Michigan State University
Wisconsin
Spartans Squeeze Past No. 15 Wisconsin, 58-57
1/30/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan 30, 2002
MADISON, Wis. (AP) - Michigan State Coach Joanne P. McCallie can see her team growing up right before her very eyes.
The Spartans got a huge boost of confidence Thursday night after pulling off a 58-57 Big Ten upset of No. 15 Wisconsin.
Julie Pagel scored 13 points, Kristin Haynie 12 and Candice Jackson 10 to lead Michigan State (14-7, 4-6 overall), which has won four of its last five games.
McCallie was particularly impressed with how her young team didn't buckle under the pressure of a close game. Michigan State has three freshmen and two sophomores among its top eight players.
"We're learning how to be intense," McCallie said.
Jessie Stomski scored 25 points to lead Wisconsin (16-5, 7-4), which lost its fourth straight game on the heels of a school-record 15-game winning streak.
Tamara Moore added 12 points and Emily Ashbaugh 10 for the Badgers, who missed 13 of their final 18 shots from the floor.
"That was a tough loss for us," said Wisconsin Coach Jane Albright. "We really played about as hard as we can play and put our heart out there and really gave it our best effort."
Jackson, a 50-percent free-throw shooter entering the game, was 4-for-4 from the line in the final 1:12 of the game to help Michigan State beat Wisconsin for the first time in six tries.
After a Wisconsin turnover, Jackson hit two free throws with 10.8 seconds left to extend Michigan State's lead to 58-55.
The Badgers had a chance to tie the game, but Kyle Black missed a 3-pointer in the closing seconds. Stomski got the rebound and added a put-back basket with four-tenths of a second remaining to complete the scoring.
"I liked our grit and toughness down the stretch," McCallie said.
McCallie also liked some of her team's good fortune earlier in the game. Haynie hit a shot from beyond midcourt at the halftime buzzer to give Michigan State a 31-30 lead heading into the break.
"I don't think we get a lot of breaks," McCallie said. "Maybe we did get a break tonight, but, boy, they worked for it."
Neither team led by more than four points in the second half.
Syreeta Bromfield made two free throws with 2:08 left to give Michigan State the lead for good at 54-53.
Jackson added a pair of free throws with 1:12 left, but Stomski answered for Wisconsin to cut Michigan State's lead to 56-55 with 47 seconds remaining.
The Badgers had a chance to take the lead after Michigan State turned the ball over with 19.1 seconds remaining. But Moore was called for traveling with 12.9 seconds to go.
Despite another disappointing loss, Albright said the Badgers can regroup.
"We've got another month to play in the regular season and we'll keep trying to keep better and keep trying to sharpen up on some things," Albright said. "We're not about to quit."
Moore had six steals to become Wisconsin's all-time leader in that category. She now has 329 for her career, passing Keisha Anderson's previous record of 327.
