WINNERS OF THREE STRAIGHT, SPARTANS HOST NORTHWESTERN TONIGHT

The Michigan State women's basketball team, riding a three-game winning streak, hosts Northwestern Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Breslin Center. The Spartans topped

The Michigan State women's basketball team, riding a three-game winning streak, hosts Northwestern Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Breslin Center. The Spartans topped the Wildcats, 74-62, in the first meeting of the season on Jan. 17 in Evanston.For the first time in program history, the Spartans (16-11, 8-7 Big Ten) won at Penn State with a 66-50 victory over the Nittany Lions on Sunday. MSU shot 55 percent from the field and outscored Penn State in the paint, 36-12. Michigan State also scored 31 points off 22 Nittany Lion turnovers.

Freshman point guard Brittney Thomas had an outstanding all-around game, scoring 16 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field. She was 6-for-8 from the free-throw line, collected six rebounds, had five steals, dished out three assists and recorded a block. Allyssa DeHaan also scored 16 points with three blocks and Lauren Aitch was 4-for-4 from the field with 11 points.

The Penn State win capped a 3-0 week for the Spartans. Last Monday at the Breslin Center, MSU came back from a 13-point deficit to beat Purdue, 56-54. On Thursday in Bloomington, the Spartans outlasted Indiana, 72-68, in a game that featured 14 ties and 16 lead changes.

The Spartans will be looking for their ninth straight win over the Wildcats and their 12th consecutive win over NU in East Lansing. MSU is also looking to match its season-high winning streak. The Spartans won four in a row (Northern Illinois, Kansas State, Delaware State, Clemson) back in November.

Northwestern (4-22, 0-14), still searching for its first Big Ten win, fell to Wisconsin Monday at home, 79-65.

After taking on the Wildcats, MSU visits Purdue Sunday, Feb. 24 for a 1 p.m. matchup on ESPN2.

Allyssa DeHaan NAMED BIG TEN PLAYER OF THE WEEK...AGAIN
For the third time this season, sophomore center Allyssa DeHaan has been named the Big Ten Player of the Week, the conference office announced Monday, Feb. 18. It marks the fifth time in her career she has earned the award, tying Liz Shimek for the most Big Ten Player of the Week honors in program history.

DeHaan led MSU to three wins last week, with victories over Purdue, Indiana and Penn State. She averaged 15.7 points, 7.7 rebounds, 4.3 blocks and 2.0 assists as the Spartans climbed from eighth to sixth in the Big Ten standings.

DeHaan opened the week with 15 points and six blocks against Purdue, making her the first player in Big Ten history to record 100 blocks in two different seasons.

On the road against Indiana on Thursday, the center recorded a season-high 15 rebounds and a game-high 16 points, converting on her last four field-goal attempts to give MSU key leads late in the game. The double-double was her sixth of the season.

On Sunday, DeHaan helped the Spartans to their first-ever win at Penn State, netting 16 points on .500 shooting and a 6-of-6 performance from the free-throw line. DeHaan finished the week 13-of-14 from the charity stripe.

DeHaan is ranked among the Big Ten leaders in blocks (first - 112), free-throw percentage (fifth - 84.8 percent), rebounding (fifth - 7.9 avg.) and scoring (sixth - 14.9 avg.).

The Grandville, Mich., native was named Big Ten Player of the Week earlier this season on Dec. 3 and Dec. 10. She won the award twice last season as a freshman.

SERIES HISTORY VS. NORTHWESTERN
• Thursday's matchup will be the 52nd meeting between Michigan State and Northwestern.

• MSU leads the all-time series, 29-22, including a 17-6 record in games played in East Lansing.

• The Spartans have won eight in a row over Northwestern, dating back to Jan. 2, 2003.

• MSU has won 11 straight over the Wildcats in East Lansing. NU's last win at the Breslin Center was a 109-103 double-overtime victory on March 5, 1993.

• In the first meeting of the season, MSU topped Northwestern in Evanston on Jan. 17, 74-62.

A LOOK AT THE BIG TEN STANDINGS
• With three regular-season games remaining, the Spartans are sixth in the Big Ten standings with an 8-7 conference mark.

• The top five teams in the standings will receive a first-round bye in the Big Ten Tournament, scheduled March 6-9 in Indianapolis at Conseco Fieldhouse.

• The Spartans have two home games (Northwestern, Illinois) and one road game (Purdue) left on the schedule.

• Michigan State has beaten the top three teams in the Big Ten standings, all at home (Iowa, Ohio State and Purdue).

• Following Northwestern, MSU will take on Purdue Sunday, Feb. 24 at Mackey Arena. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN2 at 1 p.m.