Spartans clinch share of Big Ten title

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- A sign hanging in the Breslin Center

read "Success is Gender-Neutral" and Michigan State proved it

Wednesday night.

The Spartans (No. 7 ESPN/USA Today, No. 6 AP) earned at least a share of their

second Big Ten title and a banner touting the achievement to add to

a large collection of men's title flags with a 77-34 victory over

Michigan.

The Spartans (25-3, 14-2) can earn their first outright

conference championship if Ohio State (12-2) loses at Purdue on

Thursday, then beats visiting Penn State (13-2) on Sunday.

"It would be great to win this title straight out," senior

point guard Kristin Haynie said as she stood next to the Big Ten

championship trophy. "We're Purdue fans now. Let's see what

happens."

Haynie played a strong all-around game as Michigan State ended

its regular season with nine straight wins and a 13-0 mark at home.

Kelli Roehrig had 21 points and 10 rebounds for the Spartans.

"It was a heck of a way to go out," Roehrig, a senior, said of

her final home game. "We saved the best for the last two games. To

do this on our floor, before our fans, is unbelievable. But we knew

this could happen at the beginning of the season."

Liz Shimek added 20 points and eight rebounds for the Spartans,

who built a 55-21 cushion with a 21-0 run to start the second half,

then marked time until the net-snipping ceremony.

"It was important to practice cutting the nets," fifth-year

Michigan State coach Joanne P. McCallie said. "The more you do it,

the more you can repeat it. You want to create successful habits.

We want to cut the nets a few more times this year."

Michigan (5-21, 1-14), which lost to Michigan State for the

sixth straight time and fell to 14-47 in the series, was led by

Ta'Shia Walker's eight points. Tabitha Pool, the Big Ten's

fifth-leading scorer, had seven points -- 10.1 below her average.

The Spartans held the Wolverines to 26.3 percent shooting from

the field and 14.3 percent 3-point accuracy. Michigan State also

had a 50-31 rebounding edge and helped force 21 turnovers.

"I felt we did enough in the first half to stay within shouting

distance," Michigan coach Cheryl Burnett said. "In the second

half they upped the pressure and got so many transition baskets."

After a 66-64 win over Ohio State before 14,066 fans Sunday, the

Spartans drew another 8,904 to Breslin Center, far exceeding their

home crowd average of 5,471 for the first 11 games.

"I means a lot to have everyone here," said Haynie, who had

eight points and four assists. "We love them. And they give us

chills. We wanted to give them some back. That's how we'll build a

tradition and keep winning championships."