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Spartans Defeat Iowa to Earn Semifinal Berth
March 3, 2006 Final Stats | Quotes | Notes | Photo Gallery
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Liz Shimek scored a career-high 31 points and Lindsay Bowen added 12 as they traded the title of Michigan State's career scoring leader Friday, leading the 16th-ranked Spartans to a 79-58 rout over Iowa in the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals. Michigan State (22-8), the defending tourney champion and last year's national runner-up, reached the semifinals for the third straight year. The Spartans face No. 5 Ohio State, the Big Ten regular-season champs, on Sunday. Ohio State defeated Penn State 64-46 to advance. As well as Shimek and Bowen played, it was Michigan State's defense that proved the difference. The Hawkeyes (17-11) were led by Megan Skouby with 13 points and seven rebounds, but could not overcome 23 turnovers, 19 in the first half, as their three-game winning streak ended. The Spartans showed no rustiness after an eight-day layoff, winning for the eighth time in nine games. Shimek passed Bowen for the school's career scoring lead, breaking a tie with a strong second-half performance. Bowen had held the title since Feb. 16, but now trails Shimek (1,713 points) by 16 points. Michigan State finished with 17 steals, the third most in tourney history. Michigan State jumped to an early 13-6 lead, closed the half on a 18-2 run and built a 42-20 halftime lead. Not much changed in the second half. Iowa threw the ball away on its first possession, drew a foul on Michigan State's first possession and got into deeper trouble when Shimek went on a personal 10-0 run to make it 52-22. Iowa only got as close as 21 the rest of the way.
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