Minneapolis - It was a classic battle that was not decided until the final seconds, when the No. 1 seeded MSU women's basketball team found the game at its feet and ended up defeating No. 8 seed Southern Cal, 61-59, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
"This team really showed their mental toughness," MSU head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. "They have had it all year, and it is remarkable the way they can make the plays when they need to.
"My concern is that they rely on it way too much, and then they find themselves in the situation they were in tonight."
The Spartans (30-3 overall) picked up their 14th straight win and 30th overall, both MSU records, and advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time in school history. The victory didn't come easy though, as the Spartans traded punches with the Trojans (20-11) for the final five minutes of the game.
The Spartans had the ball with about 22 seconds left to play and the game tied at 59. Senior guard Kristin Haynie drove and found senior center Kelli Roehrig, who went up with the ball only to get blocked. Then chaos ensued.
The ball changed hands on the floor about four times before it rolled to the feet of MSU sophomore guard Rene Haynes, who picked it up and scored her only field goal of the game with three seconds to play. The Trojans never got another chance to tie.
"It was a scramble for the loose ball," Haynie said. "Once it hit the floor, everyone was on the floor diving after it. Luckily, Rene found it and went up strong and finished."
It was not a sound game for the Spartans, who found themselves on the wrong end of the rebounding total and turned the ball over 18 times. The Trojans outrebounded MSU 36-31, including only seven offensive rebounds for the Spartans.
"Our rebounding was just not there," McCallie said. "Seven offensive rebounds is ridiculous and 18 turnovers is far too many for this team."
The Spartans had four players reach double figures in scoring, led by junior guard Lindsay Bowen, who had 19 points, 16 coming in the second half on 5-for-9 shooting from 3-point range.
"Lindsay was phenomenal," Haynie said. "Late in the game, most players' legs get tired, but not Lindsay's. She made the big shots when we needed them."
Junior forward Liz Shimek had 14 points, Roehrig had 10 and Haynie added 12.
The Spartans shot 48 percent from the floor and the Trojans only were able to connect on 38 percent of their shots.
The Spartans acknowledged that if they want to advance, they will need to play better than they did against Southeren Cal.
"It is safe to say that if we play like this again, we will be done," Shimek said.
The Spartans head to Kansas City, Mo., to face the winner of Monday's late-night game between No. 4 seed Kansas State and No. 5 seed Vanderbilt.
