Michigan State University
Southern Ill
Spartans Roll Past Southern Illinois, 74-59
11/27/1999 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 27, 1999
East Lansing, Mich. - The Michigan State women's basketball team used a strong second half performance to break open a close game and roll to a 74-59 victory over Southern Illinois tonight at the Breslin Center. With the victory the Spartans improve to 4-0 on the season, giving MSU its longest winning streak since the 1996-97 campaign.
?We were struggling a little bit in the first half, but Donita (Johnson) and Becky (Cummings) were giving us the offense we needed to stay in the game,? MSU coach Karen Langeland said.
?In the second half, we played better defensively and that allowed us to get some easy transition baskets. We had some players who have been sick and were not feeling 100 percent tonight, but we were able to utilize the bench effectively and overcome that to get another win.?
MSU held a slim 28-26 lead at halftime, but opened the second half with 15-6 run to take its first double-figure lead of the game at 43-32 with 14:22 left in the contest. Maxann Reese hit her first six shots of the second half, mostly on fast break layups to spark the Spartan run.
As a team, MSU shot 61 percent from the field in the second half and was nearly perfect from the free throw line in the game, hitting 22-of-24 shots from the charity stripe.
Junior Becky Cummings and senior Maxann Reese shared scoring honors with 16 points each. Cummings, who was shooting 54 percent from the free throw line prior to the game, hit 8-of-8 shots from the line. Reese hit 7-of-10 shots from the field after playing just six minutes in the first half because of foul trouble.
Junior Donita Johnson also had a strong game, scoring all eight of her points in the first half and contributing five rebounds and four assists. Redshirt freshman point guard Vnemina Reese also scored eight points and dished out seven assists.
Junior Erin Skelly came off the bench to add four points and six rebounds, while freshman Maria Recker contributed nine points in a reserve role.
The Spartans will host Illinois State on Thursday, Dec. 2 at 7 p.m., before hitting the road for three-straight games.
