Michigan
6-21 (0-15)
Michigan State
21-8 (11-5)
Cooper Paces Wolverines in Loss to No. 14 Spartans
2/23/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's basketball team fell 68-42 to No. 14 Michigan State Thursday night (Feb. 23) in front of a season-high crowd of 3,144 at Crisler Arena. Poor shooting doomed the Wolverines (6-21, 0-15 Big Ten) early, as U-M connected on just 5-of-21 shots from the field in the first half. Michigan was unable to climb back from a 14-point halftime deficit, with the Spartans (21-8, 11-5 Big Ten) mounting a 27-point lead midway through the second frame thanks to 17-of-31 shooting in the final 20 minutes.
Sophomore Janelle Cooper (Detroit, Mich./Renaissance HS) was the lone Wolverine to record double digits in scoring on the night, netting a career-high 18 points on 5-of-12 shooting, including 3-of-7 from three-point land. Sixteen of Cooper's points came during the second half, and she also matched a career best from the free throw line by going 5-of-6.
Sophomore Krista Clement (St. Ignace, Mich./LaSalle HS) collected eight points on 2-of-8 shooting, with both field-goals coming beyond the three-point stripe. She also went a perfect 2-of-2 on the charity stripe and collected a block and a steal in 21 minutes of action.
As the game began, the Spartans and Wolverines exchanged baskets to produce an early 6-6 tie at 16:40. Cooper got the scoring effort underway, and shots by freshman Stephany Skrba (Richmond Hill, Ontario/Langstaff Secondary School) and Carly Benson (Carney, Mich./Carney-Nadeau Public School) followed. The Wolverines, however, would be forced to play catch up throughout the remainder of the first half due to their 24 percent shooting from the field.
Michigan's lone bright spot on the offensive end came from Clement, who produced the team's only other field goals on a pair of long distance three-pointers to break up scoring droughts of 3:08 and 4:49, respectively. Clement's second three-pointer, which trimmed the MSU lead down to 19-12 at 8:43, would prove to be Michigan's final field goal of the first half.
Benson brought the halftime deficit to 28-14 on two free throws with 36 seconds remaining before the break. Benson entered the locker room with four points and four rebounds.
The Spartans' Liz Shimek was the story of the first half, matching the Wolverines' scoring output with 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field. Michigan State also took advantage of 14 U-M turnovers, which led to eight Spartan points.
Michigan State picked up where it left off at the start of the second half, as its defensive pressure balanced with offensive execution was too much for U-M. The Spartans opened the second half with two three-pointers, which they followed with another 6-0 run, to build an 18-point lead.
The Wolverines courageously battled back, as Cooper and freshman Jessica Minnfield (Toledo, Ohio/Central Catholic HS) both downed three-pointers midway through the half. The Spartans' lead proved to be too much for the Maize and Blue to overcome, as the MSU advantage increased to 57-30 following a three-pointer by Lindsay Bowen at 6:08. Two Cooper triples accounted for Michigan's only field goals in the remaining 5:34 of the contest.
The Wolverines close out the regular season this Sunday (Feb. 26) against Illinois. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Crisler Arena.
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
