EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Grace Van Sloten scored 22 points and No. 18 Michigan State beat Northwestern 104-68 on Wednesday.
Michigan State (21-6, 10-6 Big Ten) took control early and opened the game 32-14 in the second quarter to lead 55-28 at halftime. The Spartans shot 53% overall and 13 of 26 (50%) from three-point range, widening the deficit to more than 25 points early in the second half.
advertise
Northwestern (8-18, 2-13) showed some offensive energy after a break behind Grace Sullivan, but Michigan State answered every possession. Sara Sambolich’s three-pointer and consecutive shots from Jalin Brown and Van Sloten helped the team extend the lead to 94-60 midway through the fourth quarter, and a three-pointer at the last moment pushed the Spartans’ point difference to the 100-point mark.
Kennedy Blair contributed 17 points, 10 assists, 7 rebounds and 5 steals for Michigan State University, while Brown scored 15 points and 5 assists. Marah Dykstra, who came off the bench, contributed 14 points, including 3 three-pointers, and Sambolic had 13 points and 6 assists. Michigan State had 29 assists on 39 field goals.
Sullivan led Northwestern with 23 points on 11-of-20 shooting. Casey Hart contributed 14 points and 6 rebounds, and Caroline Liu contributed 10 assists, 9 points, and 7 rebounds.
Next
Northwestern: At Illinois on Sunday.
advertise
Michigan: Travel to No. 23 Minnesota on Sunday.
___ Get AP Top 25 voting alerts and updates all season long. Register here. AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball