Hanging in the rafters of the Jack Breslin Student Event Center is the only Final Four banner the Michigan State women’s basketball program has earned. Deep in the history books is a campaign built on a true Spartan mentality.
Led by Head Coach Joanne Palombo-McCallie, also known as “Coach P”, the 2004-05 MSU women’s basketball team took the program to heights it had never seen before.
In one year, Michigan State women's basketball earned its first Final Four and national championship appearance. After winning the Big Ten tournament and sharing the regular season title with Ohio State, MSU ended the season with a record of 33-4, the highest win percentage in program history.
Twenty-one years later, during another March Madness consuming the camps, the magical run of MSU women's basketball in 2005 is almost lost to time.
“We were not a deep team; we were a fabulous team, it was the quintessential team. Everybody together, feeding off of each other,” McCallie, who is currently a speaker and author, said. “I mean I coached them hard, I was so tough on them because they wanted to go from lower Big Ten to the Final Four. “At that point in time, people would have laughed at them; there was no precedent for that.”
It was a squad built on its ability to outwork others, even if it looked better on paper. They willed their way to victory, with grit and teamwork.
“I have to give Coach P credit, she was able to put together such a great team. At the end of the day she chose us for a reason, and she picked the right people,” said Victoria Lucas-Perry, who was then a resilient sophomore shooting guard, and now works as a dentist.
The groundbreaking MSU women’s team is not yet inducted into the MSU Hall of Fame. MSU, for a while, did not induct teams, only individuals, but put in the 1965 and 1966 football teams in the Hall in 2024.
So maybe the women will get their due.
“It frustrates me because the players are loyal to Michigan State. I mean, they are Spartans; we all love Michigan State. But when someone you love bites a little bit, that’s hard to sit with. You only get your first Final Four and championship appearance once,” McCallie said about the MSU Hall omission.
Building the season
It was really such a historic season, full of feats that will never be repeated.
“This was such a special team and the season that we had. There is so much to be proud of and there is so much for the university to be proud of. It's probably time for them to recognize the accomplishments of that team,” said then-junior center Kelli Roehrig, who is now a teacher.
MSU was coming off a season that ended in a second-round loss to Texas in the NCAA Tournament. The team's on-court leader, senior guard Kristin Haynie, had blossomed into the floor general that McCallie was pushing her to be.
“I was an introverted, quiet freshman, but you have to be a vocal leader on the court as the point guard. Coach P and the other coaches really helped me get out of my comfort zone, and made me better,” said Haynie, who went on to star in the WNBA and now is the head coach of Central Michigan’s women’s basketball team.
Work was needed outside the gym to develop the leadership mentality Haynie needed.
“I took her public speaking with me, she hated it. I needed her to lead and direct, she could quietly lead but she needed to have a voice,” McCallie said.
The only other senior on the roster was Roehrig, the 6-foot-4 anchor in the paint. Roehrig had an important role in McCallie’s small rotation. Not only physically on the court, but also as a glue in the locker room.
“It was about us, it was about the love we had for each other. It was so much stronger than anything. I think that's what makes or breaks a team, the level of love and respect you have for your teammates.” Roehrig said.
Offensive weapons Lindsay Bowen and Liz Shimek were then juniors. After leading the team in scoring, the pair would repeat this feat in the 2004-05 season. Personal accolades were the least of anyone’s concerns; this team played for the success of each other.
“Everyone had a critical role, everyone plays a huge part in the success of the team, no matter who you are. Encouraging, motivating, pumping each other up, all those things,” said Bowen, now an assistant coach for Campbell University’s men’s basketball team.
Shimek, now a mother of five helping run her father's farm, added, “We didn’t have egos. We didn’t care who was the leading scorer. We didn’t care whose picture was in the paper. I think that was just part of where we all came from, what was instilled in us from our upbringing. Having that unselfish team was what made us so great.”
The main rotation of six was rounded out by two hard-nosed, scrappy sophomore guards, often found at the top of a full-court press, Lucas-Perry and Rene Haynes. While both were still underclassmen, their presence and vigor were pivotal to the team’s success.
“I learned from the leaders in front of me. How they carried themselves with poise, how they kept us focused,” said Lucas-Perry. “We were fortunate to have leaders like Kristin and Kelli, seniors who had been here and showed a level of grit and determination that never stopped. They set the bar, and we had to match it, no questions asked.”
From day one of the preseason, not only were lofty goals set, but there was true belief that this squad could achieve its vision of winning a championship.
“We were always talking championships. It was always in our mindset, we even had a running drill called ‘Champion’,” Haynie said. “That belief started with Coach P at the top, her fight and mentality for perfection.”
Knowing the challenges ahead and the aspirations of her team, McCallie had to put together a training regimen that tested physical ability and mental resilience.
“We did some crazy preseason stuff that tested your mental strength. We did Taekwondo workouts with Grandmaster Chung. Treading in the pool, holding hands with our teammates while singing the fight song. If there wasn’t enough energy at practice, we were running,” Shimek said.
These training sessions proved that this team meant business. No matter the difficulty or mood of practice, the women just grew closer to each other.
“In preseason there were signs, because there was weight room success and people were making their run times,” McCallie said. “They learned to connect in a way that was of such depth. Lindsay originated the saying ‘Dream Big,’ and they did whatever it took to accomplish their goals.”
Facing the Giants
The championship mentality was tested early in the season as the Spartans traveled to face college basketball legends Geno Auriemma and UConn Huskies and Muffet McGraw and Notre Dame. Claiming a victory in both clashes, McCallie’s team entered conference play with a record of 11-1.
“Those big wins helped us grow into who we were. We never had a cocky mentality. We were just going to go out, play and never give up. Having that mindset really changes your focus; you aren’t satisfied with a couple of wins,” Lucas-Perry said.
Not only were these matchups a test of mutual belief, but they also reinforced what this team believed they could become.
“As a D1 athlete, you are a student of the game. So going into those games, it was never like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is UConn,’ or, ‘Oh my gosh we’re going to Notre Dame.’ Our mindset was never that,” Shimek said. “We would just go out there and do our jobs; ultimately, we knew we had a good chance of winning if we did that.”
Fast-forward to late January: the team was rolling, with only a loss to Ohio State; the record had improved to 16-2. When the women traveled to Happy Valley to face Penn State, a venue that had not been kind to the Spartans in recent years.
“Some teams just have your number, I'm pretty sure in my four years I did not win at Penn State,” Haynie said.
The struggles at the Bryce Jordan Center would continue as MSU was dismantled, losing 73-56. It was a punch to the gut, but McCallie sent a message the following practice, “That is not who we are, that is not how we play.”
“Our practices got more intense, we would have practice at crazy hours, like five in the morning. We were the type of players to say, ‘okay coach, we’ll be there,’” Shimek said. “We put the work in to reflect on losses, whatever our consequences were for turnovers or whatever. We did it.”
The gritty, blue-collar nature of her players was starting to shine, and McCallie was ready to kick it into high gear. Knowing she could push the team to their limits and only receive requests for more.
“We trained so hard, we practiced so hard. There was not a day where you didn’t walk out of there feeling completely drained because you gave it your all,” Roehrig said. “That was the only option: you had to give your all, or you were going to keep doing it.”
The loss to Penn State sparked a fire inside the team. The Spartans would enjoy a win streak that lasted for 72 days, which included defeating Minnesota in the Big Ten Championship.Heading into the NCAA tournament, the Spartans held a record of 28-3, earning them the first No. 1 seed in program history.
“That number one seed kind of puts a target on your back, but we didn’t really know it was a target, because none of us had ever been there before,” Shimek said.
Their first scare of the tournament run was in the second round against USC. It was a close game, tied at 59 with seven seconds left. Haynes scooped up a loose ball and made the game-winning layup. The Spartans were moving on, but the victory celebrations were cut short.
“We were not ourselves, we played not to lose. We won, it was Michigan State’s first time in the Sweet Sixteen for women’s basketball, and they were celebrating in the locker room,” McCallie said. “I walked in and shut it down, I said, ‘Are you kidding me? That was not us, nothing about that was us!’
The fiery message from their coach evoked a lot of emotion in the players. “I remember going into Coach P’s office the next day and crying. I was so upset that we almost lost and we were so much better than how we played,” Haynie said.
The team was no stranger to a tall task; in fact, they had been preparing for them all season.
“It really showed in the last stretch of the tournament, when our bodies were broken, and we had to be there for one another,” Roehrig said.
After defeating Vanderbilt in the Sweet Sixteen, MSU had a date with Stanford. The Spartans came together to outlast Stanford, earning the first Final Four appearance in program history.
“You’re so in the moment, you don’t even realize how much time has passed since your last loss. It was day by day for us, taking care of business day in and day out, just focusing in on our opponent, and doing what we had to do,” Bowen said.
Their next opponent was Tennessee, led by the late Pat Summit. The season was on the line, and Michigan State trailed by 16 points with 14:28 remaining, were they fazed?
Of course not.
“Everyone had counted us out, they were wondering who was even on our team, but that’s who we were. We were going to come back and get you and you didn’t even know what happened,” Lucas-Perry said.
Led by a 43-point second half, the Spartans pulled off one of the most improbable comebacks ever.
“Tennessee had the better athletes, but we had the better team,” Shimek said.
Together, they rallied to defeat Tennessee 68-64, adding to their list of legends vanquished in the year, and earning a spot in the National Championship. “There’s been a couple moments in life close to matching the feeling of that win, like birthing children or finding a loving spouse. That’s probably a top five moment in my life, it was just such a magical feeling knowing that we did it together,” Roehrig said.
This magical season came to a bitter end, as the Spartans fell to Baylor in the championship game by a score of 84-62. The loss was not the defining moment of the season, as no one could take away the accomplishments of this team.
“These women put Michigan State above those programs, Pat Summitt at Tennessee, Stanford, Tara VanDerveer, Geno at Connecticut. Are you kidding me? Even Muffet McGraw at Notre Dame. Those are four of the best coaches in women’s basketball,” McCallie said.