Sports: Women Cagers Win Fist Big 10 Title

The Michigan State women's basketball team has earned its first-ever Big Ten title, tying Purdue and Illinois with a 12-4 record. The 19th-ranked Spartans also earned a second-place seed at the 1997 Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis. Whatever the outcome, MSU will make their second-straight NCAA Tournament appearance and the third in program history.

The season proved to be a masterpiece for Karen Langeland, who is enjoying the second-longest tenure in the Big Ten among men's and women's basketball coaches (behind Bobby Knight, in his 26th season at Indiana). The stellar season opened with an 82-72 loss to No. 21 Texas at the Breslin Center. Following that game, the Spartans won nine of their next 10 contests, including the championship of the Oakland Tribune Classic in Berkeley, CA.

MSU opened the tourney with an easy 91-71 victory over UC-Irvine behind a career-high 23-point performance from senior forward Paula Sanders. Senior guard Tamika Matlock dished off an MSU single-game record 14 assists in the win as well. The victory put MSU in the championship game against the host California Golden Bears. With the transition game in high gear, the Spartans raced to a 93-62 victory and the tournament title.

All five starters scored in double figures, led by Nicole Cushing-Adkins, Matlock and Sanders, who each scored 14 points. Matlock also bettered her day-old single-game record with 15 assists. Cushing-Adkins, Matlock and Sanders were named to the all-tournament team, while Sanders garnered MVP honors. The Spartan tri-captain, who also was named the Big Ten Player of the Week for her efforts, averaged 18.5 points and 12.5 rebounds per game and shot 64 percent from the field in MSU's two wins.

After finishing the non-conference season with a 7-2 record, the spartans opened Big Ten play with impressive wins over Indiana (62-54) and No. 15 Penn State (99-75) at the Breslin Center. A tough road loss to Illinois (90-81) was soon forgotten as the Spartans reeled off seven straight wins. Included in the wining streak was an 82-51 thrashing of No. 7 Vanderbilt. Senior Cheri Euler was the hero against the Commodores, lighting the scoreboard for a career-high 23 points. She put together the finest shooting performance in MSU history, hitting on all 11 shots from the field.

Four days later, the Spartans welcomed back former MSU assistant Sue Guevara and her Michigan Wolverines. A record 7,519 fans turned out as head coach Karen Langeland's squad downed the wolverines, 76-67, in the first meeting between the spartan mentor and her former assistant. Sanders poured in 21 points and pulled down 10 rebounds as the Spartans extended their winning streak to seven games with a 64-53 win over No. 10 Wisconsin.

The streak ended the following week when preseason Big Ten favorite Iowa defeated the Spartans, 82-62, in Iowa City, Iowa. MSU bounced back with wins over Minnesota, Ohio State and Illinois. After a loss to Penn State, MSU came through with a 93-79 win over Indiana to earn its share of the crown. 'We put ourselves in a position to win our first conference title,' Langeland said. 'Heading into the season, this was the position we hoped we would be in. We felt with the experience we gained from last year's NCAA Tournament that we could be in the hunt for the league title. 'We've had great senior leadership and some significant contributions from our freshmen.'