Despite Franke's best efforts, Spartans have UW's number

Indianapolis, Ind. Barb Franke's 35-point night went for naught.

Now the University of Wisconsin can only hope the same doesn't go for its 19-8 season. The Badgers are hoping for a berth in the National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament.

"I don't know who in the country they'd take ahead of us," said coach Jane Albright-Dieterle, whose Badgers lost to Michigan State, 87-79, Saturday night in the Big Ten Conference tournament at Hinkle Fieldhouse. "I'm not nervous at all. I can't do anything about it anyway."

The same could be said of the Spartans' efforts against Franke, who equaled the school record of 35 points first set by Lisa Bonnell against St. Peter's College on Jan. 3, 1988. Michele Kozelka tied the mark against Illinois State on Dec. 30, 1990.

"It was tough guarding Barb," acknowledged Michigan State center Paula Sanders, who had that primary job. "Play in front of her, behind her, she's still going to score."

Franke scored 18 points in the first half, 17 in the second. She made 15 of 22 shots from the field. She made 5 of 6 from the free-throw line. She had 10 rebounds.

She wasn't enough.

"Barb Franke, I hope, showed some people who didn't think she should be on the first-team all-conference team," Albright- Dieterle said. "Unfortunately, she didn't have a good supporting cast tonight, as she usually does."

The outcome of Saturday's last quarterfinal game meant that of the four top seeds, only eighth-ranked Penn State advanced to the semifinals. Today's pairings match top-seeded Penn State (23-4) against fifth- seeded Indiana (19-8) and seventh-seeded Ohio State (16-12) against sixth-seeded Michigan State (16-11).

The seeds didn't mean much to Michigan State, which defeated Wisconsin for the third time this season. Albright-Dieterle said a different Spartan hurt the Badgers in each game.

"We pretty much knew what they were going to do," she said. "But they executed very well, and we didn't."

The Badgers trailed by as many as 13 points in the first half before cutting the gap to 38-31 at intermission. They had it down to 50-44 when Michigan State went on a 13-0 run to take a 63-44 lead with 11 1/2 minutes left.

Despite the best efforts of Franke, Katie Voight (15 points) and Keisha Anderson (11 points, eight assists), the Badgers never get closer in the second half than the final eight-point margin.

Michigan State put five players in double figures and didn't even need a big night by Kisha Kelley, the Big Ten's No. 2 scorer. She scored 12 of her 14 points in the second half, finishing with five fewer than her average.

Sanders and Bella Engen had 16 each for Michigan State.

Franke said the Spartans' domination of Wisconsin was "kind of amazing to me" but expressed optimism about Wisconsin's selection to the NCAA tournament.

"This is just a one-game thing," she said. "We went through the whole season. I think that's what it's all about."

Albright-Dieterle said if upsets continue in the Big Ten tournament, perhaps as many as four or five Big Ten teams will be selected.

"That's why you have tournaments," she said.

Ohio State 72, Purdue 59 Peggy Evans scored 31 points and Katie Smith hit a key three- pointer down the stretch, lifting Ohio State.

The Buckeyes had lost to Purdue, 58-55, on Feb. 24.

Second-seeded Purdue (21-7) had won 10 straight games, tying a school record. The Boilermakers, who went to the NCAA Final Four last season, have shared the conference regular-season championship with Penn State the last two years.

The Buckeyes never trailed until a three-pointer by Melina Griffin sent Purdue ahead, 40-38, with 11:03 to play. A three-pointer by Adrienne Johnson put Ohio State ahead to stay, 48-45, with 7:17 left.

Smith, the Big Ten scoring champion with a 22-point average, made the first basket of the game and then went nearly 34 minutes without a field goal. Her second basket, a three-pointer, gave Ohio State a 54-48 lead with 5:04 left.

Penn State 69, Iowa 62 Angie Potthoff and Missy Masley accounted for 41 points as eighth-ranked Penn State held off Iowa.

Iowa finished 11-17 and had its streak of 10 straight NCAA tournament appearances end.

Although seeded ninth, the Hawkeyes pressured Penn State throughout the game and trailed only 59-55 with less than 4 minutes to play. A layup by Masley and two free throws by Tiffany Longworth expanded the Lady Lions' lead to 63-55, and Iowa could get no closer than six thereafter.

Potthoff paced Penn State with 22 points and Masley finished with 19. Tia Jackson led the Hawkeyes with 23.

Indiana 77, Northwestern 75 Indiana's Lisa Furlin hit a 10-footer with 6 seconds to play to spoil a Northwestern comeback and lift the Hoosiers.

Fourth-seeded Northwestern (14-14) trailed, 71-63, with less than 3 1/2 minutes to play before going on a 10-0 run to take a 73-71 lead with 1:41 left. Michele Ratay capped the flurry with a three-pointer and a driving layup that resulted in a three- point play.

The Hoosiers tied it at 73-73 and 75-75 on baskets by Furlin and Tatjana Vesel, who scored with 39.3 seconds left. The Wildcats then committed a turnover on an inbounds pass, and Indiana worked the ball to Furlin just inside the free-throw line for the winning shot.

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