Michigan State University
Northwestern
No. 20 Spartans Erupt In OT
1/22/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan 22, 2004
EVANSTON, Ill. - Lindsay Bowen scored 18 points and No. 20 Michigan State (14-3, 4-2 Big Ten) survived a scare during a 67-57 overtime win Thursday night at Northwestern (7-10, 0-6). The victory, MSU's fourth straight, was the Spartans' first overtime victory since Nov. 29, 1997, snapping a string of nine straight losses for MSU in overtime games.
Liz Shimek added 13 points for Michigan State, Julie Pagel had nine points, five boards and five assists, Kristin Haynie collected eight points, eight rebounds, six assists and five steals and Kelli Roehrig chipped in eight points and seven boards.
Bowen's three-pointer with 1:36 left in regulation tied the score at 53, and both teams squandered opportunities to take the lead the rest of the way, forcing overtime. The Spartans controlled the overtime period, outscoring Northwestern 14-4, to earn the victory.
"We're fighters - that's who we are," said MSU head coach Joanne P. McCallie. "It wasn't pretty, but we did whatever we had to do to win. It was a great experience to get a win in overtime."
The Spartans fought from behind most of the way, trailing for most of the first half and all but five minutes of the second half. Northwestern led by as many as 13 points, 30-17, late in the first half, and by five points near the mid-point of the second half before Michigan State battled back to force overtime.
The Spartans, who had held eight of their last 11 opponents below 50 points, looked to continue that streak early, holding Northwestern to just two points over the first six minutes. But MSU had offensive troubles of its own, and the Wildcats scored eight straight points to even the score at 10.
After a tie at 12, Northwestern scored seven more unanswered points, stretching their run to 17-2 while taking a 19-12 lead. The Wildcats used five first-half three-pointers to take their 30-17 lead when Michigan State called timeout with 3:35 left in the half. The Spartans responded with 11 straight points, including back-to-back three-pointers by Bowen and Pagel, to close the gap to 30-28 at the half.
MSU scored the first bucket of the second half to knot the score at 30, but then scored just two points over the next eight-and-a-half minutes as Northwestern claimed a 37-32 lead. But MSU scored the next eight points, including a steal and layup by Haynie that gave the Spartans their first second-half lead, to move on top 40-37.
After Northwestern bounced back to take a 50-47 lead, Bowen hit a three with 2:17 left to tie the score. The Wildcats' Michelle Zylstra answered with a triple of her own, but Bowen came right back to bury another three-point bomb with 1:36 left to even the score again and force the overtime session.
Michigan State scored first in overtime, and was clinging to a 58-57 lead when Shimek hit a three-pointer with 2:12 left that put the Spartan ahead, 61-57. Pagel scored on a layup then hit two free throws to push the lead to eight points, and Bowen added two free throws with 1.2 seconds left for the final margin.
"I'm proud of our team," said McCallie. "We're going to get better because of (this game). It was great to see that fight."
Michigan State shot 45.5 percent (25-of-55) from the field, and 9-of-16 (56.3 percent) from three-point range. The Spartans owned a whopping 42-23 edge in rebounds, and had 13 steals. However, MSU had two more turnovers than Northwestern (22-20) and allowed the Wildcats to hit 43.4 percent of its field goals (23-of-53).
Michigan State returns to action when the Spartans visit No. 9 Minnesota Sunday at 2 p.m. Central time.
Spartan Notebook
* Michigan State won for the first time this season when trailing at halftime.
* Lindsay Bowen's five three-point baskets tied a career-high.
* Kristin Haynie's five steals moved her from seventh to fifth on MSU's career steals list with 198.
* Kelli Roehrig and Kristin Haynie both surpassed the 700-point plateau for their careers, while Lindsay Bowen scored the 600th point of her career.
