Penn State guard Jess Strom sank six-straight free throws in the final minute of the game to allow No. 13 Penn State to pull away from MSU, 64-60 Sunday at Breslin Center.
A disheartened Spartan head coach Joanne P. McCallie, frustrated with the total team effort, said she thought MSU was "out-toughed" by the Lady Lions (20-5, 10-1).
"We've gotten away from some of the things that made us good, I don't think we played well together," she said. "We did not play with the same kind of 'connectedness' as we have in some other games.
"I give Penn State credit, they made some shots down the stretch and played together and showed why they're the top team in the league right now."
The Spartans (13-8 overall, 6-4 Big Ten) were down by 10 points - their biggest deficit of the game - with 4:04 on the clock in the second half, but in just more than two minutes, back-to-back jumpers from sophomore center Kelli Roehrig and a bucket from freshman forward Liz Shimek brought MSU back to within four, 58-54.
After sending Strom to the line, senior forward Syreeta Bromfield answered Strom's first two free throws with a three-pointer to keep the Spartans within two.
Strom was fouled again on the inbound play, and netted two more from the charity stripe. Bromfield came out of the 30-second timeout and broke open to drain another trey with two seconds left in the game.
But 62-60 was as close as MSU would get, as Strom would net two more free throws to seal the Spartans' fate.
She finished with a game-high 19 points, including a perfect 7-for-7 from the line.
"I think at first we kind of took the burden on our own shoulders, instead of sharing it," Shimek said. "And they're more than just one player, they're a team.
"It's hard to accept they beat us twice in a row, that's two wins that shouldn't have happened in our eyes."
Along with points MSU came up short on the boards, pulling down 34 to the Lady Lions' 36 - just the third time this season the Spartans have been outrebounded by an opponent.
Still, Spartan ferocity showed in some aspects of the game. Shimek racked up her fifth double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds, while adding two blocked shots.
Shimek, Bromfield and Roehrig shared scored 14 points apiece, providing a balanced assault.
But it was the Spartan defense which was perhaps the most noteworthy.
MSU's defense again stymied Penn State scoring leader Kelly Mazzante, who missed her first five shots from the floor. Mazzante entered the contest with a conference-best 25.7 points per game, but tallied just eight during the matchup, a season low.
In the last meeting between the two squads, the Lady Lion guard was held to 14 points in Penn State's 75-70 victory Jan. 19.
"We didn't play as a team at all," Bromfield said, echoing McCallie's sentiments. "Instead of running plays and doing what we were supposed to do, we forced it. We didn't stick to our game plan, we got lost.
"And they out-hustled us again. It hurts to know they came in our house and wanted it more than we did."
The Spartans have three days to recover before hosting No. 25 Ohio State (17-5, 8-3) on Thursday.
Game time is 7 p.m. at Breslin Center.
