Michigan State University
Iowa
No. 6 Michigan St. Downs No. 18 Iowa, 68-56
1/9/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 9, 2005
Final Stats | Quotes | Notes
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Victoria Lucas-Perry lit the fuse and her Michigan State teammates exploded.
A 19-0 surge late in the first half helped the No. 6 Spartans avoid back-to-back Big Ten losses with a 68-56 win over No. 18 Iowa on Sunday.
It was "just a great, aggressive game by our team," Michigan State coach Joanne P. McCallie said. "Iowa is a very, very good basketball team. And I think we really set the tempo. But the crowd today made such a difference. Our team would surge, and the crowd would go crazy."
Before 8,512 fans, the fourth-largest home crowd in the program's history, the Spartans (13-2, 2-1 Big Ten) outshot and outscrapped the Hawkeyes (13-2, 2-2) for most of the final 32 minutes.
Lindsay Bowen had 17 points, Liz Shimek added 16 points and 10 rebounds and Lucas-Perry had 13 points, including 11 in the first half.
"I enjoy watching them play," Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said of the Spartans. "They got probably 80 percent of the loose balls out there and worked so hard. I love their balance. And they were on top of my list at the beginning of the year, as far as Big Ten predictions."
The Hawkeyes were led by Jamie Cavey, who returned to the game after suffering a bloody nose. Cavey finished with a season-high 21 points before fouling out with 4:02 left.
 Liz Shimek had 16 points and 10 rebounds in Michigan State's 68-56 win. (AP Photo/Al Goldis)  | |
"We weren't going to let that happen again," Bowen said. "We wanted to get in their faces and shorts, jump the passing lanes and play real tough defense. There was never a doubt that we'd be ready to play Iowa.
The Hawkeyes, who entered the game with their best start in 17 years, lost back-to-back games.
The Spartans trailed 15-12 before Lucas-Perry energized her team with seven points in the decisive blitz. Michigan State's defensive pressure had an impact, forcing 20 Hawkeye turnovers. Lucas-Perry had four of Michigan State's 15 steals.
"Getting the steals led to fast breaks and rattled them a little bit," Lucas-Perry said. "We tried to take advantage of that and pick up the pressure even more. You don't plan on spurts like that. But it was very important not to have back-to-back losses."
 Iowa's Morgan Kasperek tries to block a shot by Michigan State's Kristin Haynie. (AP Photo/Al Goldis) | |
"I guess the key was being in attack mode the whole game," Shimek said. "(Cavey) is a great post player, but she ended up on the floor a few times. And when a team doesn't score for 10 minutes, you want to keep that going as long as you can."
