Michigan St. Too Much For Delaware To Handle

Spartans earn 69-58 win over No. 12-seeded Blue Hens in first round

March 18, 2007

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Michigan State's talent, size and depth were too much for Delaware.

Allyssa DeHaan had 13 points as part of a balanced offense to lead the fifth-seeded Spartans to a 69-58 win over the No. 12 Blue Hens on Sunday night in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Michigan State (24-8), playing at home, advanced to face the winner of the Rutgers-East Carolina game on Tuesday night.

Tyresa Smith scored 19, Chrissy Fisher had 13 and Kyle DeHaven added 12 points for Delaware (26-6), which tied a school record for wins and played in the NCAA tournament for the second time.

Each of the Spartans starters scored in double figures: DeHaan, Mia Johnson (13), Victoria Lucas-Perry (12), Rene Haynes (11) and Aisha Jefferson (10).

Michigan State looked rusty in the first half, playing for the first time in two weeks.

The Spartans missed 21 of 29 shots and had 11 turnovers by halftime, but their defense allowed them lead before eventually wearing down the Blue Hens in the second half.

Michigan State sent waves of players, including the 6-foot-9 DeHaan at Delaware, which leaned on only six players to play most of the game.

The Spartans closed the first half with an 8-0 run, going ahead 1:25 before halftime for the eighth lead change and didn't trail again.

Lucas-Perry's 3-pointer and Laura Hall's three-point play gave the Spartans a 50-36 lead midway and they easily maintained the cushion.