Women's Basketball Escapes Detroit With 62-61 Win

Nov. 28, 2001

DETROIT, Mich. - In a seesaw affair, it was a pair of free throws by sophomore forward Julie Pagel that sealed the win for the Michigan State women's basketball team. Pagel hit a pair of free throws with 4.4 seconds left to give MSU a 62-61 victory over Detroit at Calihan Hall on Wednesday night.

"I wasn't looking to get fouled," said Pagel. "I was just looking to score. We worked on free throw shooting in practice yesterday. I felt the first one and then hit the second one, and I felt such great pride. This was a total team effort."

It almost didn't happen. Just 41 seconds earlier, Detroit senior guard Michelle James hit a wide-open three-point shot to give the Titans a 61-60 lead. MSU couldn't score on their drive down the court and had to foul the Titan shooter. James went to the free throw line and missed the front end of a one-on-one. MSU drove down the court and Julie Pagel missed her first shot attempt, but grabbed the offensive board and was fouled on the second attempt.

"I thought we played hard," said MSU Head Coach Joanne P. McCallie. "We had to work hard to crawl back into the game. I am very proud of the team's effort and the fight that we exhibited tonight. This team has a lot of spirit and a lot of fight."

Michigan State jumped out to an early 7-0 lead as Syreeta Bromfield, making her first start, added four points. Detroit stormed right back with a pair of three pointers and a free throw to even the score at 7. Five straight points by Bromfield gave MSU a 12-7 lead with 15:26 to play.

Detroit used the three-point shot to get back into the basketball game. Back-to-back three-point baskets by Tia Winters and Michelle James gave UDM a one-point lead (16-15) with 11:50 to go. The Titans extended the lead to four (27-23) with 5:28 to go on a three-point basket by Molly Peterman.

Julie Pagel broke almost a three-minute scoring drought with a layup at the 4:10 mark to pull the Spartans within six (31-25). Jennifer Callier added a layup off the glass as MSU pulled to within four (31-27) with 3:10 to go. Detroit took a five-point lead (35-30) into the break at the half.

The Spartans opened the second half on a 10-0 run, gaining a 40-35 advantage as both Jennifer Callier and Syreeta Bromfield added four points in the run. Five straight points by Michelle James pulled Detroit to within two (46-44) with 11:10 to play. A driving layup by Randee Henry evened the score at 46. A 6-0 run by MSU gave the Spartans a six-point advantage (52-46) with 6:54 to play as three different Spartans added layups during the run.

UDM pulled to within two (54-52) on a Molly Peterman jumper with 3:43 to go. Julie Pagel answered the call with a layup and a pair of free throws by Vnemina Reese helped the Spartans regain a six-point advantage (58-52) with 2:42 to go.

UDM answered the call. Back-to-back three-point field goals by Peterman and Henry evened the score at 58 with 1:21 to play. Syreeta Bromfield scored the go-ahead basket (60-58) with 58 seconds to play before the UDM basket.

Syreeta Bromfield led the Spartans with 25 points and 10 rebounds. Julie Pagel added 15 points, while Jennifer Callier and Vnemina Reese each chipped in eight.

Michelle James led Detroit with 23 points and seven assists. Former Eastern High School standout Molly Peterman added 12 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

The Spartans close out a five-game road stand facing Marquette on Sunday (Dec. 2) at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids.

Spartan Notebook
MSU sophomore forward Julie Pagel and UDM sophomore guard/forward Lori Wild were high school teammates at Utica.

Junior forward Syreeta Bromfield poster her third double-double of the season with 25 points and 10 rebounds.

Michigan State improved to 5-1 overall, while Detroit fell to 1-2.