EAST LANSING — Award-winning Lexi Gussert and Michigan State women’s basketball will continues their season in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament.

The Spartans will face Cincinnati on Thursday at the Breslin Center. The winner of the MSU-UC game will take on Wright State or Toledo on Friday.

The Bearcats (19-12 overall, 10-6 American Athletic Conference) advanced to the semifinals of the AAC Tournament before falling to No. 1 UConn 75-21.

The Spartans (17-13 overall, 7-9 Big Ten) went through an injury-plagued season. Michigan State fell to Indiana in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament in an epic four overtime contest, 111-109.

MSU has now advanced to postseason play 15 of the last 16 seasons. Michigan State joins Indiana, Penn State and Purdue and Rutgers in the field of 64 WNIT teams. Overall 11 Big Teams will be playing in either the NCAA Tournament or the WNIT.

This is Michigan State’s first trip to the WNIT since the 2008 season when the Spartans fell in the championship game. That season, MSU played all five games at home before falling to Marquette 81-66.

Michigan State women’s basketball honored the 2017-18 season at its annual banquet on Saturday at the Breslin Center. Eight different Spartans were recognized including Gussert.

The Kim Archer Character Award was presented to Gussert, a senior guard/forward from Crystal Falls. One of the Spartan captains, Gussert missed five games with a fractured elbow. Despite missing time on the court, she continued to be a vocal leader.

Gussert is also a two-time recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.