MSU Women's Hoops Entertains Toledo Tuesday Night
11/25/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 25, 2002
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MICHIGAN STATE (1-1)VS. TOLEDO (1-0)When Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2002 - 7 p.m.Site East Lansing, Mich. (Breslin Center)Radio The Fan 730 AMTelevision NoneCoaches MSU: Joanne P. McCallie (Northwestern, 1987) Overall: 197-105 (11th year); MSU: 30-32 (Third year) Toledo: Mark Ehlen (Ohio State, 1975) Overall: 280-185 (17th year); UT: 158-55 (Eighth year)
TIP-OFF: Michigan State plays its third game in four days when the Spartans meet Toledo Tuesday, Nov. 26, at 7 p.m. in the Breslin Center. The Spartans opened the 2002-03 season by finishing second at the Spartan Chevrolet Classic, defeating Fresno State, 72-68, Saturday, before falling to Miami (Ohio), 86-84, Sunday. Toledo kicked off its season with a 92-36 victory vs. Iona Saturday.
CRAZY EIGHTS: Michigan State will be down to eight available players for Tuesday's game against Toledo. Junior guard Candice Jackson sprained her right knee vs. Miami (Ohio) Sunday and is not expected to play vs. Toledo. The Spartans, who started with a roster of 12 plays, already lost senior Maria Recker and freshman Patrice McKinney to injuries, and junior transfer Caroline Nixon from Australia has not yet been cleared to play by the NCAA.
SCOUTING TOLEDO: Toledo returns seven letterwinners, but just two starters, from last year's team which finished 17-11 overall and 12-4 to finish second in the MAC West division. Senior forwards Tia Davis and Teresa Kahle are the returning starters and the only seniors on the squad. Davis averaged 11.2 points and 5.0 rebounds per game last season, while Kahle averaged 10.6 points and 6.5 rebounds.
Toledo opened its season with a convincing 92-36 win over Iona Saturday. The Rockets lead 39-15 at the half before outscoring Iona 53-21 in the second stanza. Davis had 17 points and seven rebounds for Toledo, while Julie Hillis scored 17 points and had 10 boards off the bench. Karen Hoogendam added 14 points for Toledo, which shot 51.5 percent from the floor and had an impressive 52-27 rebounding edge.
SERIES RECORDS: Toledo leads the all-time series, 3-1. The Rockets won the first meeting between the schools, Dec. 15, 1982, in Toledo, 63-47. MSU's lone victory came the following December in East Lansing, 77-68. Toledo defeated the Spartans Nov. 30, 1994, 79-72, and again Dec. 9, 1995, 86-74.
CHEVY CLASSIC RECAP: Michigan State opened the 2002-03 season with an 82-68 victory over Fresno State Saturday. Four Spartans scored in double figures in the victory, led by Lindsay Bowen with 26 points. Kelli Roehrig added 20 points, while Syreeta Bromfield and Liz Shimek added 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Fresno State held an early five-point lead (9-4) before the Spartans went on a 13-0 run, including eight points by Roehrig, to take a 17-9 lead with 9:55 to play in the first half. MSU held its largest lead of the half, 21-11, on a fastbreak layup by Bromfield. However, the Bulldogs would remain tough and close the gap to three (34-31) at the half.
MSU opened up an 11-point lead early in the second half, thanks in part to five points each by Bowen and Shimek. The teams exchanged baskets before a fastbreak layup by Roehrig gave the Spartans a 16-point advantage (56-40) with 14 minutes to play. The Spartans, who led by as many as 20 in the second half, held a 40-to-28 edge in points in the paint.
MSU connected on 49.1 percent (27-of-55) of its shots for the game, while Fresno State connected on 40 percent (26-of-65). The big difference was on the boards where the Spartans held a 43-to-28 advantage as Shimek led all players with 14 boards.
In the championship Sunday against Miami (Ohio), the Spartans nearly overcame a 14-point deficit with less than seven minutes left, but came up short in an 86-84 loss. Bromfield matched a career-high with 28 points including a career-best six three-point baskets, but it wasn't enough for the Spartans.
The Spartans trailed 74-60 when a Bromfield trey with 6:31 remaining got the Spartans going. After a pair of Shimek free throws, Kristin Haynie took over, scoring 10 of MSU's next 11 points to trim the deficit to 78-76 with 3:01 left.
MSU then got within a single point twice, thanks to treys from Bowen and Haynie, but Miami made a free throw, and a desperation three-pointer in the last second by Bowen bounced off the front of the rim.
In addition to her 28 points, Bromfield also added nine rebounds and five assists. Four other Spartans reached double figure scoring, including Haynie who had 15 points, seven assists and three steals. Roehrig had 13 points and eight rebounds, while Bowen and Shimek tallied 10 points each. Shimek also had a game-high 11 rebounds for her second-straight double-double.
The Spartans owned a 44-31 rebounding advantage, including 22 offensive boards. MSU shot well from three-point range, sinking nine bombs in 19 chances (47.4 percent). MSU made 43.9 percent of its shots from the field (29-of-66) and 17 of 24 free throws (70.8 percent).
BROMFIELD, ROEHRIG EARN ALL-TOURNAMENT HONORS: Syreeta Bromfield and Kelli Roehrig were named to the Spartan Chevrolet Classic All-Tournament team at the conclusion of the tournament Sunday. Bromfield averaged 19.5 points and seven rebounds in two games, including 28 points and nine boards Sunday vs. Miami (Ohio). Roehrig had 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting vs. Fresno State before adding 13 points vs. Miami. Joining the Spartans on the All-Tournament team was tournament MVP Heather Cusick and Jana Butler from Miami (Ohio), Jeanette Gray from Valparaiso and Lindsay Logan from Fresno State.
FAB FRESHMEN: Michigan State received big boosts from its freshmen in the opening weekend. Lindsay Bowen scored 26 points and added eight rebounds against Fresno State in her Spartan debut, and added 10 points against Miami (Ohio). Liz Shimek posted double-doubles in both contests, posting 10 points and 14 rebounds vs. Fresno State and 10 points and 11 boards vs. Miami.
OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION: Michigan State started its season by scoring 82 points in the season opener against Fresno State, then 84 points vs. Miami (Ohio). Last season, it took 27 contests before the Spartans scored 80 or more points in a game. MSU had not started a season with two games of 80+ points since 1994.
BROMFIELD LIGHTS IT UP: Syreeta Bromfield had possibly the best all-around game of her career Sunday vs. Miami (Ohio). The senior equalled a career-high with 28 points, and established a new career-best by sinking six three-point baskets in nine attempts. Bromfield also added nine rebounds, tied a career-high with five assists and added a block and an steal.
CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARDS: Last season Michigan State outrebounded its opponents by 4.3 rebounds per game. This year the Spartans are off to an even better start. MSU outrebounded Fresno State by 15 in the opener before holding a 13 board advantage over Miami (Ohio) in the second contest. MSU was particularly impressive on the offensive boards vs. Miami, pulling down 22 offensive rebounds while Miami managed only 18 defensive rebounds.
JUST SHOOT ME: The Spartans appear to have improved their shooting touch during the offseason, as MSU hit 46.3 percent of its shots during the first two games, including 40.6 percent from three-point distance. Last year, MSU shot 41.7 percent from the field and 30.4 percent from downtown. MSU also sank 75.9 percent of its free throws in the opening two games - an improvement from last year's 69.4 percent.
OPENING ACT: By defeating Fresno State 82-68 in the season opener, MSU improved to 19-12 all-time in season openers, including an 11-2 record when the opener is at home. The Spartans have now won four straight season-opening games.
CHEVY NOTES: MSU is now 23-7 all-time in the Spartan Chevrolet Classic, after splitting a pair of games last weekend. The Spartans have won eight of the 15 Classics, and are now 14-1 in first-round games.
DOUBLE TROUBLE: Freshman Liz Shimek proved that it was no fluke that she was named Ms. Basketball for the state of Michigan last year. Shimek started her MSU career with two double-doubles, scoring 10 points against both Fresno State and Miami (Ohio) while grabbing game-high rebounds total of 14 vs. Fresno State and 11 vs. Miami.
USELESS STAT OF THE WEEK: Michigan State's all-time record in games played on Nov. 26 is 4-2. MSU is riding a two-game winning streak on Nov. 26, having beaten Chicago State in 2000 and Houston in 1994. The Spartans also defeated Dayton in 1988 and Western Michigan in 1983, but lost to Illinois State in 1993 and to Western Michigan in 1982.
INJURY BUG: Michigan State has seen its depth depleted by injuries already this season. Candice Jackson was the latest casualty, going down with a sprained right knee Sunday vs. Miami (Ohio). Jackson is not expected to play vs. Toledo.
Freshman guard Patrice McKinney suffered a torn ACL in her right knee during an individual workout Oct. 3, and is expected to redshirt this season. Senior forward Maria Recker has had a lingering shoulder injury since her freshman season that will keep her out of action this year.
Junior guard Caroline Nixon (hamstring) was held out of the game against Athletes In Action, while junior forward Julie Pagel has been suffering from a back injury, which kept her out of the second exhibition contest.
In addition, sophomore center Kelli Roehrig fractured a bone in her left (non-shooting) thumb in late October, but did not miss any action. Sophomore guard Kristin Haynie suffered from mononucleosis this summer, and an illness kept her out of the Oct. 26 Green-White scrimmage.
THE BACK COURT: Junior Candice Jackson and sophomore Kristin Haynie are a pair of returning starters at guard who figure to be key players this season. Haynie set MSU freshman records with 177 assists and 77 steals last year and was named to the All-Big Ten Freshman team. She averaged 7.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.4 steals last year, ranking seventh in the Big Ten in steals and 11th in assists.
Jackson started the last 13 games for MSU last year and played in all 32. She averaged 4.1 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists, and her steady presence in the back court should aide the Spartans this year.
One newcomer who will see lots of action is freshman Lindsay Bowen. Bowen was a four-time class C all-state pick at Dansville High who is the third leading scorer in Michigan High School history. Bowen was runner-up to current teammate Liz Shimek for Michigan Ms. Basketball honors last season.
THE FRONT COURT: The Spartans return forwards Syreeta Bromfield and Julie Pagel and centers Jennifer Callier and Kelli Roehrig from last year's team. Bromfield was MSU's leading scorer (15.6 ppg) and rebounder (6.5 rpg) last year. Pagel ranked second in both categories averaging 9.6 points and 5.8 rebounds. Callier started 13 of the 31 games in which she played and averaged 3.3 points and 3.2 rebounds, while Roehrig poured in 8.2 points and grabbed 3.7 boards while starting 16 games.
A pair of freshmen will be added to the mix. Liz Shimek, a 6-1 forward from Empire, Mich, was named Michigan's Ms. Basketball last year after averaging 24.0 points and 15.0 rebounds for Maple City-Glen Lake. Megan Osmer, a 6-2 center, joins the Spartans after leading Bellevue (Wash.) High to four league titles and two district championships.
LIKE A FINE WINE: If players, like wine, get better with age, MSU should show continued improvement this season. A year ago the Spartans had seven first-year players on their 12-player roster. This season, MSU has seven players returning who combined to start 109 games last season. Players who scored 77 percent of MSU's points and hauled down 79 percent of MSU's rebounds return this season.
BROMFIELD LEADS THE WAY: Syreeta Bromfield had an impressive first season for Michigan State, and looks to continue her production in 2002-03. Last year, Bromfield led MSU in scoring 15 times and in rebounding 15 times, while also posting a team-best four double-doubles.
EUROPEAN VACATION: Junior Julie Pagel was a member of the 2002 Big Ten Foreign Tour squad during the summer, travelling to the Netherlands and Belgium during her 10-day visit. Pagel averaged team-highs of 11.0 points and 8.6 rebounds while leading the Big Ten team to a 5-0 record.
SECRETARIES OF DEFENSE: One of the cornerstones of McCallie's teams is a stingy defense. Last season MSU ranked second in the Big Ten in scoring defense (62.7 ppg), after ranking first in McCallie's initial season. In addition, the Spartans led the Big Ten by averaging 11.3 steals per game last year.
More of the same should be expected for this season. MSU returns its top three ball thieves from last year, all of whom ranked in the top 13 in the Big Ten in steals. Kristin Haynie, who ranked seventh in the Big Ten in steals, narrowly edged Syreeta Bromfield, who ranked ninth, for the team lead (77 steals to 75). Julie Pagel was third on the team and 13th in the conference with 59 steals.
LOOK, I'M ON TELEVISION: The Spartans will make a minimum of eight appearances on television in 2002-03. Two MSU contests will be featured by FOX Sports Chicago, including a Jan. 30 home game against Michigan and a Feb. 20 game at Purdue. Also, FOX will broadcast all of the Big Ten Tournament games with the exception of the championship, which will air on espn2, meaning at least one more Spartan contest will be on FOX Sports.
In addition, five MSU home games will be televised by AT&T Broadband. Games scheduled to be televised include the Dec. 3 game vs. Kent State, Jan. 23 vs. Minnesota, Feb. 9 against Penn State, Feb. 13 vs. Ohio State and Feb. 24 vs. Illinois.
All of MSU's games will be broadcast live on the radio (The Fan 730 AM) and on the internet at www.msuspartans.com.
THE SCHEDULE: The Spartans face a challenging schedule in 2002-03. MSU will play 12 games against teams that competed in the 2002 NCAA Tournament, and four more against 2002 WNIT teams. NCAA Tournament teams include Georgia, Oakland, Kent State, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Penn State, Purdue and Wisconsin. The WNIT post-season tournament participants include Illinois, Michigan and Valparaiso.
In the Big Ten schedule, the Spartans will face Indiana, Michigan, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State and Purdue twice and Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin once.
SPARTANS SIGN FOUR: MSU head coach Joanne P. McCallie signed four players to national letters of intent to join the Spartans women's basketball program in 2003-04. The signees include Myisha Bannister (C, 6-3, Cleveland, Ohio/Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School), Katrina Grantham (C, 6-1, Saginaw, Mich./Heritage High School), Lorenda "Rene" Haynes (G, 5-10, Columbus, Ohio/The Wellington School) and Victoria Lucas-Perry (F, 5-11, Flint, Mich./Powers Catholic High School).
Bannister earned Division III All-Ohio honorable mention honors as a junior by averaging 11.8 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.7 blocks and 2.5 steals per game. She helped guide Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School to the district championship and her team, which started five juniors, advanced to the regional finals before falling.
Grantham was a second-team all-state selection in 2001 by The Detroit News and Detroit Free Press after leading Heritage to the state championship game. She is currently in her third season as a captain and has twice been named first-team All-Saginaw Valley.
Haynes has been named team MVP, first team all-league and first-team all-district each of her first three years at The Wellington School. She was named first-team all-state and district Player of the Year as a junior after averaging 27.8 points, 9.2 rebounds 3.8 steals and 2.4 assists per game. Haynes was the league MVP and second-team all-state as a sophomore after averaging 23.2 points, 8.6 rebounds, 6.1 steals and 4.1 assists.
Lucas-Perry was averaging 22.2 points and 8.2 rebounds per game this season. She has led Powers Catholic to two straight Class B state championships, plus a state runner-up finish. She was a first-team all-state pick as a junior, and was one of 48 juniors in the country to be invited by USA Basketball to play in an Olympic festival last June.
