Dec. 19, 2003

Box Score

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - It was ugly and it was sloppy, but in the end it was a win for the No. 24 Michigan State women's basketball team Friday night at UCLA. The Spartans scored a season-low in points and committed a season-high 26 turnovers, but held on for a 47-43 victory over the Bruins for MSU's fourth straight road victory.

Sophomore Liz Shimek (Empire, Mich.) posted her second straight double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds to help MSU improve to 8-1. The Spartans won their fourth straight road game for the first time since the 1990-91 season, and all four road wins came in successive games - something that MSU has not accomplished since the 1977-78 season.

Junior Kristin Haynie (Mason, Mich.) added 11 points, six rebounds, six assists and five steals for MSU, while sophomore Lindsay Bowen (Dansville, Mich.) had 10 points and three steals.

"We got better in a different kind of way tonight - by being tougher," said MSU head coach Joanne P. McCallie. "I'm very proud of our team. It was a heck of a fight, and it was a fun game. It was an ugly game, but a fun game."

Things started well for the Spartans, as MSU scored the game's first six points while holding UCLA scoreless for the first 5:37 of the game. However, once the Bruins did score, they reeled off eight straight points to take their only lead of the game.

Two straight baskets by senior Julie Pagel (Utica, Mich.), who had seven points and six rebounds, gave MSU a 12-8 lead with 9:22 left in the first half. A steal and layup by Haynie stretched the advantage to 19-10 as the Spartan run was extended to 13-2. After a UCLA bucket, Bowen hit a three and Shimek scored down low to give MSU its biggest lead at 24-12 with 2:30 left in the half, before the Bruins scored five of the last six points to trim the deficit to 25-17 at halftime.

UCLA sliced the lead to 38-36, but Bowen scored to end the drought for MSU with 5:37 remaining. The Bruins again inched within two twice more moments later, but both teams Shimek came up with a basket to provide a cushion for the Spartans.

The Spartans seemed to have control with the ball and a 46-40 lead with just over a minute left, but UCLA wouldn't go quietly. After a Spartan missed basket, the Bruins quickly hit a trey - their only one of the game in 13 attempts - with 59 seconds left to trim the lead to three.

After another MSU miss, UCLA had a chance to tie with a three-pointer in the closing seconds, but Lisa Willis misfired and Kristin Haynie was fouled with 10 seconds left. Haynie, who had only missed one free throw in 25 attempts all season, missed the front end of the one-and-one, but the ball went out of bounds off of UCLA. Pagel was then fouled and hit the first of two shots for the final nail in the coffin.

Michigan State finished the game shooting 38.8 percent (19-of-49), but held UCLA to just 31.5 percent shooting (17-of-54). The Spartans were outrebounded for the first time all season (39-35), but did force 24 UCLA turnovers as the teams combined for 50 miscues.

Willis scored 13 points to lead UCLA (3-4), which had defeated Illinois at home by 12 and lost to No. 8 Purdue by just one point in Indianapolis. The Spartans held Nikki Blue, who was averaging a team-high 15 points per game, to just seven points.

After a break for Christmas, MSU will finally play at home for the first time in over a month when the Spartans host Cincinnati Monday, Dec. 29, at 7 p.m.