Michigan State University
Michigan
Women's Basketball Rolls Past Michigan, 82-55
2/16/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 16, 2003
ANN ARBOR, Mich (AP) - Michigan State picked the perfect time to play a near-perfect basketball game.
The Spartans raced to a 26-point lead in the first 10:19 and rolled past Michigan 82-55 Sunday in women's basketball to sweep the season series for the first time in seven years.
Point guard Kristin Haynie had a career-high 22 points and forward Syreeta Bromfield had 19 as the Spartans (15-8, 8-4 Big Ten) won for sixth time in seven games. Forward Liz Shimek added 13 points and nine rebounds as Michigan State and Minnesota moved into a tie for third place in the conference.
``I imagine all possibilities because this team is capable of anything,'' Spartans coach Joanne P.McCallie said. ``But the possibilities are more positive now. . . . We've been successful on the road before. But it has been like pulling teeth and going to the dentist.''
The Spartans had plenty of bite at the outset, racing to a 17-2 advantage. Since they scored the last 15 points in a 73-56 win over the Wolverines on Jan. 30, they scored 32 of 34 possible points at the end of one game and the beginning of the rematch.
``They didn't have to be so cocky,'' Bromfield said after Michigan's players circled Michigan State's warm-up lines for the second-straight game. ``I know it's a state rivalry and all. But it must be something about Wolverines. I mean, can we just play ball?''
The Spartans did that from the opening tip, grabbed 15 of the first 19 rebounds and led 32-6 in a 42-24 first half. Michigan State was even hotter in the second half, shooting .762 from the field against the slumping Wolverines (11-12, 2-10) who lost their seventh in a row.
``I think it's pretty tough to defend a team when five players can score and easy to defend it when only one player is scoring,'' said Michigan coach Sue Guevara, a former Spartans assistant, who paused when asked if her players had quit. ``I would say that's a question for the players, not for me.''
The one Wolverine who played hard and well was center Jennifer Smith, who had game-highs of 27 points and 12 rebounds. But those numbers were nearly half her team's totals, as Michigan's only edge was a 17-8 lead in free throws.
``I was frustrated,'' Smith said. ``I wish I could've gone out and guarded their shooters myself. And I wish some other players had played with that attitude.''
None of them played with the fire or tenacity of Haynie, who was 10-for-14 from the field with eight assists, six rebounds and three steals in her team's third straight road win.
