Michigan State, a balanced team without a superstar, not only had to overcome Minnesota All-American Janel McCarville on Monday night, the Spartans also had to deal with Golden Gophers sophomore Jamie Broback, who scored 15 points in a torrid stretch in the second half.
The second-seeded Spartans did both, and they earned the school’s first Big Ten women’s basketball tournament title with a 55-49 victory.
How did the 28-3 Spartans win their 12th straight game, especially when they were outrebounded 45-31?
“We won it with fight and hustle and heart,” said Michigan State guard Kristin Haynie, named the most outstanding player in the tournament.
Haynie’s spin basket in the paint with the shot clock running down upped her team’s lead to 53-49 with 37.4 seconds to play.
Another factor in MSU’s victory included two clutch baskets by Liz Shimek, first to tie the game 49-49 with 3:53 to go and the next one to put the Spartans ahead 51-49 with 1:44 left.
And don’t forget the body-banging defense that 6-foot-4-inch Kelli Roehrig applied on the 6-2 McCarville, and the accumulative wear and tear on McCarville’s muscular body from battling Ohio State’s 6-5 Jessica Davenport and Roehrig on successive nights.
McCarville’s holding, pushing, physical defense against Davenport played a huge role in Sunday’s semifinal victory. Monday, McCarville missed 16 of 17 shots and scored only two points.
Most of her shots came up short, often a sign of fatigue.
“It was very physical down there,” Roehrig said. “Janel had to battle Davenport [Sunday]. That could have taken its toll.
“I didn’t realize Janel made only 1 of 17. That shows how much our guards helped defending her.”
Gophers coach Pam Borton added: “When your All-American goes 1-for-17 and you don’t score a basket for the last seven minutes, it’s pretty hard to beat a top team. But that’s when somebody else has to step up.”
Broback appeared to be that person. Her 15 points in the first 8:43 of the second half lifted the Gophers from a 25-20 halftime deficit to a 39-34 lead.
She scored from the low post on feeds from McCarville. She drilled a three-pointer from the corner, and two of her four buckets in the run went for three-point plays.
But eventually Broback cooled off, and the Spartans’ balance took over.
Named to the all-tournament team along with Haynie were Roehrig, Broback, McCarville and Ohio State’s Brandie Hoskins.
