Michigan State University
Minnesota (Big Ten Tournament)
Spartans Land First Big Ten Tournament Title
3/7/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 7, 2005
Box Score | Notes | Photo Gallery
By MICHAEL MAROT
AP Sports Writer
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Michigan State knew it couldn't overpower Minnesota. So it relied on a relentless defense to frustrate the Golden Gophers.
The seventh-ranked Spartans shut down Minnesota's strong inside tandem and Liz Shimek scored 15 points - including four straight in the game-clinching stretch - to win its first Big Ten tournament title 55-49 Monday.
"It takes fight, hustle and heart," said Kristin Haynie, the tournament's most outstanding player. "We got outrebounded by 14 and that's ridiculous. We just did a good job hustling, staying in the game."
The second-seeded Spartans (28-3) won their sixth straight over the 12th-ranked Golden Gophers and extended their overall winning streak to a school record 12. The victory also clinched an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Afterward, fans chanted "No. 1 seed," hoping the win also solidified Michigan State's claim to a top draw after sharing the Big Ten regular-season title with Ohio State.
Fittingly, in the lowest-scoring title game in conference history, Michigan State did it with an impressive defensive. The 104 points was four fewer than the previous low set in 1998 when Purdue beat Penn State 59-49.
And Michigan State managed to do what seemed impossible - stopping Jamie Broback and Janel McCarville.
Broback (26 points) and McCarville (21.5) entered Monday night as the top two scorers in the tournament. But the Spartans used the wide-bodied Kelli Roehrig to muscle up against McCarville, and a strong zone to prevent Broback from getting the ball down low. They also shut out Minnesota for the final 4:17 during a 13-2 run that turned the game.
The result even amazed Spartans coach Joanne P. McCallie.
Broback and McCarville were shut out in the first half. McCarville, one of the Big Ten's most dominant players, finished the night going 1 for 17 with two points.
"Did we do that?" McCallie said. "Whoa! That's pretty good. I didn't know we did that. You don't even think that way. You just get a game plan and try to execute it."
Broback led the Gophers (24-7) with 18 points and had seven rebounds. McCarville had 12 rebounds despite her dismal shooting.
"It was very hard to shoot against their zone," McCarville said. "We had our chance, but they just didn't fall. They just got some shots to fall."
Minnesota struggled to adjust in the first half when it was just five of 23 from the field - and one of 16 from 2-point range.
But the Spartans missed an opportunity to put the Gophers in a deep hole.
After going on a 9-0 run to build an 18-8 lead with 11:47 left in the half, Michigan State hit only two more baskets and scored just seven points to take a 25-20 lead.
When the second half began, the Gophers looked more like themselves. Broback strung together back-to-back three-point plays and a 5-footer in a 8-0 run that tied the score at 28. She scored seven more points in a 9-0 run that gave Minnesota a 39-34 lead with 11:46 to go.
"I was just a little stronger on the inside when I was taking the ball to basket," Broback said. "I knew there would be contact, so I was able to take the ball up strong a couple times and that got me going."
Then the Spartans clamped down again.
They scored five straight points to tie it at 47, and when Shimek hit the second of her back-to-back 15-footers with 3:52 to go, Michigan State regained the lead at 51-49.
Minnesota didn't score again as the Spartans pulled away.
"I think our team really turned it up a notch," McCallie said. "Kelli Roehrig stepped around and got a very important steal at that time. We got some good stops. I think we deflated the confidence of Minnesota at that time."
Roehrig and Lindsay Bowen scored 10 points apiece for Michigan State, while Haynie finished with six points, five rebounds and two assists to win the top individual award.
