After a disappointing two game road trip, the MSU women's basketball team returned to Breslin Center on Thursday night as a different team.

The Spartans came out with a fire that hasn't been seen in a while, and exacted some revenge on Penn State with a 76-49 victory.

MSU had lost to Penn State on Jan. 25, 69-58.

"It was a different team out there tonight," MSU head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. "A lot more players were being active and being aggressive "This is what we needed right now: A message of defense and a message of rebounding."

MSU outrebounded Penn State by 10 and the defensive effort sparked the Spartans on the offensive end — MSU recorded 23 assists on 32 baskets.

Sophomore forward Aisha Jefferson led the charge early for MSU (16-6 overall, 7-2 Big Ten), scoring eight of MSU's first 10 points, as the Spartans jumped out to a 10-3 lead. Jefferson finished with 16 points.

"I was in attack mode," Jefferson said. "Whether it be offense or defense. My teammates did a great job of feeding me with energy and me feeding them with energy and we weren't letting up for anything."

The Lady Lions (11-12, 4-6) quickly got back into the game, scoring five straight baskets to take a 13-10 lead and forcing McCallie to call timeout.

The Spartans then on a 21-6 run behind senior guards Rene Haynes and Victoria Lucas-Perry, who scored 16 of the 21 points. MSU took a 48-29 lead into halftime and never looked back.

"I loved it, it was so competitive and they we're going at it so much," McCallie said of the run. "it set the tone that we're here, we're ready, we're focused and we're going to compete and go at it."

Lucas-Perry poured in 20 points with seven rebounds while Haynes scored 15 points with six rebounds.

"Our team had a focus — they were very focused," McCallie said. "They were very motivated, very hungry."

Penn State head coach Rene Portland saw a completely different MSU team from last Thursday.

"Michigan State appeared to be more more hungrier," she said. "And I think their hustle plays were a big part of it, their 3-point shooting was a big part of it, but they were hungrier after that game last week."

Freshman center Allyssa DeHaan came off the bench for the second straight game and responded with her best all-around game of the season. She scored nine points and had six rebounds, five blocks and tied a career high of four assists. She also became the fourth player in Big Ten history to record 100 blocks in a season.

"Allyssa was very strong with the blocks she had on the floor," McCallie said. "She was intimidating, she was difficult to get around. I loved her aggressiveness in the paint."

DeHaan was one of five MSU players with four or more rebounds and one of five Spartans with three or more assists.

MSU also shut down Penn State center Amanda Brown, who torched MSU last week for 27 points and 14 rebounds. This week, her numbers were slashed to 11 points and seven rebounds.

Brown was rarely allowed to run the floor and because MSU was more effective offensively, she couldn't get going like she did last week.

Guard Tyra Grant led Penn State with 22 points, but needed 21 shots to do it. The 21 shots equaled the amount taken by the rest of the Lady Lions starting lineup.

MSU kept up the defensive effort even with the game in hand holding Penn State to just nine points in the final 12 minutes of the game.

"It was hard for them to score," Lucas-Perry said. "That's what we want to pride ourselves in, shutting down go-to players, shutting down players that can make big shots and that's what we really have to focus on, because when it comes down to it, that's what's going to win games: Defense."

Lucas-Perry said earlier in the week the team had a lot of built-up anger and was looking to release it. That mission was evident and it was accomplished.

"We came out with a lot of aggression and a lot of energy," Lucas-Perry said. "We were really getting after them. If we continue to put that kind of pressure on teams, it's going to be hard for them."

MSU lookos to replicate this effort the rest of the season, but it won't be an easy task to come out with that much emotion game in and game out.

"This is the team we want to finish the season off with," Lucas-Perry said. "It's not how you start the season, it's how you finish and that's what we're focusing on and getting after it from here on out."

MSU hosts Illinois at 2 p.m. Sunday.