Michigan State University
Northwestern
MSU Knocks Off Northwestern, 70-46
2/8/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb 8, 2004
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Michigan State's depth put Northwestern in a deep crater as the Big Ten's top-ranked defense ruled the day.
Lindsay Bowen led a balanced offense with 14 points and Kristin Haynie sparked a strong effort by several defenders as the No. 20 Spartans beat the Wildcats 70-46 on Sunday.
"It was a good, solid, strong team effort," Michigan State coach Joanne P. McCallie said. "I loved the fact that we played so many players. But Lindsay and Kristin set the tone."
Ten players got double-figure minutes and no one played more than 27 minutes for the third-place Spartans (18-4, 8-3 Big Ten), who won for the eighth time in the last nine games.
"We very easily could've put 90 points on the board," McCallie said. "But what good would that have done? We sacrificed offense to play a lot of people."
Victoria Lucas-Perry added 12 points off the bench and Haynie had 10 points, four assists and no turnovers for Michigan State, which overcame a rough start to take a 65-32 lead.
"They're a balanced team that's very difficult to defend," Northwestern coach June Olkowski said. "It's not just one person. They have a lot of players who can hit the three, penetrate and make the mid-range jumper. And the defense they play isn't something you see every day."
The Wildcats (7-15, 0-11) were led by Michelle Zylstra with a game-high 18 points, including 4-for-5 three-point accuracy. Sarah Kwasinski added 17 points, including eight in the first 7:18 when her team held a 17-11 lead.
The Spartans took control thereafter and more than doubled Northwestern's score with a 54-15 stretch, including a 14-0 run for 7:34 of the first half.
"Our defensive plan was to go out and pressure," Haynie said. "But we overextended and gave them a lot of good looks at the beginning. Once we adjusted, everything was different. We took them completely out of their game for about 30 minutes."
Michigan State outshot the Wildcats 45.5 percent to 38.6 percent from the field, had a 35-24 edge in rebounds and committed just 11 turnovers to Northwestern's 19.
"They're a fun team to watch but not very much fun to play," Olkowski said.
That overall dominance helped the Spartans allow less than 50 points for the 11th time this season and demonstrate clear superiority over a team they beat in overtime on Jan. 22.
"Over there our defense was horrible," Haynie said. "They hit a lot of 3-pointers that night, and we couldn't stop them. Today we did that once we adjusted. We had to go to their strength and shut them down."
Michigan State passed last season's win total of 17 and drew closer to just its fifth 20-win record heading into Thursday's game at Michigan.
"Things snowball when you start to get going," the Spartans' Julie Pagel said. "The rim starts to get a little bigger. And we want to carry that over to the next game, my last one at Michigan. Old rivalries die hard."
