Michigan State University
Kent State
No. 24 Women's Hoops Drops Kent State, 55-48
12/6/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec 6, 2003
KENT, Ohio (AP) - Freshman guard Victoria Lucas-Perry scored a carrer-high 13 points and Rene Haynes and Julie Pagel hit key 3-pointers down the stretch in No. 24 Michigan State's 55-48 victory over Kent State on Saturday.
Haynes hit a 3-pointer with 7:22 left to give the Spartans (5-1) a 47-43 lead. After a layup by Andrea Csaszar of Kent State (2-2) cut the lead to one, Pagel hit a 3-pointer with 4:17 left to push the lead to 50-46 and start a 8-2 run to finish the game.
"We needed to win ugly,'' MSU coach Joanne P. McCallie said about a game that featured a combined 43 turnovers and 42 fouls. "Defensively, we were all over them and got the stops when we needed them.''
MSU jumped to a 13-3 lead before Heather Harris hit the first of five 3-pointers to start a 14-2 run that gave the Golden Flashes a 17-15 lead.
Harris hit two foul shots to give Kent State its biggest lead 32-29 with 15:41 left.
Pagel, who finished with six points, scored on a 3-point play with 12 minutes left to give the Spartans the lead for good, 37-34.
Lucas-Perry hit 4-of-10 shots, including three 3-pointers as the Spartans hit 33 percent of its shots.
"Oddly, some of our shooters were off today,'' McCallie said. "She (Lucas-Perry) really gave us a big lift off the bench.''
Harris was 6-of-11 from the field and hit 5-of-6 3-pointers, finishing with career high 20 points.
