_. .. .. The Michigan Daily - Friday. December 6. 1996 -17 - n . v .i V sr vrn j r " lR vvv ni wv yr + v Michigan women to be tested by Central Chippewas to serve as By Richard Shin Daily Sports Writer If the Big Ten is the big test for the lichigan women's basketball team this season, then Sunday's 2 p.m. game at Central Michigan will be a cram ses- sion. With only three games left on the non-conference schedule before Michigan's first conference matchup against Ohio State on Dec. 28, the game against the Chippewas is one of the last chances for Michigan to fine- tune its rapidly improving game. The Wolverines are riding high after a runner-up finish in the Hawaiian Air Wahine Tournament in Honolulu over Thanksgiving break. Michigan fell in the -finals to top-ranked Stanford, 77- 74, in the waning moments of the game. In pushing the Cardinal to the limit before succumbing, Michigan gained "ational recognition, and along with it, votes in both the USA Today/CNN and j.EI1e:Associated Press polls. A"I think that's great for the program, Michigan coach Sue Guevara said. "I thizik for us to get a few votes in both polls, it shows us that people are look- ing at us and maybe giving us a tiny bit of respect. It's a start. "You've got to crawl before you sprint." The Wolverines will look to sprint past a Central Michigan team that is in a transition of its own. This season, Chippewas have a new coach, I-ran Voll. Under Voll, Central 'Michigan opened the season 0-2, los- ing most recently to Michigan State on Nov. 30. The Chippewas are led by senior guard Tracy Renkin, who aver- aged 10.9 points per game last sea- son. Although Central Michigan is winless, Guevara is not-underestimat- ing the Chippewas. "I think Sunday is going to be a big *t for us, because it's not Stanford we're playing," Guevara said. "The ,:hallenge for this team is to play with that type of intensity every time you tune-up for Big Ten walk out on the court, regardless of who you're playing." The key for Michigan against the Chippewas will be defense. Michigan has been strong so far this season, giv- ing up an average of 61 points per game while scoring 75 points per game. Michigan has held almost all of its opponents to under 40 percent shooting from the field, while many times Michigan has been able to shoot better than 40 percent from 3-point range. "(In Hawaii), I was very pleased," Guevara said. "We played better every single game, and we played a better team with every game. Voll has (the Chippewas) playing very hard. They have been getting more scoring from their inside game. "I want to shut down their inside game." On the inside, Central Michigan has looked to juniors Ebony Rainge and Denise Didley to provide the scoring. Against the Spartans, Rainge led the team in scoring with 16 points while Didley chipped in with 10 points. The Wolverines will counter with the very productive duo of Pollyanna Johns and Tiffany Willard. The two have helped Michigan to out-rebound all six of its opponents so far this season. Johns leads the team in rebounding, averaging 10.2 per contest, while Willard is second with a 7.2 average. Michigan's offensive juggernaut is led by Johns in the interior and fresh- man guard Stacey Thomas. Johns leads the Wolverines, averaging 16.0 points per game, while Thomas has con- tributed 14.5 points. From the arc, Michigan has connected on nearly 40 percent of its 3-point attempts for the season. All of this could make it hard for the Chippewas to avoid starting the season 0-3. "To beat Central Michigan, we have to play good defense and run the floor," Guevara said. "We have to be mentally prepared to play this game." WARREN ZINN/aIy Michigan captain Brendan Morrison was involved in a rare physical altercation against Western Michigan on Wednesday. He received a 10-minute misconduct. SRapid col e 1g ore orM By Jim Rose Daily Sports Writer Ah, life in the CCHA. Not only does the conference sport some of the best college hockey in the nation, but it also pro- vides the opportunity for glamorous weekend get- aways to places like ... Ferris State. Big Rapids. Big yawn. That's right, the Wolverines will spend their Saturday evening on the other, less interesting side of the state this weekend, when they take on the Bulldogs at 7 o'clock at Robert L. Ewigleben Ice Arena. The Wolverines (7-1-1 CCHA, 14-1-1 overall) have won five straight since tying Bowling Green, 3-3, on Nov. 16. But since that game, all of Michigan's games have either been at Yost Ice Arena or Joe Louis Arena. Now the Wolverines will hit the road to face a Ferris State team coming off two victories over Notre Dame last weekend. The Bulldogs are 4-8, 7-10-1. And in addition to playing in an unfamiliar arena, the Wolverines will be without at least two regulars. In Wednesday night's 3-1 Michigan vic- tory over Western Michigan, defenseman Peter Bourke suffered a separated shoulder. Michigan assistant coach Mel Pearson said Bourke will be out at least until late in the month. Defenseman Bubba Berenzweig is out of action for academic reasons until after Christmas, and forward Sean Ritchlin is possible with a bruised knee. Knowing all of that, does Ferris State have a chance on Saturday? Probably not. Last season, the Wolverines blasted the Bulldogs three times by a combined score of 19-6. And to hear Pearson tell it, Michigan has added incentive because this weekend's game is a confer- ence matchup. Although the Wolverines are the top-ranked team in the nation, they are in fourth place in the CCHA. Miami (Ohio), Lake Superior and Michigan State are all ahead of Michigan in the. league standings. "It makes the games more important," Pearson said. "It's good for us as coaches that we're behind, because we can make the games impor- tant. "Otherwise, the team sometimes takes a team like Ferris State lightly, but with every (CCHA) game being important for us now, it's a good situ- ation. We were in the same situation last year." Last year, the Wolverines trailed Michigan State for much of the season. The Bulldogs are led by preseason Hobey Baker candidate Andy Roach, who has 27 points through 18 games this season. But in last season's meet- ings, the defenseman managed just one goal in three games against the Wolverines. Ferris State junior Jeff Blashill entered the season as a two-year starter in net, but he has been pushed for minutes by freshman walk-on Mike Szkodzinski. Szkodzinski has taken the team lead in virtually every statistical category between the pipes. For Michigan, Warren Luhning's two-goal per- formance against Western brought the senior winger back to the foreffont on the offensive end. Luhning had struggled of late before breaking through on Wednesday. Pearson said the coaches met with Luhning on Monday. "That was probably Warren's best game in a while," Pearson said. "Whether it was the talk (that made a difference) or not, he had a good game. Warren definitely showed up (Wednesday) night." The bus driver will make sure Luhning and the rest of the Wolverines show up in Big Rapids on Saturday, but after that it's up to the players. Michigan defenseman Harold Schock said it will be good to get out on the road. Even if it means going to Big Rapids. "Just the fact that we are traveling and getting out of Ann Arbor, going to Big Rapids - the team is going to be sitting in the hotel and guys will be thinking of the game," Schock said. "There will be (fewer) distractions there." 'AmytJohnson will try to weave through some Chippewas this weekend. U I' Attention graduate students: Rackham Graduate School is pleased to announce EXTENDED STUDY HALL T TYF~ N ..