Poole's last second shot gives MSU win over Wolverines in Ann Arbor

---

Tweet

Ann Arbor — As the ball sailed through the net to give MSU its first lead in more than seven minutes late in the second half, Porsché Poole had done it again.

The senior guard was named Big Ten Player of the Week last week after helping MSU defeat Penn State 83-77 and becoming the first Spartan to score 60 points in two games, but against Michigan on Sunday, she managed to top the feat.

Poole drained a game-winning jumper with 3.9 seconds left to give the MSU women’s basketball team (14-9 overall, 6-4 Big Ten) a 65-63 victory over the Wolverines (17-7, 6-5). 

Poole finished the game with 23 points, five assists and a career-high nine rebounds, leading head coach Suzy Merchant to say this was her best game yet.

“She’s just been tremendous,” Merchant said. “It was definitely her best performance of the year.”

Coming into the game, Poole repeatedly said how important it was to finish her career without a loss to U-M, and after the game she said this was the game she will remember most when she looks back on her time at MSU.

“For me to hit the game-winner in my last game here (at U-M), I’m going to remember this forever,” she said. “The only thing that could top this is a Big Ten Championship or a National Championship.”

MSU now has won 11 consecutive games against the Wolverines and 19 of the last 20.

MSU opened the game with three straight 3-pointers as the Spartans streaked out to a 13-3 start, but the Wolverines responded with an 18-2 run to take the lead behind four 3-pointers of their own.

But Poole and sophomore guard Klarissa Bell continued to fill it up for the Spartans, recapturing the lead and sending MSU to halftime in front 30-28.

Bell finished with a career-high 13 points and six rebounds and said a win against U-M means more to her than a win against any other Big Ten team.

“They’re the Wolverines,” she said. “You just don’t really like them, they don’t really like us, and … I don’t even know how to explain it. It’s a great feeling.”

After guard Jenny Ryan made two free throws to put the Wolverines in front 53-52 with 7:21 to go, U-M held the lead until the game’s final minute.

With less than a minute remaining, Poole drove to the basket and found Lykendra Johnson for a game-tying layup, putting the pressure on the Wolverines to come up with an answer.

During the next U-M possession, junior guard Jasmine Thomas fell on the court while covering U-M guard Courtney Boylan, which gave her a wide-open 3-point shot.

Boylan missed the shot and gave the Spartans a final chance at the win. Poole made it count, sinking her game-winning shot.

“We can’t get happy with this,” Poole said. “We can enjoy it right now, but we’ve got to get in the lab, continue to improve and continue to play hard.”

---