Bloomington, Ind. - From the tip-off, Indiana made it clear this game would be no cakewalk.

The MSU women's basketball team (11-7 overall, 4-3 Big Ten) had to struggle with the Hoosiers (9-8, 2-5) for every bucket, but eventually found its first road win of the year Sunday at Assembly Hall. The Spartans trumped Indiana 64-53.

"It feels great to finally win away from home," sophomore Kristin Haynie said. "We knew coming in here we needed this win, and it meant a lot to be able to get out there and take it."

The problem in the first half wasn't poor shooting - MSU shot an eye-popping 68.4 percent from the field - but controlling the ball long enough to get a shot off.

Indiana guard Jenny DeMuth did more than her part to frazzle MSU point guard Lindsay Bowen, twice swiping the ball from the freshman.

The passing lane was also a deadly place for MSU to set up, as Hoosier anticipation led to 16 first-half turnovers, a Spartan season high.

MSU senior guard Syreeta Bromfield seemed the only one in the first half able to solve the passing puzzle, doing so by driving to the hole and drawing the defense in.

"They were playing us tight, in our faces," she said. "We either had to attack or turn the ball over because of the pressure."

Thanks mostly to Bromfield's 15 first-half points, MSU entered halftime with a 30-28 lead. She finished with a game-high 25 points, adding five rebounds while Haynie tallied 15.

Bromfield said a halftime team discussion led to an explosive second half.

"We went in the locker room and said we knew they weren't just going to roll over and give us this game, not the way they played the first half," she said. "We knew this win would be as important to them as it is to us, and so we wanted to come back out ready to win."

The lead exchanged hands 11 times in the first half, but the second half was a different story. Once Haynie answered Indiana forward Lisa Eckart's three-pointer with her own in the opening minute, the Spartans had the lead for good at 33-31.

A baseline jumper from Haynie with 8:51 remaining gave MSU a 48-38 advantage - the largest of the game to that point. A persistent Hoosier squad found Eckart open for a three a minute later, slimming the lead to five, but Indiana would get no closer. Eckart was the only player in double figures for the Hoosiers with 16 tallies.

Spartan head coach Joanne P. McCallie said although the win wasn't pretty, she's glad to have her first road victory since a 73-54 win over Providence on Dec. 20. "You can't have glorious wins all the time," she said. "On any given night you have to find a way to win, and that's what our team did.

"We know it's always quieter (for us) when we play away, but I think today we learned how to make our own noise."

MSU returns home Thursday for an 8 p.m. matchup against Michigan (11-6, 2-4).