Michigan State University
Penn St
Spartans Fall To No. 10/9 Penn State, 64-62
1/4/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan 4, 2004
By DAN LEWERENZ
Associated Press Writer
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) - Penn State held the lead just once in the second half against Michigan State, and that's all the Lady Lions needed.
Jess Strom made two free throws with 10.3 seconds left, rallying No. 10 Penn State to a 64-62 victory over No. 23 Michigan State on Sunday.
It was just the second lead for the Lady Lions (9-3, 2-0 Big Ten) in the game, and the first since Jess Brungo scored 24 seconds in.
"When the only two leads you have in the whole game are 3-nothing -- and you say, 'Oh great, we're off to a great start' -- and then the next one you have 64-62, you wonder if the stars were on your side. And they were," Penn State coach Rene Portland said. "Everybody up there was pulling for us, I guess."
And the Lady Lions won with the most unlikely of combos -- Strom, who was 0-5 from the field, and Reicina Russell, a freshman averaging just 4.5 points.
Penn State, which trailed by as many as 12 points in the second half, used a layup by Russell to tie the score at 62 with 33 seconds left. On the ensuing play, Russell blocked a layup attempt by Liz Shimek.
Strom picked up the loose ball and drove 1-on-1 before being fouled by Lindsay Bowen, setting up the game-winning free throws.
"I wasn't really nervous," said Strom, who thought about setting up a play before driving on Bowen. "I was just thinking, 10 seconds, I can make these. I wasn't really thinking about the shots I missed."
Penn State faced a top-25 opponent for the fourth straight game, going 2-2 in the span, and improved to 5-2 against ranked opponents this season.
"I think it's a credit to our kids and our schedule that they never put their heads down," Portland said. "And I think Michigan State played a great game. They outhustled us at times when we needed hustle, especially offensive rebounds."
Kelly Mazzante scored 26 points for Penn State, and Tanisha Wright added 17. Russell tied a school record with eight blocks and added eight points and eight rebounds. Strom finished with four points, all from the line.
Bowen and Shimek led Michigan State (10-2, 1-1) with 15 points each. Kristin Haynie scored 11 and Rene Haynes 10.
The Spartans took a 58-46 lead on a 3-pointer by Shimek -- just her fourth long-range attempt of the season -- with 7:32 left.
Wright made a pair of free throws that started a 16-2 run by Penn State. Russell scored on a putback, pulling the Lady Lions within 60-58 , and then scored the tying basket on an assist from Wright.
"We should have been a little more active," Michigan State coach Joanne P. McCallie said. "I know it's easy to block a shot when you're six inches taller than somebody, but you've got to move a little bit to get a shot down there.
"There's a lot of things; either team could have won this game easily, easily, and it just so happened to go their way."
Michigan State held Penn State without a field goal for more than six minutes and opened up a 26-14 lead in the first half.
Penn State countered with a swarming full-court press, scoring twice in seven seconds off of backcourt steals by Strom and Wright. Jess Brungo stole an inbounds pass to set up Wright's pull-up jumper that lifted the Lady Lions within 32-31.
"I think Penn State is a better pressing team than the teams we've faced," McCallie said.
Bowen's running jumper gave the Spartans a 34-31 halftime lead.
