Women's Basketball Opens Season By Hosting Spartan Chevrolet Classic
11/20/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 20, 2002
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
This Week In Spartan Basketball:
MICHIGAN STATE HOSTSSPARTAN CHEVROLET CLASSIC INCLUDINGFRESNO STATE, MIAMI (OHIO) AND VALPARAISO
When Sat.-Sun., Nov. 23-24, 2002 - Games at 2/4 p.m. each day Site East Lansing, Mich. (Breslin Center) Radio The Fan 730 AM Television None Coaches MSU: Joanne P. McCallie (Northwestern, 1987) Overall: 196-104 (11th year); MSU: 29-31 (Third year) Fresno State: Stacy Johnson-Klein (Northeastern State, 1993) Overall: 0-0 (First year); FSU: 0-0 (First year) Miami (Ohio): Maria Fantanarosa (Miami, 1990) Overall: 71-69 (Sixth year); MU: 64-49 (Fifth year) Valparaiso: Keith Freeman (Huntington, 1986) Overall: 266-140 (15th year); VU: 137-93 (Ninth year)
Tip-Off Michigan State opens the 2002-03 season by hosting the Spartan Chevrolet Classic. MSU will take on Fresno State at 2 p.m. Saturday in the opener, and Miami (Ohio) and Valparaiso will meet at 4 p.m. in the second contest.
Michigan State will play at 2 p.m. on Sunday regardless of whether the Spartans win or lose on Saturday. Should the Spartans beat Fresno State, MSU will play the winner of Saturday's second game for the tournament championship, with Fresno State playing the loser of Saturday's second game at 4 p.m. in the consolation game. If Fresno State beats MSU, the consolation game is at 2 p.m. and the championship at 4 p.m.
About The Spartans Michigan State returns seven letterwinners and four starters from last year's squad which finished 19-13 and reached the semifinals of the WNIT. MSU finished 6-10 in the Big Ten, which put the Spartans in a tie for ninth in the league. MSU returns seven of its top eight scorers and rebounders from last year including its top two scorers and top four rebounders.
Opening Act Michigan State is 18-12 all-time in season openers and has won three straight, including last year's 50-42 victory at the Breslin Center in the opener against Buffalo. The Spartans are 10-2 when opening the season with a home game.
Chevy Classic History MSU owns a 22-6 record all-time at the Spartan Chevrolet Classic, and has won eight of the 14 previous Classics. MSU is 13-1 all-time in first-round games, and has won 10 straight first-round contests since an 89-72 loss to Kentucky in 1989.
Scouting the Opposition Fresno State: The Bulldogs and new head coach Stacy Johnson-Klein return all five starters from last year's squad which finished 9-20 overall and 4-14 in the WAC. Senior guard Lindsay Logan averaged 15.0 points and 4.1 assists last season for FSU, and Fresno State returns a pair of solid forwards in 6-1 Omelogo Udeze (11.1 ppg, 7.4 rpg) and 6-0 Aritta Lane (9.3 ppg, 8.3 rpg).
Fresno State struggled offensively last season, averaging 62.3 points per game while shooting just .374 from the field and .617 from the line.
Miami (Ohio): The RedHawks finished 19-11 last season, including an 11-5 finish in the MAC East division to finish second for the third straight year. All five starters return, including senior guard Heather Cusick, who averaged 17.5 points, 5.6 assists and 2.9 steals last year to earn MAC Player of the Year honors. Junior forwards Colleen Day and Kim Lancaster both averaged a team-best 6.9 rebounds for Miami.
Miami averaged 71.8 points per game last season while shooting a solid 43.8 percent from the floor and 72.2 percent from the field.
Valparaiso: The Crusaders won the Mid-Continent Conference regular season title last year with a 13-1 league mark, but lost to Oakland in the tournament championship game. Valpo defeated Michigan and Ball State in the WNIT before losing to Houston in the quarterfinals to finish 26-7. Three starters return including senior forward Jeanette Gray, who earned second-team all-league honors last year by averaging 12.6 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. Suzie Hammel returns at guard after averaging 10.0 points.
Valparaiso did a nice job of taking care of the ball last year, collecting 86 more assists than its opponents while turning the ball over 63 fewer times.
Series Records Michigan State won both previous meetings against Fresno State, earning a 74-48 victory Dec. 17, 1996 in Fresno, and an 87-67 win Nov. 21, 1997 in East Lansing.
The Spartans have played four times against Miami (Ohio), winning only once. The teams have not played since a 66-65 Miami win in East Lansing on Dec. 30, 1982. Michigan State and Valparaiso have never met.
Useless Stat of the Week Michigan State's all-time record against teams that have 11 letters in their commonly used school name is 4-4 (0-1 vs. Connecticut, 2-0 vs. Fresno State, 1-0 vs. George Mason, 0-1 vs. Oral Roberts, 0-1 vs. Oregon State, 0-1 vs. William Penn and 1-0 vs. Wright State). MSU will have an opportunity to improve that record against Fresno State, but that is the only game on the schedule this year against an 11-letter school.
Spartans Cruise In Exhibition Finale Michigan State easily defeated the Dominican Republic National Team Sunday at the Breslin Center, racing to a 77-48 victory. Five Spartans scored 12 or more points and MSU used a whopping 52-29 rebounding advantage to roll to victory.
Candice Jackson and Syreeta Bromfield scored 15 points each to lead MSU, while Liz Shimek posted a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Lindsay Bowen also poured in 14 points, and Kristin Haynie added 12 points, seven rebounds, and five assists for the Spartans, who played with only eight players. Kelli Roehrig had 10 rebounds to go with five points for MSU.
Neither team shot the ball very well, as MSU made 22-of-65 shots for 33.8 percent while the Dominican team made 33.3 percent of its shots, but 25 MSU offensive rebounds allowed the Spartans to take 14 more field goal attempts. Michigan State also had a big advantage at the foul line, sinking 27 of its 35 attempts (77.1 percent), while the Dominican squad had only 10 free throw attempts, making nine.
Spartans Down Athletes In Action Syreeta Bromfield scored 21 points to lead Michigan State to a solid 83-72 victory over Athletes In Action Nov. 3 in the Breslin Center. Kelli Roehrig scored 14 points, Jennifer Callier added 12 points and eight rebounds and Candice Jackson pitched in 11 points for MSU. Kristin Haynie had a game-high 11 assists and Liz Shimek grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds to aide the Spartan cause.
MSU shot 49.2 percent from the floor (31-for-63), and made 14 of 30 shots in the second half while holding AIA to 13-of-39 shooting (33.3 percent) in the second stanza to pull away from a 39-39 halftime tie. MSU also outrebounded AIA in the second half, 27-19, including 11 offensive rebounds.
MSU finished the game with a 46-38 rebounding edge, had a slight 8-7 lead in steals and outshot AIA 49.2 percent to 37.7 percent. MSU dominated inside, owning a 46-22 lead in points in the paint and a 20-13 advantage on second-chance points.
Green-White Exhibition The Michigan State women's basketball team opened the 2002-03 season with a convincing 74-42 victory in the annual Green-White game Oct. 26. Due to having only nine players available, the Spartans competed against a group of male players that the team practices against regularly.
Freshman Lindsay Bowen paced the Spartan offense, pouring in 23 points on eight of 14 shooting including 4-for-8 from three-point range. Freshman Liz Shimek added 13 points and a shared team-high honors with seven rebounds for MSU.
Sophomore Kelli Roehrig scored 14 points for MSU, which made 49.2 percent of its shots (29-for-59). Senior Jennifer Callier added seven rebounds. The Spartans played without starting guard Kristin Haynie, who was ill.
Both teams started slow, as MSU led just 12-6 after 10 minutes, but the Spartans slowly pulled away. MSU led 36-21 early in the second half before exploding on a 25-6 run over the next seven-plus minutes.
Injury Bug Michigan State has seen its depth depleted by injuries already this season. Freshman guard Patrice McKinney suffered a torn ACL in her right knee during an individual workout Oct. 3, and is expected to redshirt this season. Senior forward Maria Recker has had a lingering shoulder injury since her freshman season that will keep her out of action this year.
Junior guard Caroline Nixon (hamstring) was held out of the game against Athletes In Action, while junior forward Julie Pagel has been suffering from a back injury, which kept her out of the second exhibition contest.
In addition, sophomore center Kelli Roehrig fractured a bone in her left (non-shooting) thumb in late October, but played in both exhibition games. Sophomore guard Kristin Haynie suffered from mononucleosis this summer, and an illness kept her out of the Oct. 26 Green-White scrimmage.
The Seniors Michigan State will rely on three seniors to provide leadership during the 2002-03 season: Syreeta Bromfield, Jennifer Callier and Maria Recker. Bromfield was a second team All-Big Ten pick in her first season as a Spartan last year; Callier played in every game but one and started 13 contests at center last season; and Recker has played in 70 games during her career - second most among active players.
The Back Court Junior Candice Jackson and sophomore Kristin Haynie are a pair of returning starters at guard who figure to be key players this season. Haynie set MSU freshman records with 177 assists and 77 steals last year and was named to the All-Big Ten Freshman team. She averaged 7.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.4 steals last year, ranking seventh in the Big Ten in steals and 11th in assists.
Jackson started the last 13 games for MSU last year and played in all 32. She averaged 4.1 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists, and her steady presence in the back court should aide the Spartans this year.
A trio of newcomers will provide depth this season. Freshmen Lindsay Bowen finished runner-up to teammate Liz Shimek for Michigan Ms. Basketball and is the state's third leading all-time scorer, and freshman Patrice McKinney was an all-state pick who led her team to two state titles. Junior Caroline Nixon comes to MSU after gaining several years of experience playing in Australia.
The Front Court The Spartans return forwards Syreeta Bromfield, Julie Pagel and Maria Recker and centers Jennifer Callier and Kelli Roehrig. Bromfield was MSU's leading scorer (15.6 ppg) and rebounder (6.5 rpg) last year. Pagel ranked second in both categories averaging 9.6 points and 5.8 rebounds, while Recker totaled 44 points and 16 boards in 18 games. Callier started 13 of the 31 games in which she played and averaged 3.3 points and 3.2 rebounds, while Roehrig poured in 8.2 points and grabbed 3.7 boards while starting 16 games.
A pair of freshman will be added to the mix. Liz Shimek, a 6-1 forward from Empire, Mich, is expected to make an immediate contribution after being named Michigan's Ms. Basketball last year. Megan Osmer, a 6-2 center, joins the Spartans after leading Bellevue (Wash.) High to four league titles and two district championships.
Like A Fine Wine If players, like wine, get better with age, MSU should show continued improvement this season. A year ago the Spartans had seven first-year players on their 12-player roster. This season, MSU has seven players returning who combined to start 109 games last season. Players who scored 77 percent of MSU's points and hauled down 79 percent of MSU's rebounds return this season.
Bromfield Leads The Way Syreeta Bromfield had an impressive first season for Michigan State, and looks to continue her production in 2002-03. Last year, Bromfield led MSU in scoring 15 times and in rebounding 15 times, while also posting a team-best four double-doubles.
European Vacation Junior Julie Pagel was a member of the 2002 Big Ten Foreign Tour squad during the summer, travelling to the Netherlands and Belgium during her 10-day visit. Pagel averaged team-highs of 11.0 points and 8.6 rebounds while leading the Big Ten team to a 5-0 record.
Approaching Milestones * Head Coach Joanne P. McCallie needs four more victories to reach the 200-career win plateau. * Syreeta Bromfield is just two points shy of 500 for her career. If Bromfield scored four more points this year than she scored last year (498), she could become the 13th player in MSU history to score 1,000 points. * Julie Pagel is 380 points shy of 1,000 for her career. She has scored over 300 points in each of her first two seasons. * Pagel needs 94 rebounds for 500, which will place her 15th in MSU history. Pagel grabbed 187 last season. * Candice Jackson is 21 points shy of 250 for her career. * Jennifer Callier is 29 rebounds short of 250 for her career.
Secretaries of Defense One of the cornerstones of McCallie's teams is a stingy defense. Last season MSU ranked second in the Big Ten in scoring defense (62.7 ppg), after ranking first in McCallie's initial season. In addition, the Spartans led the Big Ten by averaging 11.3 steals per game last year.
More of the same should be expected for this season. MSU returns its top three ball thieves from last year, all of whom ranked in the top 13 in the Big Ten in steals. Kristin Haynie, who ranked seventh in the Big Ten in steals, narrowly edged Syreeta Bromfield, who ranked ninth, for the team lead (77 steals to 75). Julie Pagel was third on the team and 13th in the conference with 59 steals.
New Faces Five new faces dot the 2002-03 MSU women's basketball roster. Newcomers Lindsay Bowen (G, 5-7), Patrice McKinney (G, 5-8), Caroline Nixon (G, 5-10), Megan Osmer (F, 6-2) and Liz Shimek (F, 6-1) joined the Spartans this fall. Bowen was a four-time class C all-state pick at Dansville High who is the third leading scorer in Michigan High School history. McKinney was a two-time all-state selection at Lansing Everett who led her team to two state titles. Nixon, a junior transfer, has international experience after coming to MSU from Australia. Osmer helped lead Bellevue (Wash.) High to four league championships while earning all-league honors. Shimek was named Michigan's Ms. Basketball last year after averaging 24.0 points and 15.0 rebounds for Maple City-Glen Lake.
Look, I'm On Television The Spartans will make a minimum of eight appearances on television in 2002-03. Two MSU contests will be featured by FOX Sports Chicago, including a Jan. 30 home game against Michigan and a Feb. 20 game at Purdue. Also, FOX will broadcast all of the Big Ten Tournament games with the exception of the championship, which will air on espn2, meaning at least one more Spartan contest will be on FOX Sports.
In addition, five MSU home games will be televised by AT&T Broadband. Games scheduled to be televised include the Dec. 3 game vs. Kent State, Jan. 23 vs. Minnesota, Feb. 9 against Penn State, Feb. 13 vs. Ohio State and Feb. 24 vs. Illinois.
All of MSU's games will be broadcast live on the radio (The Fan 730 AM) and on the internet at www.msuspartans.com.
The Schedule The Spartans face a challenging schedule in 2002-03. MSU will play 12 games against teams that competed in the 2002 NCAA Tournament, and four more against 2002 WNIT teams. NCAA Tournament teams include Georgia, Oakland, Kent State, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Penn State, Purdue and Wisconsin. The WNIT post-season tournament participants include Illinois, Michigan and Valparaiso.
In the Big Ten schedule, the Spartans will face Indiana, Michigan, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State and Purdue twice and Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin once.
Spartans Sign Four MSU head coach Joanne P. McCallie signed four players to national letters of intent to join the Spartans women's basketball program in 2003-04. The signees include Myisha Bannister (C, 6-3, Cleveland, Ohio/Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School), Katrina Grantham (C, 6-1, Saginaw, Mich./Heritage High School), Lorenda "Rene" Haynes (G, 5-10, Columbus, Ohio/The Wellington School) and Victoria Lucas-Perry (F, 5-11, Flint, Mich./Powers Catholic High School).
Bannister earned Division III All-Ohio honorable mention honors as a junior by averaging 11.8 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.7 blocks and 2.5 steals per game. She helped guide Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School to the district championship and her team, which started five juniors, advanced to the regional finals before falling.
Grantham was a second-team all-state selection in 2001 by The Detroit News and Detroit Free Press after leading Heritage to the state championship game. She is currently in her third season as a captain and has twice been named first-team All-Saginaw Valley.
Haynes has been named team MVP, first team all-league and first-team all-district each of her first three years at The Wellington School. She was named first-team all-state and district Player of the Year as a junior after averaging 27.8 points, 9.2 rebounds 3.8 steals and 2.4 assists per game. Haynes was the league MVP and second-team all-state as a sophomore after averaging 23.2 points, 8.6 rebounds, 6.1 steals and 4.1 assists.
Lucas-Perry was averaging 22.2 points and 8.2 rebounds per game this season. She has led Powers Catholic to two straight Class B state championships, plus a state runner-up finish. She was a first-team all-state pick as a junior, and was one of 48 juniors in the country to be invited by USA Basketball to play in an Olympic festival last June.
