MSU women's basketball: MAC opponent awaits Spartans

EAST LANSING - As soon as the words popped on the projection screen, before the ESPN announcers even had a chance to utter them, Michigan State's women's basketball players drowned them out with a yelp of joy.

A familiar foe and a somewhat-close-to-home locale await them in the NCAA Women's Tournament.

The 24th-ranked Spartans received a No. 5 seed to the Midwest Region and will face 12th-seeded Bowling Green on Saturday in Louisville, Ky.

"It's going to be a battle, there's no question," said MSU coach Suzy Merchant, who knows Bowling Green well from her days coaching in the Mid-American Conference.

MSU, which is 22-9 and has won 11 of its last 13, has recent postseason experience with the Falcons (27-6). The two teams met in the first round of the Women's National Invitation Tournament on March 22, 2008, at Breslin Center, with the Spartans coming out with a scrappy 74-66 victory.

The difference now is that MSU, the second-place finisher in the Big Ten, still has its goal of a Final Four firmly in place.

"There's a history with us and Bowling Green ...," said senior Aisha Jefferson, who called that WNIT meeting "a good fight."

"At this time of the year, you play against teams who really aren't that used to you and aren't in your conference. We got lucky that we've played them before That's a little advantage, and we don't have to go back too far for that game. But they're a good team, and we're excited about it."

Seven current Spartans and five Falcons saw action in that game.

"We had great battles with Eastern Michigan when Suzy was there, and it was a fantastic WNIT game two years ago," Bowling Green coach Curt Miller said. "A lot of the same players for both teams were underclassmen in that game. It should be a great game, and we look forward to it."

The Spartans, who lost to Iowa State in the Sweet 16 a year ago, are in the NCAAs for the seventh time in eight years. They're paired in a Midwest Region with top-seeded Nebraska and six teams they've played during Merchant's three seasons - North Carolina State, Georgia Tech, Oklahoma, Wisconsin and Notre Dame, along with Bowling Green.

The Falcons won the Mid-American Conference Tournament over Toledo on Saturday, 62-53. Miller's team has been among the best mid-major teams in the country the past decade, making its fourth NCAA appearance in his ninth season. And its fans travel in droves, as evidenced when Bowling Green made an NCAA visit to East Lansing in 2007 and at that 2008 WNIT game at Breslin.

Bowling Green's leader, 5-foot-11 junior guard Lauren Prochaska, was the MAC player of the year for the second straight season and averages 17.9 points and 5.7 rebounds a game. She scored a game-high 24 points in their loss to MSU as a freshman.

For the Spartans, one of their primary concerns heading into the tournament is the health of Allyssa DeHaan. The 6-9 center suffered back spasms before and during the Big Ten Tournament, but she said it feels "on the up-and-up" now. DeHaan said, after the team had a few days, she practiced "most of the time" over spring break last week.

"I'll be ready for game-time," DeHaan said. "It's my last go at the NCAA Tournament in my senior year, so I'll be ready."