Lady Spartans go to Ann Arbor and beat the Wolverines

 ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) - Victoria Lucas-Perry scored 23 and Myisha Bannister added 13 points and 10 rebounds to lead No. 23 Michigan State past Michigan 66-48 Thursday night.

The Spartans (14-4, 5-1 Big Ten) have won nine consecutive against Michigan. The Wolverines' last win came in January 2002.

Freshman reserve LeQuisha Whitfield led the Wolverines (8-12, 1-6) with 12 points and nine rebounds. Jessica Minnfield and Krista Phillips had nine apiece.

Michigan State took control by holding the Wolverines scoreless for the first 5:54 of the game and building a 29-15 lead at halftime.

Michigan cut the lead to 11 early in the second half, but back-to-back baskets by Lucas-Perry pushed it back to 16. The Spartans led by as many as 20 points in the second half.

Michigan did not have an answer for the Spartans' zone, shooting just 29 percent from the field, including 19 percent from 3-point range. The Wolverines also committed 21 turnovers that the Spartans turned into 17 points.

Michigan State-Michigan Notes

 

Michigan State has beaten Michigan nine times in a row…The win was Michigan State’s 50th over the Wolverines, as the Spartans hold a commanding 50-14 lead in the all-time series, which began in 1972-73.

 

Michigan State’s 12-2 run to start the game was the best start for the Spartans since opening with a 14-1 run against Houston on Nov. 26…Seniors Myisha Bannister and Victoria Lucas-Perry each had five points during the run.

 

Four players finished in double-figures for the Spartans, with Lucas-Perry leading the way with 23 points…Bannister finished with 13 and both sophomore Mia Johnson and freshman Allyssa DeHaan had 12…It was the second straight game at least four players had at least 10 points and the seventh time this season.

 

Bannister, who set career highs with 12 points and seven rebounds at Iowa on Jan. 14, recorded her first career double-double and new career highs with 13 points and 10 rebounds…She had seven points and six rebounds in the first half against the Wolverines.

 

Bannister has led the Spartans in rebounding in two straight games…She had seven rebounds at Iowa on Jan. 14 and had 10 against the Wolverines.

 

Lucas-Perry finished with 23 points to move within six of 1,000 in her career…The senior could become just the 18th player in school history to reach the mark, joining fellow senior Rene Haynes, who crossed the mark at Indiana on Jan. 4.

 

Lucas-Perry scored 12 points in the first half to lead the Spartans, marking the sixth time this season the senior scored more than 10 points in the first…She had a season-high 17 first-half points in a 68-55 win at Houston on Nov. 26.

 

DeHaan had four blocked shots in the contest, marking the 11th time in 18 career games that the freshman blocked at least four shots…Now with 81 on the season, DeHaan is tied for ninth in the Big Ten’s single-season records with Stacey Lovelace (Purdue, 1994-95).

 

Senior Rene Haynes had a game-high five steals…It was the third time this year she had five or more steals in a game…Her 213 career thefts is just 11 behind Kim Archer (1984-88) for second in school history.

 

Junior Courtney Davidson had four assists and no turnovers in 12 minutes of action…In her career, the point guard has 75 assists and 42 turnovers.

 

The Spartans limited the Wolverines to 15 first-half points, tying for the lowest total this season…Michigan State allowed 15 points to Indiana on Dec. 28 in the first half en route to a 74-49 win in the Big Ten opener.

 

Michigan State-Michigan Postgame Quotes

 

Opening Statement
I just thought it was a great defensive battle. I liked some of the things we did on defense. We rebounded oretty well. I thought we had some excellent leadership from our seniors, Victoria (Licas-Perry) and Myisha (Bannister) in particular. But we have a whole lot to work on, too. We can’t have that many turnovers. We’ve got to have more assists. I was pleased to see some of the different people stepping up - some of the rebounding by the guards. It was great to see Myisha pulling down 10.

 

On the play of Myisha Bannister…
Myisha is special. She is a senior who has been through a lot. As you know, she used to start for us last year before her injury. She plays with poise. She plays with confidence. That’s important. I’m really proud of her game. I think it can continue to improve, without question. She definitely is very confident on the floor and I really think for her that it starts on the defensive end.

 

On the play of Victoria Lucas-Perry…
Again, she was really showing a lot of experience on the floor. She remainedvery calm and poised. She understands what she can do and be an aggressor. I thought she was very aggressive. I liked her rebounding. I just liked her game overall. I thought she played very confidently. I always get flashbacks to USA Basketball with her. That’s what she looked like at USA Basketball. That was the way she played in the summer.

Courtesy of Joe Gustina, the MSU Lady Spartans SID.