Michigan State Spartans women's basketball

Summary

The Michigan State Spartans women's basketball team is the intercollegiate women's basketball program representing Michigan State University. The school competes in the Big Ten Conference in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Spartans play home basketball games at the Breslin Student Events Center on the university campus in East Lansing, Michigan.[2][3]

Michigan State Spartans
2023–24 Michigan State Spartans women's basketball team
UniversityMichigan State University
Head coachRobyn Fralick (1st season)
ConferenceBig Ten
LocationEast Lansing, Michigan
ArenaBreslin Student Events Center
(Capacity: 16,280)
NicknameSpartans
ColorsGreen and white[1]
   
Uniforms
Home jersey
Team colours
Home
Away jersey
Team colours
Away


NCAA tournament runner-up
2005
NCAA tournament Final Four
2005
NCAA tournament Elite Eight
2005
NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen
2005, 2006, 2009
NCAA tournament round of 32
1991, 1996, 1997, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2019
NCAA tournament appearances
1991, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2024
AIAW tournament appearances
1977
Conference tournament champions
2005
Conference regular season champions
1997, 2005, 2011, 2014

History edit

The Spartans began play in 1972. In 1991, the Spartans made their first ever NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, their first postseason appearance since the 1977 AIAW women's basketball tournament. In 2005, the Spartans won 33 games (a school record), advancing all the way to the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament championship, before losing 84–62 to Baylor. The Spartans have been to 14 NCAA Tournaments in the past 25 years, the most recent being in 2021.

Coaching history edit

Coach Years Record Conference
record
Conference
titles
Mikki Baile 1972–1975 32–12 0–0 0
Dominic Marino 1975–1976 6–16 0–0 0
Karen Langeland 1976–2000 376–290 156–165 1
Joanne P. McCallie 2000–2007 149–75 68–44 1
Suzy Merchant 2007–2023 327–187 159-112 2
Robyn Fralick 2023–Present 22-9 12-6 0
Totals 764–489 325–262 4

Postseason results edit

NCAA Division I edit

The Spartans have made 19 appearances in the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament. Their combined record is 20–19.

Year Seed Round Opponent Result
1991 #4 Second Round† #5 Oklahoma State L 96–94(3OT)
1996 #9 First Round
Second Round
#8 UMass
#1 Connecticut
W 60–57(OT)
L 88–68
1997 #8 First Round
Second Round
#9 Portland
#1 North Carolina
W 75–70(OT)
L 81–71
2003 #8 First Round #9 TCU L 50–47
2004 #8 First Round
Second Round
#9 Arizona
#1 Texas
W 72–60
L 80–61
2005 #1 First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
Final Four
Championship Game
#16 Alcorn State
#8 USC
#5 Vanderbilt
#2 Stanford
#1 Tennessee
#2 Baylor
W 73–41
W 61–59
W 76–64
W 76–69
W 68–64
L 84–62
2006 #4 First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
#13 Wisconsin-Milwaukee
#5 Kentucky
#1 Duke
W 65–46
W 67–63
L 86–61
2007 #5 First Round
Second Round
#12 Delaware
#4 Rutgers
W 69–58
L 70–57
2009 #9 First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
#8 Middle Tennessee State
#1 Duke
#4 Iowa State
W 60–59
W 63–49
L 69–68
2010 #5 First Round
Second Round
#12 Bowling Green
#4 Kentucky
W 72–62
L 70–52
2011 #4 First Round
Second Round
#13 Northern Iowa
#5 Green Bay
W 69–66
L 65–56
2012 #10 First Round #7 Louisville L 67–55
2013 #5 First Round
Second Round
#12 Marist
#4 Maryland
W 55–47
L 74–49
2014 #5 First Round
Second Round
#12 Hampton
#4 North Carolina
W 91–61
L 62–53
2016 #4 First Round
Second Round
#13 Belmont
#5 Mississippi State

W 74–60
L 74–72

2017 #9 First Round
#8 Arizona State L 73–61
2019 #9 First Round
Second Round
#8 Central Michigan
#1 Notre Dame
W 89–88
L 91–63
2021 #10 First Round #7 Iowa State L 79–72
2024 #9 First Round #8 North Carolina L 56–59

† The Spartans received a bye into the Second Round.

WNIT edit

The Spartans have made 5 appearances in the Women's National Invitation Tournament. Their combined record is 12–5.

Year Round Opponent Results
1999 First Round
Second Round
Quarterfinals
Akron
Michigan
Wisconsin
W 78–65
W 69–68
L 69–70OT
2000 First Round
Second Round
Quarterfinals
Villanova
Cincinnati
Wisconsin
W 74–62
W 88–83
L 45–77
2002 First Round
Second Round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
DePaul
Illinois
Alabama
Oregon
W 87–76
W 70–57
W 79–61
L 54–65
2008 First Round
Second Round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Championship Game
Bowling Green
Kansas
Michigan
NC State
Marquette
W 74–66
W 58–54
W 45–40
W 58–57
L 66–81
2018 First Round
Second Round
Third Round
Wright State
Toledo
South Dakota
W 81–50
W 68–66
L 83–85OT

AIAW Division I edit

The Spartans made one appearance in the AIAW women's basketball tournament, with a combined record of 0–2.

Year Round Opponent Result
1977 First Round
Consolation First Round
Tennessee
Utah
L, 62–76
L, 62–63

Big Ten Medal of Honor edit

  • 1983 – Karen Wells
  • 1985 – Kelly Belanger
  • 1986 – Julie Polakowski
  • 1990 – Eileen Shea
  • 2006 – Liz Shimek
  • 2010 – Allyssa DeHaan

Big Ten Coach of the Year edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Brand Reference Guide" (PDF). 1 April 2023. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  2. ^ "Michigan State Women's Basketball :: Official Athletic Site". www.msuspartans.com. Archived from the original on 18 November 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  3. ^ "2015-16 Michigan State Women's Basketball" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 February 2018.

External links edit

  • Official website