Michigan State University
Penn St
Women's Basketball Knocks Off Penn State, 66-62
1/20/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 20, 2002
EAST LANSING, Mich. - It took 16 lead changes, but the Michigan State women's basketball team picked up its second Big Ten Conference win of the season - a 66-62 victory over Penn State on Sunday afternoon (Jan. 20) at the Breslin Center.
"I was really excited by the environment and we had a great crowd today," said MSU head coach Joanne P. McCallie. "I'm happy for the team. They worked very hard, especially after falling behind in the second half. They fought back, worked hard and were finally rewarded."
The 4,891 fans saw what seemed like a chess match over the final five minutes with Penn State clinging to a four-point lead (58-54). The Spartans sliced into the lead, gaining a 61-58 advantage on a three-point basket by Kristin Haynie. Penn State took a 62-61 lead on a pair of free throws by Jessica Brungo, before MSU's Kelli Roehrig hit a layup with 58 seconds left to give MSU an one-point lead (63-62). The Spartan defense shut down Penn State the final 58 seconds and Kristin Haynie hit three-of-four free throws to boost MSU to the win.
The biggest difference in the game might have been the Spartan defense. MSU held the nation's leading scorer Kelly Mazzante to just nine points, 17.6 points below her season average (26.6 ppg). Penn State (11-8 overall, 3-3 Big Ten) was led by Tanisha Wright with 16 points and Jess Strom added 11.
"Defensively, I felt our team stuck together," commented McCallie. "We have been building each game. We had to slow down (Kelly) Mazzante. We gave up a few shots, but I thought we showed a tremendous amount of maturity."
Junior forward Syreeta Bromfield, who guarded Mazzante most of the day, scored 18 points and hauled down seven rebounds. Freshman forward Joy Johnson added 13 points, while Kristin Haynie chipped in 10.
Michigan State (12-6 overall, 2-6 Big Ten) heads to Iowa on Thursday, Jan. 24 for a 7 p.m. CST tip-off with the Hawkeyes.
Spartan Notebook
Freshman forward Joy Johnson scored a career-best 13 points. She was a perfect 5-for-5 from the field in 21 minutes.
Freshman guard Cortne Ellis came off the bench to add six points and two rebounds in 10 minutes.
Junior forward Syreeta Bromfield added her 14th game in double figures with 18 points vs. Penn State.
The Spartan defense held Penn State to 62 points - its second-lowest offensive showing of the season.
MSU has not won back-to-back Big Ten Conference games since defeating Ohio State (62-60) and Minnesota (66-65) on Jan. 4 and Jan. 7, 2001.
