Michigan State University
Minnesota
Spartans Upend No. 9 Minnesota, 72-69
1/25/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan 25, 2004
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Lindsay Whalen's record-setting game wasn't enough to lead No. 9 Minnesota past No. 20 Michigan State.
Lindsay Bowen scored 18 points, and Kelli Roehrig made the go-ahead basket with 19 seconds left, leading Michigan State past Minnesota 72-69 Sunday.
The loss spoiled a big game for Whalen, who scored a game-high 27 points to become the school's career scoring leader with 2,123.
The Gophers lost their third straight game, all against ranked opponents, and slipped to fourth place in the Big Ten after a 4-0 start.
Minnesota (15-3, 4-3 Big Ten) took a 69-68 lead on Whalen's basket with just over a minute left. She was fouled on the play but missed the free throw.
Then Roehrig scored off a rebound to put the Spartans (15-3, 5-2) ahead 70-69, and Rene Haynes made two free throws with 4.6 seconds left for the final margin.
"What I liked about our team was we were always attacking," Spartans coach Joanne McCallie said. "I thought our team defense was really triggered by Rene Haynes. She's a freshman who's very athletic and very quick. She got (a steal) at half-court to start the momentum in our direction and I think the team really fed off that."
Minnesota led by as much as nine points in the first half. But Bowen hit a trio of 3-pointers and the 6-foot-4 Roehrig scored seven points in the low post to help the Spartans forge a 31-31 tie with 3? minutes left before halftime. Roehrig finished with 13 points.
Whalen then hit a pair of 3-pointers, including one from the corner to beat the halftime buzzer, as the Gophers took a 39-35 lead into the locker room.
Picking up where she left off, Whalen put on a dazzling display as Minnesota pulled ahead by seven early in the second half. She made another 3-pointer, scored off a tip-in, then turned a steal into a layup for Kelly Roysland with a behind-the-back pass that gave the Gophers a 48-41 lead.
 | What I liked about our team was we were always attacking. - Coach Joanne McCallie |
But Michigan State surged back behind the play of freshman guard Haynes, who sparked a rally that gave the Spartans their first lead with 2:36 to play.
 Lindsay Bowen celebrates the victory.  | |
Haynes had four steals over a three-minute span to help tie the game at 65. The Spartans then took the lead on Liz Shimek's three-point play.
Whalen became Minnesota's career leading scorer when she sank a 3-pointer for the game's first points at 18:08 of the first half to raise her total to 2,099.
Carol Ann Shudlick scored 2,097 points in her four-year career and was at Williams Arena on Sunday for a reunion of Minnesota's 1993-94 team, the first in school history to reach the NCAA tournament.
After losing three straight, the Gophers will be stressing the basics.
"We can only work harder," Whalen said. "We have to put the past week behind us and learn from it. Nobody likes learning from losing, but that's the situation we're in."
