know there's going to have to be senior leadership at the end of games, and I know I need to step up during that time more than anything."

• Allyssa DeHaan: Fair or unfair, no women's player ever arrived in East Lansing with more expectations. DeHaan's 6-foot-9 frame, seemingly endless wingspan and athletic ability, many felt, would revolutionize the sport.

Though the lithe Grandville native has for four years endured from an endless barrage of punishment from shorter, thicker post players on offense, her presence at the defensive end truly continues to be game-changing every game.

DeHaan broke the Big Ten career blocked shots record last season and tied the NCAA all-time mark on Feb. 11 this season. She has gone back and forth with St. Mary's (Calif.) junior Louella Tomlinson for the all-time record the past two weeks.

DeHaan is fourth in MSU history with 1,620 points and 900 rebounds.

"It has been a crazy journey," said DeHaan, who hopes to become a doctor after giving professional basketball a try. "Coming in as a freshman with Coach P, the transition (to Merchant). Year by year, we've gotten better, making it to the Sweet 16 last year, and here we are this year. And we've all been through it together, so we're pretty close - our whole team, I can't just seclude the seniors."

Merchant thinks the WNBA will give DeHaan a serious look. But the coach said the person DeHaan is really what makes her special.

"Allyssa, I think you have to look at her ability to change the game - at 6-foot-9 and a shot blocker, people have to worry about her," Merchant said. "And you talk about the kind of human being she is as a person - top-notch, incredibly humble and kind and a great student."

• Mandy Piechowski: Piechowski spent the last two summers getting ready for her professional sports career, which she hopes will be as a TV broadcaster.

These days the 5-foot-9 guard from Shelby Township serves the Spartans as more of a coach from the bench in her second season as a captain.

"She is such a mother of this team and kind of keeps things in perspective, keeps us level-headed, keeps us going," DeHaan said of her roommate Piechowski, who is 18th in school history with 41 3-pointers. "When we get a little too carried away, she's there to bring us back down to earth. She really glues us together."

For Piechowski, like the other three seniors, the memories of last season's upset of No. 1 seed Duke and former MSU coach McCallie in the NCAA Tournament at Breslin still ranks as the highlight of her time as a Spartan.

Merchant lauded Piechowski's work ethic and ability to interact with other players. And getting ready for that next phase in her career, Piechowski eloquently summed up just how intertwined the lives of the four seniors are.

"I think we've kind of been a support system for each other. Especially because we're all very different - we balance each other out in that way," Piechowski said. "And I think without one of us, our senior class wouldn't be what it is.