Ann Arbor — And the domination continues.
The No. 23 MSU women's basketball team picked up its ninth straight win over rival Michigan, 66-48, in an ugly game Thursday night at Crisler Arena.
The Spartans (14-4 overall, 5-1 Big Ten) got another career night from senior forward Myisha Bannister, who recorded her first career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, both career highs, and senior guard Victoria Lucas-Perry poured in 23 points of her own.
"It was a great defensive game," MSU head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. "I liked some of the things we did on defense. We rebounded pretty well. I thought we had some excellent leadership from our seniors, Myisha and Victoria in particular but we have a whole lot to work on, too."
MSU must bring its assist totals up and the turnovers down, for continued success. The Spartans turned the ball over 18 times, but only dished out nine assists.
"It's nauseating," McCallie said. "It makes me sick because this team can pass."
Both teams got off to a slow start, but MSU managed to jump out to an 8-0 lead before U-M scored its first bucket nearly six minutes into the contest.
Despite not shooting the ball well, the Spartans remained in control and, behind Lucas-Perry, took a 27-10 lead.
"We really dictated well from the get-go, especially on defense," Lucas-Perry said. "Holding them to two points for a while, that's where we start. We start on defense. That helped us get going."
But the Wolverines went on a mini 5-2 run to head into halftime down 14, 29-15.
In the first half, MSU's defense forced the Wolverines into 11 3-point attempts, nearly as many as their per-game average.
After halftime, MSU came out and starting shooting to its ability, knocking down 50 percent of their shots in the half.
"Going into halftime, we told our players that we thought we defended them very well," U-M head coach Cheryl Burnett said.
Lucas-Perry went on a run of her own, scoring nine straight points at one point to give the Spartans a 44-27 lead.
"She's showing a lot of experience on the floor," McCallie said. "She's very calm, very poised. She understands what she can do and how she can be an aggressor."
Freshman center Allyssa DeHaan turned up her game late, scoring eight points in the final minutes.
MSU's next game comes at 2 p.m. on Sunday when Iowa comes to Breslin Center.
Matt Bishop can be reached at bishop20@msu.edu.
