Ingram's homecoming not sweet

EAST LANSING - Valentine's Day was bittersweet for Michigan freshman guard Alayne Ingram. She was playing in her first game in East Lansing - a stone's throw away from her hometown of Lansing.

Ingram's fans were out in force. She had her own cheering section with fans holding up "We Love Ingram" signs. There was even one loyal fan with an "Alayne will you be my valentine?" poster.

But though Ingram's faithful were supportive, most of the unusually large Breslin Center crowd was not.

A season-high 3,595 fans filled the lower tier of the center providing an extra lift for the Spartans in their final home victory over the Wolverines, 70-56.

"It was a great crowd, they were very vocal," Michigan State coach Karen Langeland said. "There was no doubt that they helped us. Michigan is a young team, and it may have been a little intimidating for them.

Freshman Raina Goodlow contributed nine points yesterday against Michigan State, but it

"It really helped to have the fans be as vocal as they were. Today they were helpful."

When it rains, it pours: Junior forward Kenisha Walker has not completed a single season of basketball during her career. She's not about to break that trend this year, either.

Last Sunday against Purdue, Walker went down in the first half with a knee injury. This week the Wolverines announced that Walker had torn the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee and would be out for the rest of the season.

Walker's presence will be missed by an already shallow bench.

A rivalry for the ages: Sophomore guard Anne Thorius and Michigan State senior co-captain Pernille Dalgaard are from the same town in Denmark. The two played on the same club team in Horsholm until Dalgaard came to the United States for college.

When the two compatriots meet, the rivalry is intense. But in their final regular season matchup, Dalgaard came out on top. Thorius had an uncharacteristic off-night, going 0-for-10 from the field.

In contrast, in last night's game, Dalgaard scored 10 points and had five rebounds in 34 minutes.

But statistics don't tell the entire story. Dalgaard's unquestionable presence on the defensive end propelled the Spartans to victory.

Dalgaard "had a great game for her last home game," Langeland said. "She played well, played defense well ... She plays a support defense in the zone. The times Michigan scored on us was when Pernille was on the bench."

Special Guest Appearance: Yesterday in 300 universities across the nation it was "Take a girl to the game" day. As part of the program, children under eight would be admitted free to women's basketball games at the participating NCAA schools.

Michigan Gov. John Engler attended yesterday's game, bringing his triplet daughters to witness the Michigan State victory.

wasn't enough. The Spartans

defeated Michigan

70-56, spoilng the homecoming of Goodlow's teammate, Alayne Ingram

LOUIS BROWN/Daily

02-15-99