Indianapolis - For the first time in school history, the No. 7 MSU women's basketball team found its way to the championship game of the Big Ten Tournament and won it, defeating Minnesota, 55-49.

The win marked a school-record 12th victory in a row and 10th overall against ranked opponents.

The Spartans found themselves in three different types of games: overtime in the quarterfinal game, a shootout in the semifinal game and a defensive battle in the championship.

And the Spartans met every challenge presented to them.

MSU (28-3 overall, 14-2 Big Ten) played catch-up down the stretch of the second half of the championship game and were finally able to take the lead with less than two minutes remaining in the game. The Spartans scored the final eight points of the game over the last four minutes of the contest.

"This championship means a lot to this team," senior guard Kristin Haynie said. "Everyone's goal is to come to college and win championships. Kelli (Roehrig) and I knew coming in here that Coach P. wanted to turn this program around, and she has done that.

"We finally got our championship in our senior year, and it feels great."

Haynie was named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament and was joined by teammate senior center Kelli Roehrig on the All-Tournament Team.

Junior forward Liz Shimek led the Spartans on offense against the Gophers (24-7, 12-4), scoring 15 points and pulling down eight rebounds. Junior guard Lindsay Bowen and Roehrig each had 10 points during the game.

"We have a balanced team of attackers from Lindsay to Kristin, Kelli and Liz," MSU head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. "Those four have been in just about every situation known to basketball and they seem to always find a way to get things done. I think they are a very special group of players."

The road to the title was not an easy one though, as the Spartans found themselves in three different types of games, all of them as challenging as the others.

In the semifinal match, the Spartans faced a Penn State team that they have struggled against over the past few years. This game was a little bit different and nothing like the first and only time the two teams met during the regular season.

The game was a shootout all the way down to the end and the hype lived up to expectations, as both teams kept taking each others best shots and just kept going.

The Spartans took a 42-40 lead into halftime, thanks to a last-second 3-point field goal from Bowen.

MSU extended its lead to eight points with about five minutes to play and never looked back from that point, eventually winning the game, 83-76.

The Spartans showed more balance again, having four players score in double figures. Roehrig led with 19 points, Haynie and Shimek each had 18 points, and Bowen added 10.

Before the Spartans were able to advance to play Penn State, they needed to get through a tough Illinois team that gave the Spartans everything they had.

The largest lead during regulation was six points for Illinois, and coming down the stretch the game was going back and forth until the final buzzer.

The Spartans again found a way to get the job done and needed overtime to do it. With about one minute to play, the Spartans tied the game at 50 and then had to play defense the rest of the way because they were unable to get the ball back, but Illinois was unable to score and everyone in attendance got to see some free basketball.

The overtime was owned by the Spartans as they scored all 11 points in the extra frame and held the Illini without a basket for the final six minutes of the game.

The Spartans only had five players score during the game, but four of them were in double figures once again. Roehrig again led the team with 15 points and 11 rebounds.

Throughout the tournament, the Spartans were faced with numerous challenges, all of which made the team stronger and more prepared for what lies ahead.

"This win is very important because it sets a tone for our younger players," McCallie said after the title game.

"We want to set the expectations that we want to be a winning team and pursue championships every year."