Day by day, Lauren Aitch's busy life inches closer to recovery. Eleven months ago, on April 4, former Michigan State star Matthew Aitch died unexpectedly. He was 62. Lauren, his youngest daughter, had just finished the hardest season of her basketball career - she watched the Spartans from the bench while recovering from a torn ACL. A few days later, the coach who recruited her would leave for another job. Finals were fast approaching, and Aitch's world was swirling around her. "All that change - I'm uncomfortable with change. I don't like a lot of change," said Aitch, who led Waverly High to a Class A state title in 2004 and is now a sophomore for the Spartan women. "I was really lost and really just confused and mad - all of those types of feelings you have. Everything happened so quickly." As MSU's women's team prepares to open the Big Ten Tournament at 830 tonight against Minnesota in Indianapolis, Aitch's focus will be on basketball. But her thoughts rarely, if ever, leave the man who taught her how to play. "Every day," she said, "I just want to make him proud."

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