Women's Tennis vs. Western Michigan Friday, 3 p.m. Liberty Sports Complex Si S Hockey vs. Western Michigan Friday, 7 p.m. Yost Ice Arena Michigan halts General's march in Bloomington Wolverines' performance silences Assembly crowd By SCOTT BURTON Daily Basketball Writer BLOOMINGTON - Basketball is a lot like physics. There is a reason for anything and everything that happens. Take, for instance, Michigan's 65-52 victory over Indiana last night. The result appears to defy logic. Indiana carried a 50-game home winning streak into the contest and had a week to prepare for the game. Michigan was coming off a tough loss to Michigan State and had only one day to prepare for the historically hard-nosed Hoosiers. Yet, the Wolverines' victory was no accident. In fact, it's as easy to comprehend as terminal velocity. It all came down to the fact that Michigan ignored the Hoosier hysteria and Indiana wasn't Indiana. Now, granted, ignoring some- thing doesn't sound like a spectacu- lar way to defeat a basketball team. C O urt But for Michigan, its ability to ig- nore the intimidation of Assembly Hall and the Hoosiers' home win- S S ning streak was the key to victory. After visits to Duke and Illinois, the Wolverines have had plenty of practice dealing with tough road crowds. That experience certainly showed last night. Although the 17,323 fans jumped on any hint of momentum, Michigan played through crowd bursts with composure. "I think our schedule helped us maintain our composure down the stretch * and that keyed us to victory," senior Ray Jackson said. Indiana never scored more than six points in a row the whole contest. Michigan had an answer for every Hoosier run, and even turned Assembly Hall into a scene of near absolute quiet in the second half. "We thought if we got the upper hand early on and never trailed, the crowd would never be a factor," freshman Maurice Taylor said. "We didn't let them do anything exciting, and the crowd never had a chance to get into it." Of course, it helped Miclhigan's cause that last night's Indiana team bared no resemblance to Hoosier teams of the past. Things called discipline, teamwork and intelligence seemed to be lost concepts. It was scary indeed to see a Bobby Knight team turn the ball over like it was playing together for the first time, and travel like it was trying to earn frequent- flyer miles. The Hoosiers committed 17 turnovers in all and allowed Michigan to thwart any major comeback threat. Indiana's shooting was equally uncharacteristic. Normally a team that tries to spread out its scoring and look for high-percentage passes, the Hoosiers settled for tough shots from stars Brian Evans and Alan Henderson. For the game, Indiana shot just 37.7 percent. Not even a Bobby Knight team playing at home can win with such a poor performance. And you don't have to be Einstein to understand that. 'M' tennis opens season against MAC's finest Blue thwarts Hoosier streak By RYAN WHITE Daily Basketball Writer BLOOMINGTON---Jimmy King launched the basketball into the air at the final buzzer and then joined his teammates in celebrating something that no team had accomplished since 1991 - a win against Indiana at As- sembly Hall. Michigan used a 14-0 first-half run to pull away from the Hoosiers (3- 3 Big Ten, 11-7 overall) en route to a 65-52 victory last night. The victory ended the Hoosiers' 50-game home winning streak and propelled the Wolverines back into the Big Ten title picture. Indiana opened the game witha6-0 run and had Michigan (5-2,11-7) down 9-5 when Jimmy King was fouled and hittwo free throws. On the Wolverines' next possession, King tied the game at nine with a layup. Then, after a Ray Jackson 3-pointer, Maceo Baston scored six straight points to put the Wolverines up by 10, 19-9. "We've always been able to estab- lish a good lead on good runs in this gym," senior Ray Jackson said. "We just haven't been able to maintain them. We just had to keep our poise." And the Wolverines did just that answering each Indiana run with one of their own. After Indiana cut the Michigan lead to four at 28-24, the Wolverines quickly ran it back to 10. Maurice Taylor and Baston each split a pair of free throws. Taylor hit a five- foot jumper, and Fife knocked down both of his foul shots after being fouled by the Hoosiers' Charlie Miller. The key for Michigan on offense was poise and patience. "We've done a better job since we've gotten into the Big Ten of not being in a hurry to shoot the ball," Michigan coach Steve Fisher said. Michigan maintained the same poise on defense as on offense - holding the Hoosiers' leading scorer, Alan Henderson, to just eight points, 16 under his average. "Michigan played really well de- fensively," Indiana coach Bob Knight said. "Not just here and there, but they played well throughout the course of the game." The Wolverines forced Indiana into shooting just 37 percent from the floor and outrebounded the Hoosiers, 44-27. Fisher hadn't put much emphasis on the Hoosiers' home winning streak, but his players were more than happy to have been the ones to end it. "The streak meant a lot to us," said Michigan guard Dugan Fife, who scored nine points. "We also wanted to beat Indiana and put Michigan State behind us. So it was three victories for us." MICHIGAN (65) F FT REB MIN Mn-A U-A OT A F PYfS Jackson 31 3-13 5.8 2-6 0 3 13 Taylor 34 4-12 3-6 3-6 1 1 11 Ndiaye 24 2-3 0-1 1-5 0 2 4 Fife 29 1-2 6-6 0.1 2 4 9 King 37 4-10 2-2 3-6 5 2 10 Concan 15 2-3 0-1 2-4 0 0 5 Baston 21 6-7 1-2 4-6 0 4 13 Mitchell 9 0-1 0-0 0-1 0 0 0 Totals 200 22-51 17-26 1844 810 65 FQ%. .431. FT%: .654. Three-point goals: 4-8, .500 (Jackson 2-4, Conian 1-1, Fife 1-2, Mitchell 0-1). Blocks: 4 (Baston 2, Mitchell, Ndiaye). Turnovers: 17 (Jackson 6. King 4, Taylor 3, Fife 2, Baston, Ndiaye). Steals: 5 (Conlan, Fife, Mitchell, Ndiaye, Taylor) Technical Fouls: none. INDIANA (52) FO FT REB MIN M-A M-A OT A F PS Evans 40 5-14 3-3 2-4 1 1 16 Henderson 38 4-15 0-2 2-6 2 5 8 Patterson 19 6-8 1-3 2-3 0 3 13 Reed 31 2-9 3-4 1-1 3 4 8 Hart 20 1-3 0-0 0-3 2 3 3 Lindeman 17 1-2 0-0 0.1 0 2 2 Hermon 8 0.0 0-0 0-0 2 2 0 Knight 15 0-1 0-0 0-3 2 0 0 Miller 10 1-1 0-0 0-2 1 1 2 Paul 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 00 0 Eggers 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 00 0 Totals 200 2053 7-2 10-27 1321 52 FG%: .377. FT%: .583. Three-point goals: 5-13, .385 (Evans 3-5, Hart 1-3. Reed 1-4). Blocks: 4 (Evans 2, Henderson, Lndeman).Tunover: 17 (Evans 5, Hermon 5, Lindeman 2, Reed 2, Henderson, Knight, Patterson). Steals: 4 (Hart. Henderson, Lindeman, Miller) Technical Fouls: none. Michigan ........ 34 31 - 65 Indianay......2626-52 At: Assembly Hall; A: 17,323 2 i MARK FRIEDMAN/Daily Michigan freshman Maurice Taylor was one of four Wolverines who scored in double digits during Michigan's 65-52 romp over Indiana. U By MATTHEW STEINHAUSER For the Daily This season, the Michigan women's tennis team wields all the weapons necessary to terrorize the Big Ten, and despite a subpar history in conference play, coach Bitsy Ritt has the 1994-95 squad primed to ex- cel. Heading into her 11th year at the helm of the Wolverines, Ritt is com- ing off of a record-setting season. Last year, her team became the first squad in school history to finish as high as 25th in the nation and second in the Big Ten. The Wolverines fin- ished with an overall record of 17-7 and posted a 9-1 mark in the confer- ence. To top it all off, Ritt was named both Big Ten and Midwest Region Coach of the Year. This season, Ritt is concentrating on raising the status of Michigan ten- nis even further. * "(We want) to win the Big Ten and to qualify for the NCAA tourna- ment," Ritt said. "Our goal is to have the best player at each position in the Big Ten, and I think that is realistic." To help achieve these lofty goals, Michigan returns all ofthe starters from last year's roster. Leading the way are seniors Liz Cyganiak, Jaimie Fielding and Simone Lacher. In three years, the o has won a combined 296 matches. After outstanding freshmen cam- paigns last season, Sarah Cyganiak and Bojana Jankovic return this sea- son as two of the top players in the Big Ten. Last season, both women made the all-conference team, and Cyganiak was selected as both the Big Ten and Midwest Region Rookie of the Year. "I think we all expect to do our best and take the BigTen... and endupin the top 15 or the top 12 (in the country)," Cyganiak said. "This is our year." Foreshadowing a potentially large contribution this season, freshman Sora Moon was impressive earlier this year in the Milwaukee Classic. Moon over- came a sprained ankle she suffered be- fore the tournament and posted a 6-1 record to win the consolation round. "(There) were not many expecta- tions," Moon said. "I was very sur- prised and happy (with the perfor- mance)." Standing in the way of the Wol- verines' quest for a Big Ten title is the traditional favorite, Indiana. The Hoo- siers have earned their yearly recog- nition as the natural choice to win the powerful Big Ten by claiming the last eight titles. Before beginning the strenuous and difficult road to a conference champi- onship, Michigan must face last year's top two teams in the Mid American Conference. Western Michigan visits the Wolverines' home courts Friday, and Miami (Ohio) arrives at the Liberty Sports Complex Saturday. With only two weeks of practice under their belts, Michigan is seeking much needed early season experience against the MAC's finest teams to build the foundation for its season. "(It is) an opportunity ... to try to rotate players into the lineup and get a look at a few new doubles combina- tions," Ritt said. "In essence, (this weekend is) a tune up for the Big Ten season." BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK By DAVID ROTHBART Daily Basketball Writer The Michigan women's basketball team has its work cut out for itself this weekend. First, the Wolverines must travel to Minnesota Friday to try and steal a win in the unfriendly confines of the Sports Pavilion. Michigan has not won at Minnesota since it eked out a 67-65 victory during the 1991-92 season. The Minnesota men's team plays its home games at Williams Arena, but the women's team favors the smaller Sports Pavilion, where the crowd noise rises to deafening proportions. "It gets loud," Michigan coach Trish Roberts said. "(Their fans) go crazy. It definitely gives them a boost." Roberts said the atmosphere at the Sports Pavilion reminds her of Penn State's Recreation Hall, which may be a bad omen for Michigan. The Wolverines travelled to University Park Jan. 15 and were destroyed, 92-44, by the Lady Lions. This season, the Golden Gophers have proven to be inconsistent. Minne- sota rallied to wins over Big Ten powers Purdue and Penn State but dropped a game to conference doormat Illinois. "They're a team capable of playing some very good basketball," Roberts said. "They've beaten some impressive teams. We just have to go in there and come out strong." WORKING UP AN APPETITE: This week in practice, the Wolverines have worked on coming out hungry at the beginning of games. In last weekend's pair of losses, lackluster starts gave Michigan early deficits of 17-2 against Illinois and 27-8 against Ohio State. Roberts is urging her squad to start playing hard when it emerges from the lockerroom before the game, not just when it comes out for the second half.She wants the team to dictate the tempo of the game from the opening tip. In practice, the Wolverines play a game called "Cut-throat", where one team can keep possession of the ball as long as they keep scoring. Sometimes a scrimmage team finds itself playing defense for minutes at a stretch. Roberts said the drill gets the players more intense. "We've out-played teams in the second half," Roberts said. "We can't wait (until) we're down to start hustling." HOME SWEET HOME: Friday's matchup against Minnesota will be a homecom- Women's basketball to face rowdy crowd ing for Michigan freshman Tiffany Willard, anative ofPlymouth, Minn. Willard, who has provided valuable minutes for Michigan off the bench this season, was recruited heavily by theGophers. However, Minnesota, with threestarting seniors, could notpromise Willard nearly as much playing time this season as the younger Wolverines could. INJURY UPDATE: Sophomore guard Mekisha Ross continues to recover from a stress fracture. She is expected to return at the end of February. Freshman center Pollyanna Johns tore her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in December and underwent surgery last Friday. She will miss the rest of the season. Guard Jennifer Kiefer is also out with an ACL injury and has missed the entire season. "It's discouraging," Roberts said. "We had, and still have, high hopes for this young ballclub. Mekisha was play- ing well, and she went down. Pollyanna gave us height and intimidation, and we lost her. We're struggling." Michigan has gone with a seven- Roberts player rotation the last few weeks, start- ing Silver Shellman and Catherine DiGiacinto at forward, Amy Johnson and Akisha Franklin at guard and Jennifer Brzezinski at center, with Willard and Molly Murray coming off the bench. i __ _ RICHARD D. ALEXANDER Theodore H. Hubbell Distinguished University Professor of Evolutionary Biology and Director and Curator of Insects. Museum of Zoology EVOLUTION AND THE ARTS Explaining the Luxuriance of Human Social and Mantal Activitic Here's how: E-mail: info@schoolkids.com then subscribe to our "Local Schoolkids Newsletter." Winner will be e-mailed on 1/27 Off 1