Michigan State University
Detroit
No. 12 Spartans Drop Detroit Mercy, 73-64
12/11/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 11, 2004
DETROIT (AP) - Kelli Roehrig scored 19 points and had 11 rebounds to lead No. 12 Michigan State to a 73-64 win over Detroit Mercy on Saturday.
Liz Shimek added 18 points and Rene Haynes had 16, including a 3-pointer that broke a tie late in the second half.
The undermanned Titans led for much of the second half despite being outrebounded at both ends of the court.
Spartans coach Joanne P. McCallie said her team still has work to do.
"Detroit played its heart out tonight," she said. "I think our kids need to understand that no matter how many people are in the gym, we have to come out and play our A game. Everyone is going to play hard against us whether there's thousands of people or no one at the game."
Lindsey Pasquinzo had 18 points to lead Detroit, which has lost four consecutive games and its last eight meetings with the Spartans. Joanna Cooper added 13 points.
Detroit Mercy (1-6) split a pair of free throws with 4:43 to play to tie the game at 62, but Haynes hit a 3 from the right corner less than 20 seconds later to give the Spartans (8-1) a lead they would not lose.
"Everybody was moving and the open shot was there," said Haynes, who played the last eight minutes of the game with four personal fouls. "We really had to stay together in this game and the chances we got late came because of that."
Detroit managed just two free throws in the final four minutes while Michigan State finished the game 6-for-6 from the line.
Though it turned the ball over 18 times, Michigan State outrebounded Detroit Mercy 39-24 and blocked four shots.
The Titans trailed just 41-39 at the break, thanks largely to Pasquinzo, who made four of her five 3-point attempts and scored 14 points in the first half.
The Spartans made it harder for her to find shots in the second half.
"We knew they were going to come out and face-guard her a lot more closely," Detroit coach Mickey Barrett said. "And we tried to draw fouls but they weren't biting. Michigan State's a very disciplined team and they used their size well against us."
The Spartans played their second straight game without starting point guard Kristin Haynie, who tore ligaments in her left thumb Tuesday.
McCallie said she hopes to have her back in time for Michigan State's next game, a Dec. 19 home contest against Texas A&M at Corpus Christi.
Lindsay Bowen, normally the team's starting shooting guard, finished with 11 points, five assists and three steals while running the point. Her leaning bank shot with 1:08 to play put the Spartans back up by three.
"She played pretty well," McCallie said. "And that's something she's going to have to learn to do when we need her at the point. It was nice to see her make some big plays for us down the stretch."
