Michigan State University
Ohio State
Michigan State Bows To Ohio State, 71-55
3/7/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 7, 2003
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - By MICHAEL MAROT The Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Every shot Ohio State lined up Friday looked good.
So the Buckeyes kept taking them and rarely missed.
Caity Matter scored 21 points and hit five 3-pointers, leading the Buckeyes to a 71-55 victory over Michigan State and a record-setting shooting binge in the Big Ten quarterfinals.
"We found the holes in their zone and we were getting open looks," Matter said.
The Buckeyes made it look easy.
They connected on 27-of-45 shots, a shooting percentage of 60.0 percent. The previous record, 58.5 percent, was set by Penn State in 1996, ironically, in an 84-70 semifinal victory over Ohio State.
The two schools will meet again in Sunday's first semifinal after the Nittany Lions eliminated defending tournament champ Indiana 67-64 in Friday's first game.
Ohio State will make its first semifinal appearance since 1999 and only its second since 1996, thanks primarily to a sensational shooting performance.
"It was probably our most patient game on both ends of the floor," first-year Buckeyes coach Jim Foster said. "On offense, we were patient and this is a team you have to be patient against. They want you to hurry."
The Buckeyes (20-8) never seemed to get out of sync, and the statistics reflected it.
Matter finished 7-of-11, hit her first five 3-pointers and led the Buckeyes with seven rebounds.
LaToya Turner, who along with Matter, got the Buckeyes started after falling into a 6-0 deficit to open the game, had 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting. DiDi Reynolds made 4-of-6 shots and had 10 points, and Courtney Coleman was 5-of-7 with 10 points.
Only two Buckeye players, Kim Wilburn and Beth Howe, shot less than 50 percent. Wilburn was 4-of-9 and finished with 12 points, while Howe missed her only shot.
"It was a combination of what they did and what we didn't do on defense," said Michigan State coach Joanne P. McCallie, who is 0-3 with the Spartans in Big Ten tournament play.
The Spartans (17-11) have not won a tournament game since an 88-69 first-round decision over Indiana 88-69 in 1999.
But Friday's loss could prove costly.
Although Michigan State finished 10-6 in conference play, neither McCallie nor the players will be certain of their NCAA tournament fate until pairings are released March 16.
"I know we'll have some kind of postseason," McCallie said.
Ohio State need not worry after their performance Friday.
The Buckeyes answered Michigan State's opening run with a 15-2 spurt, then took control with two more first-half spurts -- 9-0 and 6-0 -- to make it 31-20 at halftime.
Lindsay Bowen, who led the Spartans with 15 points, opened the second half by hitting three straight 3-pointers. But defensively, the Spartans still could not stop Ohio State.
And when the Spartans shooters went cold midway through the second half, Ohio State took advantage with a 16-0 run that gave it an insurmountable 61-36 lead with 7:52 left.
Michigan State went on a 10-0 run but never got closer than 13 the rest of the way, and Ohio State never stopped shooting -- nor did it start missing.
"We got open looks and our shots fell," Matter said. "We were just patient and we got the shots we were looking for."
