The off-court show featured mobs of children cheering on the MSU women's basketball team. On the court, the Spartans put on a show of their own downing Kent State 85-72 Tuesday at Breslin Center.
The record-breaking crowd of 12,058 for the afternoon game shattered the previous mark for women's basketball attendance of 7,733 set against rival Michigan in 2000.
"It was a wonderful energy out there today," MSU head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. "No doubt our team felt that. I'm just happy for our team. They played more together than they have all year - what an incredible atmosphere and environment."
Students arrived by bus from schools countywide to partake in the "When I Grow Up" program, which promotes setting goals for the future.
Both teams appeared to draw energy from the screaming fourth- and fifth-graders, junior forward Julie Pagel said. The boost was evident by seven of the half's eight three-pointers falling in the game's opening minutes.
"It's so great all the kids came to the game," said senior forward Syreeta Bromfield, who poured in a career-high 30 points while tying the fifth-place MSU record for most steals in a game with eight. "They energized us to get where we wanted."
Bromfield complemented her totals with seven rebounds and six assists for an all-around solid game.
The war for the lead raged on through the first half with the Golden Flashes tying MSU several times but failing to take control.
The pace sped up with a three-point play by Pagel, giving the Spartans a 34-31 edge and sending the team into a scoring frenzy. The Spartans outscored Kent State 22-3 going into the break.
At halftime, Spartan men's basketball head coach Tom Izzo received a deafening applause from the child-filled crowd before speaking.
His message was clear but simple.
"If you truly love what you're doing, you have a great chance to be successful," Izzo said. "I hope someday you get a chance to do something I got a chance to do, and that is live your dream."
After shooting a blistering 62.5 percent from the field in the first half, MSU's hot hands fell to a chilly 35.7 percent, allowing the Golden Flashes to creep back into the game.
But the Green and White defense prevailed, and Kent State, which never led, would not close the gap to less than eight the remainder of the contest.
Guard Kacie Vavrek and forward Jamie Rubis paced the Golden Flashes' attack with 23 and 22 points, respectively.
Led by Bromfield, four Spartans hit double-digit scoring marks. Freshman guard Lindsay Bowen and sophomore center Kelli Roehrig each posted 13 points, while Pagel chipped in with 12.
"Today we really focused on playing as a team and using the event to our advantage," Pagel said. "We stayed with it all 40 minutes today - there were no spurts. We are improving and pushing the ball and pushing ourselves.
"It was a good win for us. It proves what we can do when we focus, and makes us tougher to get us ready for the dog fights ahead."
MSU hits the road for its next game, a matchup against the Oakland Grizzlies in Rochester. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. Thursday.
Dawn Klemish can be reached at klemishd@msu.edu.
