Michigan State Spartans women's basketball explained

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.^{[1] [2]}

History

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

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
	2000–2007	149–75	68–44	1
	2007–2023	327–187	159-112	2
	2023–Present	22-9	12-6	0
Totals	764–489	325–262	4

Postseason results

NCAA Division I

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

	4	Second Round†	5 Oklahoma State	L 96–94(3OT)
	9	First Round Second Round	8 UMass #1 Connecticut	W 60–57(OT) L 88–68
	8	First Round Second Round	9 Portland #1 North Carolina	W 75–70(OT) L 81–71
	8	First Round	9 TCU	L 50–47
	8	First Round Second Round	9 Arizona #1 Texas	W 72–60 L 80–61
	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
	4	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen	13 Wisconsin-Milwaukee #5 Kentucky #1 Duke	W 65–46 W 67–63 L 86–61
	5	First Round Second Round	12 Delaware #4 Rutgers	W 69–58 L 70–57
	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
	5	First Round Second Round	12 Bowling Green #4 Kentucky	W 72–62 L 70–52
	4	First Round Second Round	13 Northern Iowa #5 Green Bay	W 69–66 L 65–56
	10	First Round	7 Louisville	L 67–55
	5	First Round Second Round	12 Marist #4 Maryland	W 55–47 L 74–49
	5	First Round Second Round	12 Hampton #4 North Carolina	W 91–61 L 62–53
	4	First Round Second Round	13 Belmont #5 Mississippi State	W 74–60 L 74–72
	9	First Round	8 Arizona State	L 73–61
	9	First Round Second Round	8 Central Michigan #1 Notre Dame	W 89–88 L 91–63
	10	First Round	7 Iowa State	L 79–72
	9	First Round	8 North Carolina	L 56–59

† The Spartans received a bye into the Second Round.

WNIT

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

	First Round Second Round Quarterfinals	Akron Michigan Wisconsin	W 78–65 W 69–68 L 69–70OT
	First Round Second Round Quarterfinals	Villanova Cincinnati Wisconsin	W 74–62 W 88–83 L 45–77
	First Round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals	DePaul Illinois Alabama Oregon	W 87–76 W 70–57 W 79–61 L 54–65
	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
	First Round Second Round Third Round	Wright State Toledo South Dakota	W 81–50 W 68–66 L 83–85OT

AIAW Division I

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

1977

First Round Consolation First Round

Tennessee Utah

L, 62–76 L, 62–63

Big Ten Medal of Honor

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

Big Ten Coach of the Year

• 1988 – Karen Langeland
• 2005 – Joanne P. McCallie
• 2011 – Suzy Merchant

Notes and References

1. Web site: Michigan State Women's Basketball :: Official Athletic Site. www.msuspartans.com. 2016-01-13. https://web.archive.org/web/20151118084438/http://www.msuspartans.com/sports/w-baskbl/msu-w-baskbl-body.html. 2015-11-18. dead.
2. Web site: 2015-16 Michigan State Women's Basketball. http://web.archive.org/web/20180208153756/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/msu/sports/w-baskbl/auto_pdf/2015-16/misc_non_event/1516Guide.pdf . 8 February 2018 .