MSU Women: THAT'S more like it

I'll be the first to admit I went into today's MSU Women's game against Ohio State with less-than-high hopes. Boy, was I happy to be wrong ...

The Spartans' 60-53 win over the Buckeyes was a great confidence-booster for the team and for the fans -- all 8,700 of 'em today at the Breslin Center. (And, despite missing the hoped-for 10,000 attendance, the team still spray-painted Coach Merchant's hair green. Good times.)

It was good to see Mia Johnson come in for a longer stretch of the game -- 24 minutes, to be exact -- and put 5 points on the boards and grab 8 rebounds. Looks like she's working her way back into form.

Freshman Britney Thomas was no slacker today: She was on the floor for 39 minutes. And the team appears to have found Allyssa DeHaan underneath the basket again -- she netted 18 points and pulled down six rebounds.

So it's a better feeling I'm taking into the Penn State game on Jan. 5 (and remember -- that's the team that beat Coach P's Duke Blue Devils in preseason play).