Hockey vs. Ohio State Tomorrow, 7 p.m. Yost Ice Arena SPORTS Wrestling vs. Penn State Saturday, 8 p.m. Keen Arena 0 h M ichiganDaily Thrdy*Jnay1 ,99Pae 5 0 *FU LL COU RTo *W inning experience gives Spartans edge* by Mike Hill Daily Basketball Writer It's bad enough having to sit next to a lunkhead reporter from Michigan State. But losing to the Spartans in any sport digs deep. 0 The Spartans came into Crisler Arena without senior center Sheronda Mayo-Powell and junior forward Annette Babers, both lost for the season. But after the Wolverines' mercy killing at the hands of Purdue Sunday, it was hard to imagine the Michigan women's basketball team ever coming close to a 'W' again. Plus, sitting next to a guy who mixes beer with his Wheaties for breakfast doesn't add any additional enjoyment to the game. But I forced myself to ignore Unfrozen Cave Man sports writer and fo- cus on what turned out to be the most exciting Michigan women's game of the year. Michigan center Trish Andrew missed long on a last second triple try that could have sent the game into overtime. That makes two straight nights at Crisler in which the home team faltered on a three-pointer at the buzzer. (For those repressing, James Voskuil's fell just short against the Hoosiers.) What's sad is that Michigan had this game in the bag. But the Spartans, unlike the Wolverines, own a winning tradition and are experienced in close games. More than anything, this did in the Wolverines. Michigan watched an eight point lead disappear, as Andrew scored only one point in the final eight minutes. While the Wolverines searched for someone to step up, Michigan State's Kisha Kelley came back from a poor shooting first half to take control. Simply put, her performance is the mark * of a experienced club. But the Wolverines should not hang their heads. Okay, statistics don't lie and the most glaring stat is that big, ugly 1-11 record. In front of a fairly rowdy crowd (the Crisler Crazies, according to Mr. Dick Vitale), Michigan played its most inspired game of the season. Trish Andrew received some help in the scoring department from Nikki Beaudry and Carrie Stewart. And Stacie McCall got some backcourt aid from Jen Nuanes, after playing al- most 80 minutes in the last two games while Nuanes was suspended for disciplinary reasons. Like a good loser, though, it's time to find excuses for the less than spec- tacular record. As Michigan coach Trish Roberts said, "This team can't cut a break." That may be the biggest understatement of the year. Obviously, the much publicized loss of freshman guard Tannisha Stevens comes to mind. The freak eye injury has left the Wolverines only two deep in the backcourt. And while Nuanes served a two game sentence, McCall was forced to break pressing defenses without ballhandling assistance. Throw in her duties as the team captain and play caller, and McCall had her work cut out for her. And another for good measure: The Wolverines are facing a transition year. With Roberts in her first year at a school much more interested in men's sports, the half-court bred team has had to adjust to Roberts' up- -tempo style. To Roberts' credit, some give-and-take has occurred. Roberts, who says she "loathes" zone defense, has realized that she doesn't have the personnel to play man-to-man for 40 minutes. In many ways, the season may be turning in the right direction. Nagging injuries are slowly healing but, more importantly, the Wolverines realize. they can win. Beaudry said, "We'll get (the Spartans) next time." I hope so. Then I can laugh in the egghead's face. MSU rally stifles Blue, 65-62 Andrew's last-second miss keeps cagers in Big Ten cellar by Jaeson Rosenfeld Daily Basketball Writer Trish Andrew's three-pointer from the top of the key clanged off the back of the iron, sealing Michi- gan's demise in a 65-62 loss at Crisler Arena to Michigan State. The end of the game was not without controversy. With 30.6 seconds left, Michigan State (2-0 Big Ten, 6-5 overall) called a timeout with 27 seconds left on the shot clock. In the huddle, Michigan coach Trish Roberts in- structed her team to play solid de- fense, but not to foul the Spartans, hoping to grab a rebound with time enough for a winning attempt. Unfortunately for the Wolverines (0-3, 1-11), the clock keeper mistak- enly turned off the shot clock, and when Roberts noticed, she yelled to her team to foul. After being fouled by guard Jen Nuanes, guard Christene Powers calmly swished both ends of a one- and-one to widen her team's lead to the final three-point margin. The tide turned for Michigan State with 6:09 left when Kisha Kelly hit a jump-shot from the lane and was fouled by Carrie Stewart. Kelley sank the free throw to cut the Michigan lead to 54-50. Kelley then riddled the Michigan defense by cutting down the lane for seven of the Spartans last 14 points on her way to 16 points on the night. Kelley's ability to break down the Wolverine defense in the final minutes was the key, according to Roberts. "Down the stretch they figured out that if they penetrated, they could score pretty easily," Roberts said. "We just did not to a very good job on defense." In addition to Kelley, point guard Christine Powers shined in the clos- ing minutes for the Spartans. Powers sunk a clutch three-pointer that gave Michigan State the lead for good, 55-54, with 5:07 left to play. Powers later made two short jumpers and drilled the decisive free throws. Michigan State coach Karen Langeland was pleased with her team's performance in its first game after losing frontline starters Sheronda Mayo-Powell and Annette Babers for the remainder of the season. "Playing Michigan, which is always a great rivalry, and coming from behind. I just can't ask for anything more than they gave me tonight," Langeland said. Roberts had no such praise for her team. "Michigan State was without four playeis, two of their top players," Roberts said. "Coming into the game I thought we had a really good chance to beat them." Mistakes in crunch time did just as much to lose the game for Michi- gan as Power's and Kelley's heroics on the other end of the court. Michi- gan turned the ball over in its half- court offense twice in the last 2:28. The more costly of the two was An- drew's overthrow of Shimmy Gray on a pass to the baseline on the Wolverines second to last posses- sion. At the time Michigan trailed 63-62. "In the last five minutes of the game we can't play with intensity," Roberts said. MICHIGAN STATE (65) FO FT Reb. Min. M-A M-A O-T A F Pte.. Powers 40 6-11 4-4 0-0 3 1 18 Place 39, 6-22 2-2 1-6 0 1 16 Hall 35 4-8 0-0 5-15 1 3 8 Kelley 32 6-15 4-5 1-6 0 4 16 Evans 31 1-2 0-0 0-4 1 2 2 McMaster 9 1-1 0-0 0-0 1 0 2 Gray 9 0-2 2-2 4-5 1 1 2 Peterson 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Smith 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Totals 20024-6112-1311-36 712 65 FG%*/- .393. FT%- .923. Three-point goals: 5-' 16, .313 (Place 3-10, Powers 2-5, Evans 0-1). Team rebounds: 4. Blocks: 0. Turnovers: 14 (Powers 5, Hall 2, Kelley 2, Place, Evans Master, Gray, Smith). Steals: 3 (Evans, Hall, Powers). Technical fouls: none. MICHIGAN (62) FO FT Rob. Min. M-A MA. OT A F Pts. Andrew 38 7-23 3-6 2-12 1 1 17 Stewart 36 3-9 5-6 2-4 4 2 13 Beaudry 36 5-11 5-7 0-4 1 3 15 Gray 34 4-9 0-0 3-7 3 3 8 Mcall 29 1-2 0-0 1-2 3 2 2 Nuanes 27 3-6 0-0 0-3 2 1 7 Totals 200 23-60 13-19 8-32 14 12 62 FGs- .383. FT% .684. Three-point goals: 3-12, .250 (Nuanes 1-3, Stewart 2-5, Gray 0(-1, Andrew 0-3). Team rebounds: 3. Blocks: 6 (Andrew 2, Gray 3, Nuanes). Turnovers: 14 ( Beaudry 3, Nuanes 3, Stewart 3, Andrew 2, McCall 2, Gray). Steals: 4 ( Beaudry 2, Andrew, Nuanes). Technical fouls: None. Michigan State.........30 35-65 Michigan..............31 31-62 At Crisler Arena; A-936 (est.) ERIK ANGERMEtI Stacie McCall and Michigan could not stop Michigan State last night. Penn State 2-0 9-0 Iowa 2-0 9-1 Michigan State 2-0 6-5 Indiana 1-0 10-0 Ohio State 1-0 9-1 Purd ue 1-1 9-2 Wisconsin Northwestern Minnesota Illinois Michinnn 1-1 0-1 0-2 0-2 0-3 4-7 5-4 5-5 5-6 _1-11 Friday's games: Iowa at Illinois Penn State at Indiana Michigan State at Wisconsin Ohio State at Purdue Sunday's games: Michigan at Wisconsin Illinois at Minnesota Ohio State at Indiana Iowa at Northwestern Penn State at Purdue SPORTING VIEWS Cowboy loyalist can't forget past by Paul Barger Daily Sports Writer It was the 1982 NFC Champi-' onship Game in San Francisco's Candlestick Park. Joe Montana con- nects with Dwight Clark on a 6-yard touchdown. If you have ever watched Alcoa's Fantastic Finishes, you know the play that I am talking about. The Dallas Cowboy dynasty began its agonizing downfall with that play, forever known as "The Catch." Seasons of 3-13 and 1-15 befell the Cowboys, a club once known as "America's Team." This led to fan outcry about the team's horrendous efforts on the gridiron. All of that is behind the Cowboys now. On Jan- uary 31, 1993 in Pasadena, Dallas will become Super Bowl Champi- ons. Everything is all and well with the world, correct? Wrong. Something is missing. My affec- tion for the Cowboys has dwindled in recent years. It took me a bit of time to figure out the reason, but I finally have. I long to see one of the greatest coaches in NFL history, Tom Landry, pacing the sidelines on that saturated field in San Francisco on Sunday. Landry handled himself with class and dignity. Jimmy Johnson whines, yells at the refs and is gen- erally obnoxious. In addition, he does not sport a cool fedora upon his head like Landry did. I disliked the Miami Hurricanes under Johnson and hated when people used the term Dallas Hurricanes to describe the new regime. At least Jimmy can say he is not doing anything wrong; now his players are legally paid. Don't get me wrong, come Sun- day I will be rooting as hard as any other Cowboy fan for Dallas to avenge "The Catch" and go to the Super Bowl. But my anger over Landry's dismissal has been rekin- dled by the firing of another great former Cowboy, Dan Reeves. I hope that Coach Landry realizes how much we as Cowboy fans respect and miss him. Maybe soon we will see his name enshrined in the ring of honor that circles Texas Stadium. r. Zeta Tau Afpha " i proud to welcome CONGQATUIATONe! f h{{ .:. V , x L n.. . ' . The Fifth Jazzn q 'Al iVIRd