"We came off a great weekend," Lions' assistant coach Annie Troyan said. "We felt everyone besides Kelly Mazzante started to contribute, which is crucial going down the stretch here."
The Lions are currently sixth in the Big Ten standings, but beyond first-place Wisconsin (6-0), the conference figures to be wide open. A win over the Spartans would put Penn State right back in the thick of things with ten regular season games remaining, all against conference opponents.
"We have to use this momentum," Lions' head coach Rene Portland said. "We should be excited about what we did, bring on the next one. Let's keep this magic going."
Michigan State, meanwhile, languishes near the bottom of the conference rankings with a 0-5 record against the Big Ten. Still, the team is a surprising 10-1 against non-conference opponents and has the Big Ten's second-ranked defense, all while featuring four freshmen and just one senior on its roster.
"We are extremely young," Spartans' head coach Joanne McCallie said. "We are battling very hard, and doing some good things."
Offensively, McCallie's inexperienced team has been led by junior forward Syreeta Bromfield's 16.4 points per game. But on the other end, the coach expressed some concern about keeping Mazzante in check. McCallie said that a player of her ability makes others around her even better, which could spell trouble for the Spartans.
"To have that kind of scorer. . .what I can tell you is the confidence it gives the team to have somebody who can put the ball in so easily at any given moment," McCallie said. "That's an amazing thing to have on your team, and that's what Mazzante does for them."
While Mazzante's strong perimeter play has been extremely consistent throughout the season, the Lions have not had as much success inside the paint. Sophomore forward Jackie Shook, who saw only limited action in her freshman season, has been in the Lions' starting lineup since Jan. 7. Portland noted the Spartan's recent upset of then-No. 7 Georgia, and said that the Lions could be in danger of a similar fate if Shook and the rest of the Lions' post players do not step up.
"We don't have the inside post game, so Michigan State will be able to go out and play our guards a little bit better," Portland said. "We don't need Michigan State to have their breakout game against us."
Shook said her increased playing time has been a difficult adjustment, but the 6-foot-5 sophomore feels she is up to task.
"I was pretty nervous," Shook said, "but Rene told me not to focus on that and just get out and play, and that's what I'm trying to do."
