The Michigan State Spartans women's basketball team is the intercollegiate women's basketball program representing

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

. The school competes in the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

in Division I of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

(NCAA). The

Spartans Sparta (Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referred t ...

play home basketball games at the

Breslin Student Events Center The Jack Breslin Student Events Center is a multi-purpose arena at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan. The arena opened in 1989, and is named for Jack Breslin, MSU alumnus, former athlete and administrator, who first began pus ...

on the university campus in

East Lansing, Michigan East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city lies within Ingham County, Michigan, Ingham County with a smaller portion extending north into Clinton County, Michigan, Clinton County. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 ...

.http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/msu/sports/w-baskbl/auto_pdf/2015-16/misc_non_event/1516Guide.pdf

History

The Spartans began play in 1972. In 1991, the Spartans made their first ever

NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament The NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 Women's sports, women's college basketball teams from the NCAA Division I, Division I level of t ...

, 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

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

Postseason results

NCAA Division I

The Spartans have made 18 appearances in the

. Their combined record is 20–18. † The Spartans received a bye into the Second Round.

AIAW Division I

The Spartans made one appearance in the

AIAW National Division I basketball tournament The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) was founded in 1971 to govern collegiate women's athletics in the United States and to administer national championships (see AIAW Champions). It evolved out of the Commission on Interc ...

, with a combined record of 0–2.

Big Ten Medal of Honor

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

Allyssa DeHaan Allyssa DeHaan (born June 21, 1988) is an American former collegiate basketball and volleyball player. She played for Michigan State University from 2006 to 2010. She is ranked as the fourth all-time in career points (1,649) and rebounds (919), ...

Big Ten Coach of the Year

* 1988 – Karen Langeland * 2005 – Joanne P. McCallie * 2011 –

Suzy Merchant Suzy Merchant (born July 26, 1969) is the current head coach for the Michigan State University Women's Basketball team. She is married to Gary Rakan and has two sons, Tyler Rakan and Brady Rakan. Coaching career Saginaw Valley State After inhe ...

References

External links

* {{Big Ten Conference women's basketball navbox