Spartan’s slam AIS, 85-56
MSU women’s basketball off to fast start
by Sherika Mitchell

Michigan State women’s basketball team won its second exhibition game Friday, November 12, routing a young Australian Institute of Sports team, 85-56. Michigan State won the jump, Kristin Haynie threw an assist to Victoria Lucas Perry for a fast break lay-up, and the Spartans were off.

AIS came back to hit a pair of three pointers and take an early 11-8 lead before Roerig tallied seven points in a 9-0 run that saw MSU take a 17-11 lead and never look back.Lindsay Bowen was dominating from the three point line, dropping down three three pointers in the first half.

The woman of the paint was Kelli Roehrig with 16 rebounds; Victoria Lucas–Perry hit seven points, including a three pointer, and two steals; and Rene Haynes came in the game on fire to get six rebounds, two steals and score three points.
At half time the score was 41- 26.

“We played a great game, but we need to work on some things, like communicating more on the court and not turning the ball over,” said MSU head coach, Joanne P. McCallie. “We played together as a team."The two exhibition contests signal what promises to be a banner season for the Spartans.

They look forward to their November 20 regular season opener against Central Connecticut St. in the Spartan Classic ranked 16th in the USA Today/ESPN preseason poll.If they are to fulfill that promise, MSU must continue to get stellar performances from a pair of promising sophomores, Lucas-Perry and Haynes.

Lucas –Perry finished the AIS game with 15 points and five rebounds. Haynes totaled 16 points, five rebounds and four steals.“She’s improved,” McCallie said. “She’s a better passer, and she’s much more aggressive this year.” Lucas-Perry, a 5’9 sophomore from Flint, attended Power Catholic high school. She was the runner up for Michigan Ms. Basketball. She also led her team to two state championships. She was very involved in the National Honor Society in high school.

She appears to be set to help MSU join the ranks of the women’s basketball elite. “We try to go out there and play our game,” she said. We, as a team, still need to work on so things.”Asked what advice she has for someone who is trying to get where she is now, she said, “It’s all about what you want to do. You just have to put your mind to it, everything is possible.”

Haynes, a sophomore from Columbus , Ohio, has also shown improvement. She was named the team’s best defender after last season. She too is a very aggressive player on the court. She says that the team plays hard and works great together.“I couldn’t have done anything without my teammates tonight,” Haynes said. The advice she gives to those who are looking forward to being in the place Haynes is right now is, “It’s hard work,” she said. “Don’t try to wait for your friend to come do what you are trying to do. You have to step up and be a leader for your team, if not your team, yourself.”

“They’ve both matured a great deal,” McCallie said. “They play with maturity. Rene Haynes is a very wise young woman.”The little one on the court name Courtney Davidson a 5’4 freshman played her best in the game as she run down the court making great assisting the and getting her team some points on the board. The Spartan out scored Australia in steal and rebound.

Sherika Mitchell is a J.W. Sexton High School junior and a participant in the Young Publishers Club sponsored by the Michigan Bulletin which meets at the Magic Johnson Foundation Creation Station located at the Black Child and Family Institute - 835 W. Genesee, Lansing MI.

Sexton and Everett high school football teams bowed out of the state tournament in the second round.Everett, which enjoyed its finest season in nearly 20 years, dropped a 28-21 decision to Flushing in a Division 2 district final.
Sexton ran into a buzz saw in its Division 3 district final as the undefeated Charlotte Orioles stunned the Big Reds, 38-0.

It was a real tussle for Everett. The Vikings led 21-14 with four minutes left. Flushing scored on a 43-yard pass, but it looked like Everett had sealed victory when Michael Stevenson blocked the extra point to maintain a one point lead.Flushing forced an Everett punt and the penalty bug hit. First came a personal foul on the punt return, giving Flushing the ball at the Everett 41.

A 10 yard pass completion was followed by a pass interference call that took the ball to the 14-yard line. A second pass interference call gave Flushing the ball at the three. Two plays later Flushing hit a five yard pass to score the go ahead points.Everett moved the ball with its final possession, but a desperation pass fell incomplete as the clock ran out.

Charlotte exploded for 31 points in the second quarter on its home field and shut down Sexton’s running attack.The last 20 minutes were played with a running clock to end the onslaught as quickly as possible.Charlotte held Sexton to just 85 yards rushing, spreading out to keep the Big Red runners in the middle of the field and denying them the edges where they could use their speed to advantage.

It was Senior Day at Spartan Stadium, and this year’s departing crop made it a big one.they got plenty of help from a hopped up group of underclassmen determined to give them a send off to remember.Together they wrote their own chapter in Spartan sports lore with a stunning, 49-14 upset of undefeated, fourth ranked, Wisconsin.

“That’s the way I wanted to leave this place!” yelled Tyrell Dortch as he headed into the tunnel.“I’m just so happy, I just don’t know what to say,” stammered Brandon McKinney.Jason Teague leaped atop a rolled up tarp to get a big kiss from his girl friend in the stands.MSU’s up and down football team had finally finished a big game.

The victory won’t mean much, however, if MSU takes its typical post upset nose dive and loses to either Penn State or Hawaii on the road in its final two games.
Saturday night, however, all was right with the world.For two straight Saturday’s coach John L. Smith’s guys had flirted with success against conference contenders only to flounder down the stretch and suffer crushing defeats.This time it was different.

MSU spotted the Badgers an opening drive touchdown when Anthony Davis raced 45 yards to pay dirt on the Badgers’ fourth play from scrimmage, then dominated the rest of the way.MSU led 21-14 at halftime, following a goal line stand that saw State stop Wisconsin four times inside the one yard line.

Senior cornerback, Roderick Maples and David Herron, a junior linebacker, combined to stop Davis inches short of the goal line as he tried to leap into the end zone with five seconds left in the half.

State scored a pair of first period touchdowns on a four-yard pass from senior quarterback, Damon Dowdell to his Detroit Henry Ford teammate, Eric Knott, and a blocked punt and recovery in the end zone by Travis Key. They took the lead for good in the second period with a flea flicker pass from Aaron Alexander to Teague.

It looked like one of those sandlot plays you draw up as a kid. Teague started right with the ball and was met and knocked down in the backfield. He managed to lateral the ball to Alexander who rolled out and threw it back to Teague who was wide open and walked across the goal line.“We’d worked on that play,” Alexander said. “I looked down field and there was nobody open, then I looked for Jason and he was out there all alone.

“It went just the way we planned it – except Jason was not supposed to get knocked down.”The rest of the day went as planned also. MSU had its best offensive showing of the season, gaining 551 yards total offense, 439 on the ground against a Wisconsin defense considered one of the nation’s best.

Wisconsin came into the contest ranked number one in the nation in scoring defense, allowing 9.1points per game. The Badgers also ranked second in pass efficiency defense and third in total defense.MSU was not impressed. The Spartans were still smarting from last year’s embarrassing 56-21 loss in Madison.
The offensive line paved the way for 439 yards rushing and the victory, allowing just one sack for a loss of three yards.

State posted 28 points in the second half, Jehuu Caulcrick scoring from one yard out, Matt Trannon catching a 31-yard pass from Drew Stanton who relieved an injured Dowdell at halftime. DeAndra Cobb cracked up the middle then bounced outside to score on a 54-yard run in the fourth quarter, and Jason Teague ended the scoring with a one yard plunge to cap the Spartans’ second 99-yard drive of the day.The Big 10 acknowledged the play of the MSU linemen, naming senior right tackle, Sean Poole its offensive player of the week.

“Rather than the standard skill guy, it’s a special deal for Sean to get it on behalf of our offensive front,” said MSU’s Smith. “That’s something out of the ordinary.
“For us, it’s not so much an individual award, but more of a team award.”It’s only the second time the Big 10 has named an offensive lineman to its top spot. Ohio State’s Korey Stringer won the award in 1994.Spartan linemen are graded on assignments, technique and effort on each play. Poole graded 98 percent against the Badgers.

With four seniors back from last season’s playing group, his six top scorers returning and eight of the nine who saw meaningful court time you’d think that Michigan State University head basketball coach, Tom Izzo, would know all that there is to know about this year’s Spartans. But he doesn’t.

In fact, he comes out of the season’s two exhibition contests with many of the same questions he pondered at last season’s end. Can his experienced, highly talented team develop the ability to finish close contests? Will it develop the killer instinct that allows it to choke opponents when they get them down and not allow teams to erase large deficits and climb back into contests that could be put in the victory column early?

Does it have a second big man to take pressure off Paul Davis, defend on the inside and rebound with the seven footers? After weeks of practice and inconclusive victories over Grand Valley State and Northern Michigan, No one knows for sure. They’ll still be looking for answers Friday, November 19 when they open the regular season at Breslin against Florida A&M.

State displayed a familiar inability to maintain a high level of play for a full contest in the opener against Grand Valley. The Spartans came out like gangbusters, quickly building a 21-2 lead and doubling the score at halftime, 44-21 - then came the all too familiar second half slump. MSU committed 11 turnovers and shot just 34.8 from the field. The Lakers even took a 36-33 rebounding edge.

Drew Naymick and Delco Rowley, the holdovers at power forward from last season, failed to make an impression. Rowley MSU men’s basketball
continued from page 8 had four points and 0 rebounds, and Naymick had six points and three rebounds.The recruiting class, which Izzo hoped would provide help in those departments, has been riddled with injuries and not seen much action.

Idong Ibok, 6-10 265, Marquise Gray, 6-8 220, and Goran Sutton, 6-10 246 have all been ailing. Only Ibok played in the exhibition, and he saw only three minutes of action against Grand Valley.There’s no question about the Spartans’ perimeter strength, however. MSU returns what could be the nation’s strongest corpse of guards and wing players.

Led by a trio of four year starters in Chris Hill, Kelvin Tolbert and Alan Anderson, Izzo can also count on a fourth senior, former walk-on, Tim Bograkas, junior, Maurice Ager and sophomore Shannon Brown.Add preseason All American center, Paul Davis, and you have a team ranked in the top 10 to start the year.

State’s second outing, a 98-56 win over Northern Michigan was encouraging. Izzo was especially pleased with the Spartans’ willingness to share the ball and play as a team.“I was pleased,” Izzo said following the win. “We rebounded better (a 56-30 edge), our turnovers came down (8), and we had some great passes.”Ball movement and unselfish play were the order of the day as seven players logged 20 plus minutes and six hit double figures. The Spartans had 19 assists, more than half of their 31 field goals.