EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Lykendra Johnson had 19 points and Kalisha Keane scored 17, helping No. 11 Michigan State pull away to beat Northwestern 74-60 Thursday night.
The Spartans (23-3, 11-2 Big Ten) closed with a 14-2 run over the final 312 minutes to seal the game and remain atop the conference.
Amy Jaeschke scored 25 points and Brittany Orban added 11 for the Wildcats (16-11, 5-9).
Jaeschke, a 6-foot-5 senior, had 16 points at halftime and Northwestern led 36-33 after trailing by eight midway through the first half.
Michigan State made just 39 percent of its shots, but had 23 offensive rebounds lead to 13 second-chance points.
The Spartans have put themselves in a position to win the Big Ten regular-season title outright for the first time in school history after sharing the conference championship in 1997 and 2005.
