As the final horn sounded, sophomore guard Kristin Haynie threw the ball to the rafters and the crowd erupted - the rivalry was back in East Lansing.
MSU (12-7 overall, 5-3 Big Ten) defeated the University of Michigan (11-7, 2-5) for the first time in nearly four years, stomping the instate rivals 73-56 at Breslin Center.
"Our seniors this year said, 'We weren't going to leave until we beat Michigan,'" senior guard Syreeta Bromfield said. "It was awesome out there, we just took it to them tonight."
Bromfield rose to occasion and finished with a game-high 25 points, followed by freshman guard Lindsay Bowen with 17.
With 7:06 remaining in regulation, Wolverine guard Tabitha Pool connected on a three-pointer to cut the Spartan lead to 58-56, but that's as close as U-M would get, as MSU went on a 15-0 run in the final six minutes to seal the game.
Turnovers have plagued U-M the entire season, and it was no different Thursday as the Wolverines lost their last lead by losing the ball.
MSU was down 17-16 with 9:47 left in the first half, but an errant Wolverine pass put the ball back in the Spartans' hands.
Haynie brought the ball up the court, drove into the lane and with three seconds left on the shot clock dished the ball out to Bowen who drained an off-balance baseline 3-pointer as the shot clock expired to give Spartans a 19-17 lead - one they would not relinquish.
"Oh man, that was a terrible pass," Haynie said laughing. "But (Bowen's) that type of person, she's just a great shooter, she really took care of it out there."
The two squads traded baskets most of the second half, however, the Spartans were able to pull ahead by eight points but were unable to hold the lead.
Showing a ferocity under the basket that was unmatched, junior forward Julie Pagel hauled in a game-high 12 rebounds. Pagel's intensity never waned, as was evident with 23 seconds left in the game when she took a charge from 6-foot-3 U-M center LeAnn Bies without batting an eye.
Forward Raina Goodlow led the Wolverines with 15 points.
"This is a great step for the program," MSU head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. "Our folks had an excellent display of confidence out there tonight - maybe now we can start the rivalry."
MSU has the rest of the week off before traveling to Wisconsin (4-14, 2-5) to take on the Badgers at 7 p.m. on Thursday.
Dawn Klemish can be reached at klemishd@msu.edu.
