Michigan
Michigan State
Last-Second Shot Ends U-M's Season in WNIT Second Round
3/14/1999 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Crisler Arena)
Event: Women's NIT (Second Round)
Score: Michigan State 69, Michigan 68
Records: U-M (18-12), MSU (17-13)
Next U-M Game: Season completed
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- In a game that featured five ties and nine lead changes, the final possession of the game proved to be the difference as Michigan State's Becky Cummings laid in a putback that bounced on the rim and fell in as time expired for a 69-68 Spartan victory over the University of Michigan women's basketball team in second-round action of the Women's National Invitation Tournament.
Michigan had maintained the lead throughout the second half except for one brief MSU lead at 15:09. The Wolverines' season came to an end at 18-12, while the 17-13 Spartans move on to the WNIT quarterfinals to face Wisconsin.
Michigan relied heavily on three-point field goal shooting in the first half, with junior Stacey Thomas (Flint, Mich./Southwestern Academy) hitting 3-of-4 triples and rookie Alayne Ingram (Lansing, Mich./Waverly HS) 2-of-3. The Wolverines closed the half up by four, 38-34, after shooting 62.5 percent from long range (5-of-8).
After all five ties in the first half and eight lead changes, Michigan managed to hold on to the lead for all but 20 seconds in the second half despite cold shooting from the field. The new session opened with a Raina Goodlow (Detroit, Mich./Dominican HS) layup 10 seconds into the action. The freshman followed with a three-pointer 1:19 later to put Michigan up 43-34. That would be the Wolverines' largest lead of the half.
Michigan State went on a 11-1 run to take a 45-44 lead at 15:09 on consecutive Maxann Reese layups. Ruth Kipping (Quincy, Ill./Quincy HS) answered with a layup of her own to give the Wolverines a lead they would not relinquish until the final shot of the game.
Michigan took several seven-point leads in the closing 10 mintues of action, but Michigan State always seemed to have an answer. After being stymied in the first half, the Spartan post players pulled through in the clutch, accounting for 16 of MSU's last 21 points. At 2:57, Kipping scored her 11th point of the game to give Michigan a 64-59 advantage. Consecutive three-pointers from Pernille Dalgaard and Reese kept the Spartans in the game, pulling them within one, 66-65. After a Thomas layup put U-M up by three, Cummings cut it one, 68-67, and following a missed trey by Ingram, the Spartans called a 20-second timeout with 1:02 on the clock.
True to form, Thomas grabbed a key steal in front of MSU's bench to give the Wolverines the ball. Michigan called a full timeout to set up what would be its final play of the game. Intending to get the ball to Anne Thorius (Horsholm, Denmark) in the left short corner, Michigan was unable to complete the called play, forcing Ingram to take an awkward right-side shot underneath. The stray shot was rebounded by State's Dalgaard with 14 seconds remaining, and the Spartans called a timeout 1.5 seconds later.
The Spartans set up their play from midcourt, and with five seconds left, Donita Johnson put up a misguided shot. Cummings went up for the offensive board and, as time expired, her shot hit the top right edge of the rim and bounced in for the Spartan victory.
NOTES
• Michigan State advances to the quarterfinals to face Wisconsin in Madison on Wednesday (March 17) at 7:30 p.m. CST.
• Michigan went 1-2 against the Spartans this year after winning the first game 76-75 in overtime on Jan. 20 in Ann Arbor. Michigan State claimed a 70-56 win on Feb. 14 in the Breslin Center.
• Freshman Raina Goodlow tied a career high with 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting. She also had three rebounds, one steal and an assist.
• For the second straight game, Stacey Thomas tied a career high with three three-point field goals. In the first round of the WNIT, Thomas hit three at Western Michigan. She now has a career total of 15 triples.
• With two three-pointers, Alayne Ingram moved into 10th place on Michigan's career triples list, with 37. Silver Shellman is ninth with 50.
QUOTES
Michigan Coach Sue Guevara
"Down the stretch, it came down to two plays. We had the ball and we were looking to go baseline penetration. Then defensively, we got exactly who we wanted to take the shot (Donita Johnson). We just didn't get the block out on the shot. ... Donita took the shot, Ruth (Kipping) came out and contested it, and unfortunately they got the rebound."
On Ruth Kipping and Raina Goodlow ... "I think you got a glimpse of our post players. Ruthie went 5-for-9, Raina was 6-of-12. Thank god they're freshmen.
On Michigan's last possession ... "Michigan State was in a zone, and we were looking to run a play called Wisconsin because Wisconsin schooled us on this a few times. You take the ball into the short corner, but the ball never got there. We didn't get a couple of screens so Alayne (Ingram) put that shot up."
On playing in the WNIT and what the team got out of it ... "It was really good for us to play in the WNIT. It's good for the kids, especially for a young team. We lost enough this year that we've learned that lesson. Now we need to work on the little things."
Michigan State Coach Karen Langeland
"This was such a tough game to lose. Both teams played with a lot of heart and played hard. I give Michigan a lot of credit. They did a great job defensively on Maxann (Reese) and Kristen (Rasmussen). ... I would have liked to play this game at home, but you have to prove you can play on the road and win on the road. We were down by as many as nine in the second half and we didn't give up."
On the game from Michigan's perspective ... "It's tough to lose games like this, particularly when you played so well all game, and then to give up an offensive board. It's tough, especially since this is the last game of the season. It will take a while to get over this one."
MSU Forward Becky Cummings
On her last-second shot to win the game ... "The ball just kind of appeared. I was shocked it ended up in my hands. We had a set play we wanted to run, but you just have to be ready for circumstances like that."
