Michigan State University
Purdue
Spartans Toppled By No. 10 Purdue, 77-67
1/8/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Shereka Wright set the right tone for No. 10 Purdue and her teammates followed her lead in a 77-67 win over No. 23 Michigan State on Thursday night.
The Boilermakers' All-America forward hit 10 of her first 12 shots and had a season-high 28 points, 14 in each half. She finished 11-for-18 from the field and 6-for-9 at the line in scoring at least 20 points for the sixth time this season.
"My teammates put me in the right positions," Wright said. "We were aggressive and didn't settle for jump shots. We got to the rim and made things happen."
Beth Jones added 16 points and Erika Valek and Emily Heikes each had 12 for the Boilermakers (11-2, 1-1 Big Ten), who soothed a little of the sting from an upset at home by Penn State last Friday.
"We were very self-motivated tonight," Purdue coach Kristy Curry said. "We were able to deliver the first punch and came out swinging. That gave us a lot of confidence."
The Boilermakers dominated on defense and became the first team to score more than 68 points or shoot .500 from the field against the Spartans, No. 1 in the league in both categories.
It was the second straight conference loss for Michigan State (10-3, 1-2) but the first defeat in the last seven home games. The Spartans had held their previous seven opponents to 49 points per game and .310 accuracy.
"I just really want to compliment Purdue," Michigan State coach Joanne P. McCallie said. "Our 14 first-half turnovers led to easy baskets. After that, it was an even game. But it was too late. They had four senior starters out there. And it showed."
The Boilermakers outshot and outscrapped the Spartans throughout, though the game was won in the first 20 minutes. A 14-0 run turned a 20-17 game into the rout it became until the final minutes.
"I'm not so sure we handled as well as everyone is saying," Curry said. "I felt we were 10 points down all night. It's just good not to start 0-2 in the conference."
Her team played with that sense of urgency and punished Michigan State with a 2-2-1 defense, especially in a 36-22 first half.
Michigan State trailed by 20 with 3:16 left but made the score respectable with a barrage of nine 3-pointers in the second half and a rally against Purdue's reserves.
"We were silly, we were immature, we made bad choices, and we made bad passes," McCallie said. "It was a good lesson. And we can go on from here."
Liz Shimek was 7-for-8 from the field, scored 17 points and had a game-high nine rebounds for the Spartans. Lindsay Bowen added 12 points.
"We didn't buckle down, didn't talk on defense and weren't tough enough," Shimek said. "Wright's baskets came so easily. She didn't have to make tough shots. She had baskets that shouldn't have been there."
