Spartans edge Hawkeyes 63-60 on last-second shot

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Kalisha Keane's 3-pointer from the corner with 0.5 seconds remaining gave No. 9 Michigan State a 63-60 win over No. 16 Iowa on Thursday night.

Iowa (14-4, 2-3 Big Ten) had scored eight straight points to tie the game at 60 on a 3-pointer by Kamille Wahlin with 13.3 seconds to play. After a timeout, Keane took a pass from Brittney Thomas and immediately made a shot from in front of the Michigan State bench to give the Spartans their 14th straight victory.

Michigan State (16-1, 4-0) is off to the program's best start and hasn't lost since a 26-point defeat against Baylor in November.

Keane finished with 16 points.

Jaime Printy scored 23 points for Iowa but was held to five in the second half.

The Spartans led 50-48 before going on a 7-0 run that appeared decisive at the time. Keane capped the run with a shot from near the top of the key that put Michigan State ahead by nine.

Iowa cut the deficit to five and had the ball, but Morgan Johnson traveled with 2:25 to play, and Lykendra Johnson's three-point play at the other end made it 60-52.

Kelly Krei made a 3-pointer for the Hawkeyes, and Kachine Alexander added two free throws with 30.9 seconds to play to pull Iowa within three.

Thomas then missed the front end of a 1-and-1, giving the Hawkeyes a chance to tie, and Wahlin banked in a 3-pointer from a severe angle on the left wing.

Wahlin finished with 17 points. Lykendra Johnson had 11 points and nine rebounds for the Spartans.

Both teams shot 40 percent from the field, but Michigan State had 17 more attempts. The Spartans finished with 15 offensive rebounds and forced 17 turnovers.

Printy made all four of her attempts from 3-point range.

Printy scored 18 points during a first half of runs. The Spartans scored 10 straight points to lead 19-12 before Iowa went on a 14-2 run. Michigan State answered that with nine points in a row and led 30-28 at halftime.

Michigan State led 42-36 in the second half, but Wahlin finally provided some help for Printy. She scored Iowa's next eight points, including a desperation 3-pointer at the end of the shot clock and another 3-pointer that tied the game at 44.

Keane shot 7 of 12 from the field and contributed four assists and four rebounds while playing 40 minutes. All 11 players who got in the game for the Spartans had at least one rebound.