Michigan State women decline WNIT invitation, citing adversity-filled season

The Michigan State women's basketball team decided to call it a season.

The Spartans, who finished the season on a mini-roll, were invited to the 64-team WNIT tournament, but they declined to participate, an athletic-department spokesperson confirmed late Sunday night.

The team didn't put out a statement, but according to the spokesperson, Kara Fisher, players decided against playing because of all the adversity they'd gone through this season. Michigan State played the last 10 games of the season without its head coach, Suzy Merchant, who has been sidelined since suffering an undisclosed medical episode that contributed to a single-car accident in late January.

Michigan State played its final five games following the deadly campus shooting that killed three students and injured five others.

The Spartans finished the season 16-14 and 7-10 in the Big Ten — a game against Purdue was canceled after the campus shooting. They won five of six down the stretch, including an opening win over Nebraska in the Big Ten tournament, before falling to Indiana.

Michigan State was decimated by injuries last season, the only non-winning season in Merchant's tenure (15-15), and the Spartans suffered another big loss on the roster this season when starter Gabby Elliott went out with a season-ending ACL injury in December.

This is the second consecutive season Michigan State will not play in the postseason, after making 10 of the previous 12 NCAA Tournaments. The Spartans previously played in the WNIT in 2018 (Round 3) and 2008 (runner-up), Merchant's first year on the job. While Merchant, 53, was in contact with her players and interim head coach Dean Lockwood late in the season, there is not timetable for her official return to the job.

If Michigan State doesn't get hit by the transfer portal, the Spartans could return a solid nucleus for next year's team, including forward Matilda Ekh, guard Moira Joiner, point guard DeeDee Hagemann and Elliott, among others.

tpaul@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @tonypaul1984