Regular season finale Sunday

After suffering through a 1-8 record in the last nine games, the end is finally near for the Hoosiers. IU will enter its final game against the No. 22 Michigan State Spartans Sunday at home. \nThe 11-15 Hoosiers will have their hands full against MSU, as the Spartans come into the game with a 19-6 overall record. The Spartans are currently on a two-game losing streak, suffering losses at the hands of Ohio State and No. 4 Purdue. \nThe Spartans are led by sophomores Lindsay Bowen and Liz Shimek, who average 12.9 and 11.0 points per game, respectively. Shimek also has a nose for the ball, pulling in 8.2 rebounds per game, good for third in the Big Ten. \n"Michigan State is one of the best defensive teams around. They really get after it and dictate the tempo with their defense," IU coach Kathi Bennett said. "Offensively, they can hurt you a lot of ways. Liz Shimek is dangerous down low, Lindsay Bowen is one of the best shooters I've seen, (junior) Kristin Haynie does a good job running the point and (senior) Julie Pagel and (junior) Kelli Roehrig rebound the ball very well."\nFrom the first game of the season, and now into the final game, IU junior Jenny DeMuth and sophomore Cyndi Valentin have provided the offensive punch for the Hoosiers. DeMuth comes into the game with a 18.3 ppg and a 7.7 rpg average, good for No. 5 and No. 4 in the conference, respectively. DeMuth has also proved herself as quite the pickpocket, averaging 2.69 steals per game, good for third in the conference. DeMuth's play ranks her as the only player to rank among the top five in the conference in all three categories. \nValentin has long been the Abbott to DeMuth's Costello, averaging 15.5 ppg, good for No. 10 in the conference and the top scoring honors for all sophomores in the conference. \nThe last time the Hoosiers went up against Michigan State, IU was able to stay with the Spartans for much of the first half, but poor shooting in the second eventually led to the 59-41 loss.\n"We were with them in the first half, but we just couldn't get shots to fall in the second half," DeMuth said. "We played pretty well defensively up there, but we missed a lot of opportunities on the offensive end."\nIf the Hoosiers manage to slay the giant, Valentin said it will give IU some much-needed momentum heading into the Big Ten Tournament, which begins next Thursday in Indianapolis. \n"If we come out and do what we know we can do, this could be a nice boost for us going into the conference tournament," Valentin said. "We need to play better defensively and not allow any easy points. Ending the regular-season with two wins in our last three games will only help."\n-- Contact senior writer Dan Patrick at djpatric@indiana.edu.