Michigan State University
Ohio St
Spartans Fall To Ohio State
2/15/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Caity Matter overcame personal tragedy, and the Ohio State Buckeyes helped honor her late brother's memory with a near-perfect basketball performance.
Matter had 23 points in a 72-53 upset of No. 17 Michigan State on Sunday, less than 24 hours after her brother, Ricky, was killed in a car accident in Bluffton, Ohio.
"The game didn't really matter," Matter said in a prepared statement after 7-for-11 shooting, including 6-for-9 accuracy from 3-point range. "I wanted to go out and win for Ricky. That is all that matters right now. I want to thank my teammates, coaches, family and friends for their 100-percent support. I fed off my teammates and coaches during the game."
Matter's inspirational play and her teammates' execution of the high-low offense helped the Buckeyes (15-8, 7-5 Big Ten) grab a 13-0 lead and increase that margin to 24 points in the second half.
"My gut (reaction) going in was one of two things," Ohio State coach Jim Foster said. "Either we were going to play very bad or very good. There was no middle ground. But Ricky was just a great kid. He had a presence. He was what I call a light bulb."
Jessica Davenport had 15 points and 11 rebounds in the low post, while LaToya Turner had 15 points and nine rebounds from the high post for the Buckeyes, who shot .643 from the field and had a 32-21 edge in rebounds.
"We knew we would find some gaps, and that's how you win basketball games," Turner said. "But we were playing with a lot of emotion. Caity wanted us to play hard. That's something we'd have done if Ricky had been here. Basically, we rode her."
Kelli Roehrig had 11 points and Kristin Haynie added 10 for the third-place Spartans (19-5, 9-4), who lost for just the second time in their last 11 games.
"I can only speak for our team," Michigan State coach Joanne P. McCallie said. "It was a maturing experience for us. Obviously, Ohio State has some great weapons. But we did not execute, especially early."
The Buckeyes boosted their NCAA-leading accuracy from the field to .515 and drew closer to Michigan State, the Big Ten's leader in scoring defense, when the Spartans missed their first seven shots.
By that time Ohio State had built a commanding lead on back-to-back 3-pointers from Matter and seven quick points from Turner and Davenport. The margin gradually grew from there, as Michigan State was 9-for-27 from the field in the first half and the Buckeyes were 27-42.
"We're a very good team. We're a very young team. And the events of today were very difficult to handle," McCallie said. "But we didn't play well. And I don't think we had any leadership."
The Buckeyes held Michigan State to .386 accuracy from the field, had 19 assists to the Spartans' 12 and had a 7-1 edge in blocked shots, reflecting the difference in passion.
"It was a tough environment to play in, with what happened," said Julie Pagel, Michigan State's lone senior to play. "Regardless, we had a lack of intensity. I don't know if that scared us or what. But we weren't ready."
The outcome avenged a 55-47 victory by the Spartans on Jan. 15 in Columbus, Ohio, when Ohio State's 24-game home winning streak ended.
