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Balanced No. 25 Michigan State tops Michigan 61-50

Mar 5, 2010 - 9:27 PM By CLIFF BRUNT AP Sports Writer

INDIANAPOLIS(AP) -- Kalisha Keane scored 11 points to help No. 25 Michigan State beat Michigan 61-50 Friday in the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals.

Lykendra Johnson, Aisha Jefferson and Jasmine Thomas added 10 points apiece for the Spartans (22-8), who advanced to a semifinal against Iowa, an 82-75 winner over Penn State 82-75.

Michigan State's center, 6-foot-9 Allyssa DeHaan, left with back spasms in the first half against Michigan and did not return. Coach Suzy Merchant said DeHaan is questionable for Saturday's game.

DeHaan played just eight minutes, and finished with two points, two rebounds and two blocks. Michigan State still outrebounded Michigan 41-29.

Despite DeHaan's injury, the Spartans won their seventh straight game and their seventh straight in the series. Michigan State won all three meetings this season.

Krista Phillips led Michigan (17-13) with 12 points, and Carmen Reynolds added 10 for the Wolverines, who had won two straight.

Michigan State shot 50 percent in the second half while holding Michigan to 25 percent shooting.

Michigan State took a seven-point lead in the early minutes of the second half, but the 6-foot-6 Phillips took advantage of DeHaan's absence by scoring four straight points to pull Michigan to within 36-33.

Michigan State responded with a 10-4 run, and a jumper by Jefferson gave the Spartans a 46-37 edge with 10:24 to play. Michigan State led by at least five points the rest of the way.

Michigan ran out to a 10-3 lead before the Spartans rallied. Jefferson got a friendly bounce on a 3-pointer to tie the score at 16 with 8:10 left in the first half. The Spartans finally took a 25-23 lead on a layup by Brittney Thomas.

Jasmine Thomas drained a jumper with 7 seconds left in the first half to give Michigan State a 32-29 lead at the break.

Michigan State didn't shoot much better than Michigan, but the Spartans scored 14 second-chance points on 17 offensive rebounds.