TAMPA, FL (December 10, 2005) ? Liz Shimek scored 28 points and Lindsay Bowen added 22 to lead Michigan State past USF 81-66 Saturday at the Sun Dome. The Spartans entered the game ranked No. 13 in the latest Associated Press and No. 15 in the ESPN/USA Today Top 25 polls.
“They are a very good basketball team,” said USF Head Coach Jose Fernandez. “In the second half they just pounded it (the ball) inside. I mean, you have three starters back from a team that played for the National Championship last year.”
“I also saw some mental fatigue, and some physical fatigue with the amount of minutes that we have had to play lately,” said Fernandez. “But you have to hand it to Michigan State they had a good game plan. In the last 10 minutes of the game they went box-and-one on Jess (Jessica Dickson) and we weren't able to execute. With a player like Jess your going to get a lot of box-and-one stuff, and we didn't do a good job screening and getting to open areas.”
Dickson (Ocala, FL), the nation's leading scorer, poured in 25 points and Nalini Miller (Capital Heights, MD) had 16 to pace the Bulls (6-2) against their third consecutive ranked opponent. Shantia Grace (Sarasota, FL) added 13 for USF.
Rene Haynes had 11 points and a game-high seven assists for the
Spartans (6-2), who are undefeated in six games against unranked teams.
USF would cut the Michigan State second half lead to eight points, 56-48, on a layup by Dickson. The Spartans, however, would use an 11-3 run capped off by Haynes scoring on a fastbreak layup with 6:29 remaining to give Michigan State its largest lead at 67-51.
The Spartans scored the first nine points of the game, but the Bulls
moved ahead with a 21-6 run.
Michigan State restored its nine-point advantage with five in a row by
Shimek late in the first half and never trailed again. The Spartans led
38-32 at the intermission.
The Bulls will hit the road for three straight games as they head to San Juan, Puerto Rico for the San Juan Shootout, Dec. 19-21. USF will face the host, University of Puerto-Mayaguez on Dec. 19 at 6 p.m. (ET). They will also take on Northern Arizona on Dec. 20 (6 p.m. ET) and Colorado on Dec. 21 (8 p.m. ET) to close out the event.
The Bulls will return home on Dec. 28 at 4 p.m. when they face in-state foe North Florida.
(Associated Press contributed to this story)
USF vs. No. 13/15 Michigan State
Postgame Notes
- USF's loss to Michigan State ends the Bulls' home winning streak at nine games dating back to last year ... It equals the longest home streak which was set twice previously.
- The loss also moves USF's record to 20-3 since the beginning of the 2004-05 season.
- The Michigan State game ends a grueling three-game stretch ? in eight days - for the Bulls against Top 25 team's ... It began with a 71-47 loss at No. 7/8 North Carolina ... USF would defeat No. 11/13 DePaul, 79-77, in both schools' BIG EAST opener ... The victory over the Blue Demons marks the highest ranked team that the Bulls have ever defeated.
- Jessica Dickson's 25 points marks the sixth-time this season that she has recorded 20-plus points, and the sixth time on the last eight games ... It is also the 29th time in 69 career games that she has tallied 20 or more points.
- Dickson and Ezria Parsons also played 40 minutes for the second straight game ... Dickson logged 45 minutes against No. 11/13 DePaul on Dec. 7 and Parsons 44 against the Blue Demons. Sharon Cambridge (39), Nalini Miller (36), and Shantia Grace (35), all recorded better than 35 minutes.
