Poor shooting by the Badgers and nearly every Spartan player having the hot hand allowed No. 9-ranked Michigan State to escape Madison with their sixth-straight win and fifth straight over the Badgers in the series.
“Michigan State is the real deal. They got it inside, they got outside, they got it going right now,” said UW head coach Lisa Stone.
With Spartan center Kelli Roehrig saddled with foul trouble in the first half and seeing only five minutes of action, Michigan State needed someone to fill the shoes of Roehrig’s 13.6 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. Guard Victoria Lucas-Perry, averaging only seven points per game, was up to the task as she exploded for all 17 of her points in the first half.
After the Badgers had cut the lead to 11-7 with 16:43 left in the first half, Lucas-Perry scored the next five points. She completed a 3-point play after being fouled by Janese Banks and then broke away for an easy lay-up off the press, prompting a Badger timeout. When the Badgers tightened up their defense to control her from driving, Lucas-Perry continued to excel as she was either fouled or stepped out for the three. Lucas-Perry added six boards while shooting 5-of-8 from the floor, including 2-for-4 from behind the arc, and a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line. Her drive with 10 seconds remaining in the half gave the Spartans a 43-26 advantage at intermission.
“(Victoria) Lucas-Perry had her way with us in the first half, not only scoring — quicker to the ball, loose balls,” Stone said.
Lucas-Perry did not score in the second half, but Michigan State wouldn’t need her to as Lindsay Bowen began to heat up. Bowen scored 12 of her team-high 18 points in the second half to keep the Badges at bay. Bowen drained back-to-back 3-pointers, each from the opposite side of the floor to extend the Spartans’ lead to 17, at 58-41, and dismissing any hopes of a Badger comeback.
“When somebody is shut down, they find something else, and that’s the true sign of a good team,” Stone said.
Leading scorer Liz Shimek also added 13 points and nine rebounds as four Spartans finished in double figures. Roehrig and point guard Kristin Haynie chipped in eight points apiece and 14 rebounds combined.
Anderson continues to shine
Wisconsin’s Jolene Anderson had another strong showing with 19 points and six boards Sunday afternoon. The Badger freshman was the only Badger to score in double figures for Stone, and led the team in scoring for the 14th time this season.
Anderson is averaging 17.9 points per game in Big Ten play thus far this season, ranking her fourth in the conference. No other freshman resides in the top 15 conference scorers this season.
Anderson’s strong showing Sunday earned her a ringing endorsement from Michigan State’s head coach, Joanne P. McCallie.
“She’s the Big Ten Freshman of the Year,” said McCallie. “She just has had a great season. She’s a very good player; she does a lot of things well, and I’m sure Wisconsin fans are very excited to watch her career. Best freshman in the conference — she’ll win it unanimously.”
Badger offense struggles
While Anderson posted 19 points, no other Badger player tallied over eight points as the Badgers struggled putting the ball in the hole. Wisconsin shot just 29 percent against Illinois on Thursday night and mirrored that percentage against the Spartans in the first half Sunday. Wisconsin picked it up in the second half, but finished the contest shooting just 33.8 percent from the field for the game. Wisconsin hit only 2-for-15 from 3-point range against the Spartans back in January, and this time around the Badgers could only register 3-for-20 from long range, for 15 percent.
“It’s not that we were forcing shots. We took some good shots, but they just didn’t fall, and credit to their defense, they just do a great job with that,” guard Stephanie Rich said.
