Jan. 19, 2005

Box Score

By JIM PAUL
Associated Press Writer

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) - Kelly Roehrig scored 13 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and No. 8 Michigan State dominated inside to beat Illinois 62-42 on Wednesday night.

The Spartans (16-2, 5-1 Big Ten) missed their first seven shots, but they also held Illinois to just two points during the drought and grabbed the lead for good with a 12-4 run that put them up 16-9 with 9:48 to go in the first half.

Michigan State won its fourth straight and is off to its best start in school history.

Illinois (11-5, 3-3) had a horrible night offensively, hitting only 35 percent from the field. Angelina Williams, who entered the game second in scoring in the Big Ten at 19.3 points per game, was only 5-of-15 from the field and finished with 12 points.

But it was Michigan State's advantage in the paint that made the difference. The taller and stronger Spartans grabbed nine rebounds during their early shooting drought and had 25 in the first half.

Michigan State wound up outrebounding the Illini 41-24. Roehrig had eight rebounds in the first half.

The Spartans extended their 25-20 halftime lead with a 17-6 run at the beginning of the second half. A basket by Victoria Lucas-Perry with 3:55 to go gave the Spartans their biggest lead, 58-33.

Lindsay Bowen scored 11 points for Michigan State and Kristin Haynie scored 10 points. Haynie also had six assists to set a new school record with 466, breaking the career mark of 460 set by Chris Powers from 1992-95.

Tiffanie Guthrie scored 12 points for Illinois, hitting only five of her 12 shots.