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Michigan State overcomes sluggish first half, beats Delaware

Mar 19, 2007 - 4:24 AM EAST LANSING, Michigan (Ticker) -- Michigan State coach Joanne McCallie would not let her team be discouraged after the first half.

Allyssa DeHaan and Mia Johnson scored 13 points apiece as fifth-seeded Michigan State posted a 69-58 triumph over Delaware in the first round of the NCAA Tournament's East Region.

After losing to Purdue in the Big Ten Conference tournament on March 4, the Spartans (24-8) had five players in double figures to advance to Tuesday's second-round showdown against Rutgers.

Despite shooting just 28 percent (8-of-29) from the floor and committing 11 first-half turnovers, Michigan State scored the final eight points before halftime to take a 25-20 lead.

Johnson hit a pair of 3-pointers en route to a 10-point second half and Victoria Lucas-Perry added nine to enable Michigan State to pull away.

Lucas-Perry scored 12 points, Rene Haynes added 11 and Aisha Jefferson 10 for the Spartans, who finished with a 54-42 rebound advantage.

Tyresa Smith scored 19 points on 7-of-25 shots and Chrissy Fisher added 13 with 11 rebounds for Deleware (26-6), which shot less than 30 percent (22-of-74).