What looked to be another easy win for the No. 10 MSU women's basketball team at halftime turned into a hard-fought victory over Illinois, 68-59.
The Spartans (20-3 overall, 9-2 Big Ten) took a 12-point lead into halftime after leading by as many as 17 in the half, but Illinois (13-8, 5-6) came out strong in the second half, and cut the lead to as close as two points before the Spartans put this one away.
"The team showed a lot of heart and fight down the stretch," MSU head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. "I was very proud of the effort all game long."
The Spartans were led on offense by junior forward Liz Shimek, who had 21 points and pulled down nine rebounds. The two seniors, center Kelli Roehrig and guard Kristin Haynie also had nine rebounds in the game.
"We showed how good our inside-outside game is," Haynie said. "Liz brought a lot to the floor. She played very well and her and Kelli are a big-time presence for us."
The game was never really in hand after halftime. The Spartans led by as many as 15 in the second half, but Illinois got sparks from its two key players. Guard Tiffanie Guthrie and forward Angelina Williams got hot in the second half and kept the Fighting Illini in the game the whole way.
Williams finished with 21 points, 12 of them in the second half, and Guthrie added 13 in the second half to finish with 15 for the game.
"We started to lose focus out there in the second half," MSU junior guard Lindsay Bowen said. "We were allowing too much penetration by their top players and finally started to tighten up our defense late in the game there."
With about five minutes to play in the game, the Spartans only led by two points before they finally were able to pull away for good.
"We kept our composure and focused on getting stops and rebounds," Haynie said. "We really communicated well down the stretch."
The Spartans ended up finishing with four players in double figures. Bowen and Roehrig each had 14 points and Haynie added 11.
The Spartans out-rebounded the Illini, 40-34, and forced 15 turnovers. The Spartans bench was outscored though, 14-3.
With the win, the Spartans improved to 11-0 at home this year. MSU now will head on the road for three games, and after the Penn State loss Sunday, the Spartans know they control their own destiny.
"It's crunch time now," Bowen said. "This is the part of the season we love, because this is what we have worked for all year."
Ohio State stands alone at the top of the Big Ten with only one conference loss, and the Spartans are right on its heels with two conference losses. Ohio State will come to Breslin Center in two weeks for what looks to be a game for the Big Ten Championship.
"You never know what is going to happen and there is a lot of basketball left on the schedule," McCallie said. "I guess the only foolproof way to ensure a championship is to win out."
The Spartans' next game is Thursday at 7 p.m. in Minneapolis against the Gophers.
