The Michigan State Women's Basketball team knocked Michigan out of the Big Ten Tournament tonight, with a 62-46 victory. It was the third meeting between the teams in the past 32 days, with MSU winning in East Lansing and Chicago.
The game was preceded by UM's one-point win over the Spartans in Ann Arbor three weeks ago, the Wolverine's first win over their rival in five years. Suzy Merchant's team has outscored Michigan by 30 points in three games this season.
MSU Junior Klarissa Bell turned a spotlight on this matchup, with pre-game bulletin board material that would have made Bobby Knight cringe. Bell spoke earlier this week about the possibility of meeting her team's rival in the second round of the the conference tournament.
"If we play Michigan again, it is on," Bell said. "That's all I have to say. We should not have lost to them. I should have had a better game than what I had. It's on. I challenge them. It's on. I'm ready."
Bell backed up her blusterous bravado by scoring the first four points of the game, finishing with a game-high 20 points. The Spartans never trailed on the scoreboard, en route to their 23rd win of the season.
Five Michigan Seniors finish their B1G Basketball career with only the single one-point win over Michigan State in 10 contests. Those five rank at the top of the minutes-played list for UM this year, four of them starting in tonight's game and scoring 34 of their team's 41 points. By comparison, MSU loses just two Seniors to graduation, Jasmine Thomas and Courtney Shiffauer, who combined for 10 points and seven rebounds in the game.
The Spartan Women move on to the conference semi-finals Saturday night, with an NCAA tournament invitation already on the way to the print shop. They have defeated Michigan 21 times in the last 23 games. MSU leads the all-time series against UM, 62-16.
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Add in a decisive upset over #1 seed Penn State tonight. Championship game Sunday.
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