Feb 20, 2003
By DAN GELSTON
Associated Press Writer
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Shereka Wright scored eight of her 24 points in the final 2? minutes as No. 11 Purdue avoided an upset and beat Michigan State 65-60 Thursday night.
The Boilermakers (21-4, 10-3 Big Ten) split the season series with the Spartans and remained in position to challenge for a third straight conference title. Penn State (22-6, 12-2) beat Michigan earlier Thursday.
The Spartans (15-9, 8-5) had won six of seven, including three straight on the road, and nearly pulled off another upset before Wright led Purdue's rally down the stretch.
The Boilermakers trailed by eight midway through the second half, but came back to take a 51-49 lead after four straight points by Wright. They wouldn't trail again.
Purdue center Mary Jo Noon, whose early foul trouble allowed the Spartans to control the paint for most of the game, scored six points in a two-minute stretch to keep the cushion at 57-54.
Then Wright took over.
She spun around Julie Pagel on the baseline for a layup and was fouled. She hit the free throw for a 60-54 lead with 1:19 left. Wright, who finished 10-for-15 from the free-throw line, made another free throw with 40 seconds left to make it 61-56.
Michigan State's Lindsay Bowen, who scored 12 points, sank two free throws with 25 seconds left to make it 61-58 and Liz Shimek hit two more to make it 63-60 with 10 seconds left.
Wright answered Bowen with two free throws and followed Shimek with a layup to seal the win and improve the Boilermakers to 13-0 at home.
Kelli Roehrig led Michigan State with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Michigan State outrebounded Purdue 38-31, though the gap was much greater for most of the game.
When Noon picked up two fouls only two minutes into the game, Michigan State hit the boards and outrebounded Purdue 19-14 in the first half. The Spartans closed on a 7-0 run and took a a 32-26 lead into halftime.