Michigan State University
Purdue
No. 11 Spartans Bounce Boilermakers, 71-58
1/26/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 26, 2005
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Kelli Roehrig didn't miss many shots, and No. 11 Michigan State didn't miss an opportunity.
Roehrig nearly outscored Purdue's starters in the first half, and Michigan State bounced back from its worst loss this season with a 71-58 win over the Boilermakers on Wednesday night.
"It was really our seniors," Michigan State coach Joanne P. McCallie said. "Kristin Haynie played a complete game. And Kelli was just solid, very strong and very much a problem on the inside."
Roehrig was 10-of-13 from the field, all from short range, and finished with 20 points.
The Spartans went inside to her, then got a 3-point basket from Bowen to build its lead in a 29-19 first half. Roehrig had 12 points in the first 20 minutes, just two less than Purdue's five starters.
"It was definitely important to come out strong today, especially after what happened at Penn State," Roehrig said. The Spartans fell 73-56 at league-leading Penn State on Sunday.
 Lindsay Bowen puts up a driving shot against Purdue's Erin Lawless in the first half. (AP Photo/Al Goldis)  | |
Lindsay Bowen added 15 points for the Spartans (17-3, 6-2 Big Ten), while Liz Shimek had 11 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots. Haynie finished with nine assists, eight rebounds and seven points.
Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton had 18 points and Erin Lawless 15 for Purdue (11-8, 4-4), which slipped to 2-7 against ranked teams.
"If I had the answer, I sure would try to fix it," Purdue coach Kristy Curry said. "I think it comes down to our posts doing a better job, getting tired of it and doing something about it."
Michigan State broke the game open with a 10-2 run early in the second half and stretched its lead to 23 points. The Spartans shot 56.1 percent from the field, outrebounded the Boilermakers 37-27 and had a 25-14 edge in assists -- a totally different effort than they put up against Penn State.
"Coach was pretty tough on us, and we deserved it," Roehrig said after McCallie described her team's play at Penn State as "despicable" and held practice at 6 a.m. Monday. "I knew we'd be mad enough. And we put all our energy in the right place."
 Michigan State coach Joanne P. McCallie, right, embraces Kristin Haynie following a 71-58 win over Purdue Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2005, in East Lansing, Mich. Haynie became the third Michigan State player to reach 1,000 career points this season and finished with nine assists, eight rebounds and seven points. (AP Photo/Al Goldis) | |
"It shouldn't take a loss to learn that lesson," Haynie added after becoming her team's third 1,000-point scorer. "We had two good practices and knew what we had to do. We took care of business and had fun out there tonight, too."
