End Of An Era

Feb. 15, 2006

Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

Tribute To Bowen and Shimek in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

No. 14/14 Michigan State Spartans (19-7, 9-4 Big Ten) vs. Iowa Hawkeyes (14-9, 7-5 Big Ten)

When:   Thursday, Feb. 16, 7 p.m.Site:   East Lansing, Mich. (Breslin Center - 14,759)

COACHES:
MSU: Joanne P. McCallie (Northwestern, 1987)    (120-63, sixth year at MSU; 287-136 overall, 14th year)IOWA:   Lisa Bluder (Northern Iowa, 1983)    (110-68, sixth year at Iowa; 466-210 overall, 22nd year)

MEDIA COVERAGE:

TV: ESPNU. Beth Mowins (play-by-play) and Nancy Lieberman (analyst) will have the call.

Radio: WVFN - 730 AM and www.msuspartans.com. Michael Sinnott (play-by-play)

Internet: Gametracker available at www.msuspartans.com

Spartan seniors Lindsay Bowen and Liz Shimek, the most prolific scoring duo in Michigan State history, will be playing in their last home game this Thursday night vs. Iowa at 7 p.m. The duo has accounted for 91 wins, and with a win over the Hawkeyes, they would become the winningest senior class in school history. They have been a mainstay in the lineup, as both players have started every game of their career. The top two players in their class in the state of Michigan coming out of high school, they started out their careers sharing Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors, and throughout their four years have put the Michigan State women's basketball program on the national scene with three straight NCAA Tournament appearances, a Big Ten regular season and tournament title (2004-05) and the school's first-ever berth in the Final Four (2005).

This season, the duo are neck-and-neck in the chase for the all-time scoring record at MSU, as Bowen is second with 1,652 points, and Shimek third with 1,642 points. The school record is held by Kisha Kelley, who scored 1,668 points from 1991-95. Bowen is the school's all-time leader in 3-point field goals (281), 3-point field-goal percentage (40.7) and free-throw percentage (87.6), while Shimek is MSU's leader in rebounds (1,076) and field goals (660).

The Spartans (19-7) extended their winning streak to five games with a dramatic 14-point comeback vs. Wisconsin last Sunday. Down 43-29 in the second half, the Spartans closed the game on a 24-4 run the last 9:19 of the game for the 53-47 victory. Lindsay Bowen scored all 10 of her points during the final stretch, hitting two 3-pointers to start the run and nailing four free throws to close the game. It marks the fifth time MSU has rallied from at least eight points down in the second half to win a game this season.

The win kept MSU in sole possession of fourth place in the Big Ten standings at 9-4. The Spartans closed in on Minnesota for third place, as the Gophers fell at Purdue, 63-31. Ohio State and Purdue are tied atop the standings at 11-1, while Minnesota is in third at 9-3.

The Hawkeyes (14-9) are sixth in the conference race with a 7-5 mark after falling to Ohio State last Sunday. Iowa upset then-No. 9 Michigan State on Jan. 9 in Iowa City, 75-64.

UP NEXT: After taking on Iowa, the Spartans head to Columbus to take on league-leader Ohio State in a nationally-televised matchup Monday, Feb. 20 at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR:

• Seniors Lindsay Bowen and Liz Shimek are neck-and-neck in the chase for the MSU all-time scoring record. Bowen is second in school history with 1,652 points, while Shimek is third with 1,642 points. Bowen scored her 1,600th-career point in the win over Indiana on Jan. 29, and Shimek scored her 1,600th-point at Northwestern on Feb. 3. Kisha Kelley is the all-time leading scorer at MSU with 1,668 points.

Lindsay Bowen is the school's all-time leader in 3-pointers, 3-point percentage and free-throw percentage.

SHIMEK, BOWEN EARN ACADEMIC HONORS: Seniors Liz Shimek and Lindsay Bowen have excelled not only on the court this season, but also in the classroom. Shimek and Bowen were recently named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District IV team. Shimek earned first-team honors for her 3.7 GPA in General Management, and is now eligible for Academic All-America honors. Bowen was named to the second team for her 3.4 GPA in Kinesiology.

SCOUTING REPORT:

A GLANCE AT IOWA (14-9, 7-5 BIG TEN)

• Iowa is led by senior guard Crystal Smith, who is tied with Liz Shimek for second in scoring (17.7 ppg) in the Big Ten.

• Big Ten Freshman of the Year candidate Megan Skouby (13.7 ppg) scored 27 points in the first meeting vs. MSU in Iowa City.

• The Hawkeyes are 2-3 in their last five games, but did hand Purdue its only conference loss of the year with a 77-71 win in overtime in Iowa City on Feb. 2.

• Iowa leads the Big Ten in scoring offense (73.5 ppg) and free-throw percentage (.763).

SERIES HISTORY VS. THE HAWKEYES:

• Overall: Iowa leads, 29-17

• Trends: MSU has won four of the last six meetings.

• Coach McCallie vs. Iowa: 4-6 (1-3 in East Lansing)

• Last meeting: Iowa 75, MSU 64 (Jan. 9, 2006 - Iowa City)

• In East Lansing: Iowa leads, 13-8

• Current streak: Iowa won the last meeting.

• Streak in East Lansing: MSU won the last meeting at the Breslin Center.

• Longest MSU winning streak: Five (1998-2000)

• Longest Iowa winning streak: 12 (1984-89)

• Last MSU win: MSU 67, Iowa 50 (Feb. 17, 2005 - Iowa City)

• Last Iowa win in Breslin Center: Iowa 78, MSU 67 (Feb. 1, 2004)

LAST TIME VS. IOWA: Freshman Megan Skouby scored a season-high 27 points and Crystal Smith added 18 as Iowa defeated No. 9 Michigan State 75-64 on Monday, Jan. 9.

Skouby finished 12-for-20 from the field. Iowa's defense forced 21 turnovers and held Michigan State to 4-for-16 on 3-point attempts.

The Spartans held a 29-27 halftime lead before Skouby sparked the Hawkeyes with 19 second-half points on 6-for-6 shooting.

The Hawkeyes had a 10-0 run early in the second half to build a 46-36 lead.

Liz Shimek led Michigan State with 16 points and 15 rebounds. Lindsay Bowen added 13 points.

Crystal Smith was scoreless through the first 12 minutes before helping Skouby in a second-half scoring barrage. Smith hit a jumper with 7:05 left in the first half to give the Hawkeyes their first lead at 20-19.

She hit two others during a 10-2 run that padded Iowa's lead to 22-19.

SHIMEK SECOND IN BIG TEN IN SCORING AND REBOUNDING: Senior All-America candidate Liz Shimek is second in the Big Ten in scoring (17.7 ppg) and rebounding (8.7 rpg). The forward is also first in the conference in offensive rebounds (3.7 pg) and fifth in field-goal percentage (54.3). Named Big Ten Player of the Week four times this season, Shimek is even more dominating at home - in MSU's 14 games at the Breslin Center, she is pouring in 19.1 points per game and shooting 60.3 percent. Shimek has scored at least 20 points nine times, which is third most in the Big Ten, and is second in the conference with eight double-doubles.

BOWEN NOMINATED FOR NANCY LIEBERMAN AWARD: Lindsay Bowen was one of 11 nominees selected for the 2006 Nancy Lieberman Award, which honors the nation's top point guard. The award, now in its seventh season, is presented annually by the Rotary Club of Detroit. A panel of national sportswriters chose this year's nominees based upon the award's criteria - displaying the floor leadership, play-making and ball-handling skills that personified Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman.

MSU SETS SINGLE-SEASON ATTENDANCE RECORD: With one home game still remaining, the Michigan State women's basketball program has already set a single-season attendance record. The Spartans have had 95,690 fans attend 14 home games this season, good for an average of 6,835 a game. The previous record was set last season, when 79,855 fans attended 13 home games for an average of 6,143. In addition, MSU is on pace to break the single-game average record, which was also set last season. The Spartans have had five of their top 10 crowds in program history this season, including 12,088 on Jan. 1 vs. Michigan, good for the second largest in MSU program history. MSU is 10th in the nation in attendance.

COMEBACK KIDS: The Spartans have had a flair for the dramatic this season as they have rallied to win five games this season when down by at least eight points in the second half. Below is a look at their comebacks:

Game (Date) Margin  Score   Time    Final MSU run   Final scoreWisconsin (2/12)-14 43-29   9:19    24-4        53-47Rutgers (1/7)   -11 38-27   19:35   46-33       73-71Wisconsin (1/12)-10 55-45   7:00    24-8        69-63Indiana (1/29)  -9  42-33   10:12   32-17       65-59Illinois (2/5)  -8  41-33   16:09   24-10       57-51

POTENT PRESS: MSU has stepped up its defensive pressure in the Big Ten season with a menacing press that ranges from full-court, to 3/4 court to half court. The Spartans are first in league play with 11.5 steals. The press has been a key factor in many of MSU's second-half comebacks. During the recent five-game winning streak, the Spartans have forced an average of 21.6 turnovers a game.

Aisha Jefferson scored a career-high 19 points vs. Minnesota last week.

LAST TIME OUT: SPARTANS RALLY FROM 14 DOWN TO BEAT WISCONSIN: Lindsay Bowen started a 24-4 run with two 3-pointers and finished it with four free throws as the No. 15 Spartans beat Wisconsin 53-47 Sunday, Feb. 12. The Spartans (19-7, 9-4 Big Ten) overcame a 43-29 deficit with the big run over the final 9:19 -- including 20 of the game's final 22 points.

Rene Haynes led Michigan State with 14 points. Bowen had 10, all in the final 7:40. Shimek had four of her eight points in the closing surge.

Janese Banks, Ashley Josephson and Danielle Ward each had 11 points for the Badgers (9-16, 3-10), who had edges in every shooting statistic and in rebounds.

The Spartans turned up their defensive pressure and helped force 25 turnovers to earn their 26th win in their last 27 games in Breslin Center.

The Badgers overcame a 9-2 deficit and used an 11-0 run to take a 26-20 halftime lead. Wisconsin overcame 14 turnovers and shot less than 35 percent from the field in that span.

Michigan State shot just 26 percent in the first half. Bowen, the No. 2 scorer in school history, was 0-for-7 before the break and missed her first 10 shots.

The Spartans' other senior, Shimek, the school's No. 3 all-time scorer, was just 2-for-10 from the field but led all rebounders with 10.

POST-GAME WISCONSIN NOTES:

• Michigan State has now won seven in a row over Wisconsin, the longest winning streak for MSU in series history.

• The 14-point comeback was the biggest for MSU this season - the previous best was when MSU was down 11 to Rutgers, and then came back for the 73-71 win on Jan. 7.

• MSU has now put together five second-half comeback victories this season...the Spartans also trailed by 11 vs. Rutgers (1/7), 10 vs. Wisconsin (1/12), 9 vs. Indiana (1/29) and 8 vs. Illinois (2/5)...MSU also rallied from 10 points down (57-47) with 5:05 remaining to tie the score vs. Ohio State on Jan. 22 with three seconds left, but lost on a last second shot, 67-65.

• The crowd of 9,181 was the sixth largest in MSU women's basketball history...five of the top 10 crowds in program history have come this season.

• Rene Haynes tied her career-high with five steals...she led MSU with 14 points on 6-for-11 shooting.

• MSU shot a season-low 32 percent from the field (19-for-60).

BREAKING DOWN THE NUMBERS: Michigan State is ranked 21st in the latest CollegeRPI.com rankings (as of Feb. 14). MSU's strength of schedule is rated the 23rd-most difficult in the nation, and the Spartans have faced eight teams in the top 25. In the second NCAA RPI report released Feb. 8, the Spartans were ranked 22nd.

ALL ABOUT DEFENSE: Coach McCallie stresses the importance of team defense, and when the team responds with a good defensive effort, the Spartans have the numbers to prove it results in victories. MSU is 11-0 when holding its opponent to under 60 points, and 18-1 when allowing under 70 points. The only blemish was a last-second 67-65 loss to Ohio State Jan. 22. MSU has held its opponents to under 62 points in the last five games. Conversely, MSU is just 1-6 when when it gives up more than 70 points.