Wildcats' 24-win season ends to MSU

MICHIGAN STATE 72 ð UA 60

AUSTIN, Texas ÷ It was another disappointing end to another great season for Wildcat women's hoops.

No. 8 seed Michigan State grabbed an early lead and refused to let go, upending ninth-seeded Arizona 72-60 in the University of Texas' Frank Erwin Center last night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Wildcats (24-9) saw their second-straight 20-plus-win season end in the first round of the tournament again. Last year's 22-win squad entered the NCAAs as a No. 6 seed, but was upset by No. 11 seed Notre Dame.

"This one hurts," said UA head coach Joan Bonvicini, who had never lost in the tournament's first round in her 16-year coaching career until last season.

"Our kids are really disappointed. We really battled and I thought we played better (than in last season's loss), but we still have some work to do."

The Spartans (22-8) move on to face top-seeded Texas on the Longhorns' home floor tomorrow night.

UA sophomore center Shawntinice Polk led all scorers with 23 points but received little help from her teammates. Polk was 9 of 15 (60 percent) from the field, while the rest of the team was a combined 12 of 37 (32 percent).

Junior guard Dee-Dee Wheeler added 11 points, five assists, four steals and four rebounds for Arizona. Wheeler scored in double figures in every game this season.

But the Spartans had a much more balanced attack, as all five MSU starters scored at least 10 points. Sophomore guard Lindsay Bowen led MSU with 18.

"All their starters are real tough kids. They have a nice team," Bonvicini said.

Arizona trailed by as many as 12 early in the second half, but the Wildcats went on an 11-2 run to cut MSU's lead to 47-44 seven minutes into the second. Arizona appeared to have an opportunity to tie when Wheeler hit a short jumper and the whistle blew ÷ but the call went against Wheeler for a charge.

The Wildcats cut MSU's lead to three twice more but couldn't get any closer.

"I'm proud of our players for battling back, but every time we got to (within) two or three, they always hit that key shot," Bonvicini said.

Arizona came out of the gate on fire from the floor ÷ but so did MSU. And when the Wildcats cooled off, the Spartans remained hot.

MSU scored 11 unanswered points and turn a two-point UA lead into a 17-8 Spartan advantage 6:08 into the game.

Polk picked up a pair of fouls in the game's first four minutes, sidelining the 6-foot-5 center and allowing the Spartans to maintain their lead.

"I don't even know where the first foul came from," Polk said. "I always play going in like I have three fouls, because I know I'm going to get them."

Polk still played 13 first-half minutes and led the Wildcats with 10 points in the first. Polk and senior guard Aimee Grzyb led Arizona on a 7-0 spurt late in the half to cut MSU's 11-point lead to four. The Spartans led 33-27 at halftime.

MSU dominated the glass, out-rebounding the Wildcats 21-13 in the first half, including 6-3 on the offensive end. Junior center Liz Shimek grabbed eight first-half boards for MSU and tallied a game-high 13 overall.

For the game, the Spartans grabbed 41 boards to Arizona's 31 ÷ the Wildcats' second-worst rebounding margin this season.

"I thought from the start, Michigan State did a nice job of establishing an inside presence," Bonvicini said.

Just like last year's team, the 2003-2004 Wildcats have seven long months to figure out where it went wrong.

"I'm just very disappointed it has to end like this, but I'm really proud of our team," Bonvicini said. "You never want to judge your season on your last game, but I think the thing for us is we're really close to being good. There are some things we need to improve on, but that comes in the offseason. That's how you get there."