12 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, March 1, 1995 ICERS Continued from page 11 21 points on 9 goals and 12 assists. "They are probably our best line right now," Berenson said. Hilton is second only to Morrison on the team in scoring, tallying 44 points on 17 goals and 27 assists, while Luhning leads all players in the CCHA in plus/minus with a plus-28 rating. "We (complement) each other well," Luhning said. "We know where Madden each other are going to be on the ice. "We all play different parts on our line and we all like playing with each other which helps a lot." After a lot of tinkering with the cause they work hard. They're not just a line of talented players, they're a line of working players. That's an inspiration to our team, and it's a standard that we like to set - if you work as hard as Hilton's line, you'll get results." Do YOU KNOW ME?: Michigan's matchup against Ohio State Sunday will be the first time in 19 years that the Wolverines won't see Jerry Welsh behind the Buckeye bench. Welsh was fired Feb. 14 and re- placed by assistant coach John Markell on an interim basis. "When a team has done poorly the last few years, there are prob- ably questions about the coach or the direction of the problem," Berenson said. "But I was surprised that (the firing) happened during the season." Welsh compiled a 328-381-56 mark since taking over the Ohio State program in 1976 after playing for the Buckeyes. In head-to-head meetings against Berenson, Welsh held a record of 12- 27-4. In his 19-plus seasons with Ohio State, Welsh was 18-30-4 against Michigan. So far this season, Markell is 1-3 at the Buckeye helm. By John Lerol Daily Basketball Writer With two point guards succumb- ing to injuries and one playing more like a forward, freshman Akisha Franklin has carried the bulk of the load. It is always rough to change point guards in the middle of a season, but changing to a freshman floor leader midway through the season in the Big Ten is almost unheard of. Franklin's emergence as acompe- tent ballhandler and a poised floor leader have helped the Wolverines through a rebuilding year. The' Elmhurst, Ill. native is averaging nine points per game to go along with three rebounds and almost four assists per contest. Only recently has Franklin become comfortable as a Big Ten point guard. Franklin's first starting role was against Michigan State Jan. 6 and it only took her a month to adjust. Franklin caught fire in February be- ginning with a Feb. 10 matchup with then-No. 12 Penn State. The freshman set a career high with five steals and scored 13 points against the Nittany Lions. Though Franklin's quickness and determina- tion make her a decent defender, Penn State's Tina Nicholson burned her for 15 points and 10 assists in a true display of point guard prowess. The following game, against Iowa, Franklin again had five takeaways and netted 13 points. Against Michi- gan State, Franklin scored a career- high 19 points, playing all 40 min- utes. Coach Trish Roberts has shown plenty of confidence in the soft-spo- ken Franklin, even after Mekisha Ross, the starting point guard at the beginning of the season, returned to action two weekends ago. Franklin is averaging almost 37 minutes a game since taking over as the starting point guard. "Akisha is playing very well for us, especially considering that she is a freshman," she said. "I think she is doing a very good job at the point." JUST A 'BREEZE': Junior center Jennifer Brzezinski is currently lead- ing Michigan in scoring (13.1 ppg), rebounding (9.6), steals (2.14) and blocked shots (1.41). Brzezinski is tied for second in the Big Ten in rebounding and is fourth in blocked shots despite her relatively short 6- 1 frame. She has been Michigan's leading rebounder in 14 of 26 games and has paced the Wolverines in scoring nine times. The junior from Warren moved into eighth place on Michigan's all- time three-point list and is second in three-point shooting percentage (.424) behind 1994-95 medical redshirt Jen- nifer Keifer (.434). Brzezinski scored her 300th point of the season against Northwestern, Feb. 17. She has totaled 560 points in her three-year Wolverine career. BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK: Franklin emerges as floor leader for Cagers SPEAKING OF THREES: With eight triples over spring break, including four against Northwestern, sophomore guard Amy Johnson moved into sec- ond place on the all-time three point list. Her 77 treys surpassed Leah Wooldridge's total of 73 and leaves her just eight short of Jen Nuanes' mark of 85. FAMILIAR FOE: In the first round of the inaugural Big Ten tourna- ment, it's only fitting that 11th- seeded Michigan will face sixth- seeded Michigan State. The Spar- tans and Wolverines split their sea- son series with each team winning on their home floor. Most recently, Michigan State beat Michigan, 70- 65, Feb. 19 in front of 7,147 fans in East Lansing. The Spartans lead the all-time series, 32-6. 0 0 lines, Berenson said that this trio is pretty well entrenched heading into the playoffs. "They've played so well that if we broke them up it would only be for the benefit of the team," he said. "They're a sparkplug type of line for us be- 0 i'tminrg & BA~n 0 (Raft the RiversWild 0 USA Iaft 1-800-USA -RAFT TONYA BROAD/Daily The Wolverines begin Big Ten tournament play Friday against sixth-seeded Michigan State. The Spartans beat the Wolverines, 70-65, Feb. 19. Cheat, New, Nolichucky, Nantahala & Ocoee RiversJ PO Box 277 - RowlesburgWV 26425 On One of the Holiest Occasions in Islam, We Would Like to A- - On One of the Holiest Occasions in Islam, We Would Like to Wish the University of Michigan Community Ramadan Mubarak i: :: :i:: - -- ( I I I and Happy Eid -l/ All are invited to join the Muslim students on campus in celebration of Ramadan on March 6 at the Markley Cafeteria for ethnic and halal cuisine from 4:30 to 7:30pm, as well as information about the significance of the Holy Month of Ramadan in Islam and entertainment beginning at 7:30pm. I