MEN'S NCAA (20) PRINCETON 63, (I) VANDERBILT 63, (23) N.C. STATE 72,
BASKETBALL N.C. Wilmington 50 Michgan State 51 Florida State 60
(5) TARE 93. (24) Walte FoReST 61. (10) Virginia TA, PRO
N.C. Greensboro 37 Davidson 56 ST.FRANCIS PENN. 6D BASKETBALL
(2) N. CAROLINA 81, WOMEN'S NCAA (11) NEBRASKA 80, DETROIT 108,
(25) Louisville 72 BASKETBALL Bradley 66 Phoenix 103 (30T)
(7) KENTUCKY 89, (1) TENNESSEE 98. (15) W.KENTUCKY 79, PRO
(5) Purdue 75 Texas 64 Indiana 70 HOCKEY
(13) UCONN 88, (4) Old Dominion 94, (18) Auburn 73 Detroit 4,Y
West Virginia 75 WILLIAM&MARY 53 UAB 50 CALGARY 3 December 4, 1997
Spikers
must face
wiknown
at NCAAs
By TJ. Berca
DaiySports Writer
Trying to predict the Michigan vol-
leyball team's first-round NCAA tour-
nament matchup tonight with Temple in
College Station, Tex., would be a diffi-
cult task. Not that the Wolverines are
rly complaining.
he prospect of the unknown just
adds to the challenge of the NCAAs -
which the Wolverines have tried the past
16 years to qualify for.
Heading into College Station, Tex.,
the only thing the Wolverines (20-I1)
earrbe sure of is that the Owls have a 29-
4 record, which includes a 21-game win-
ning-streak and a perfect 22-0 mark in
theAtlantic 10 conference.
1: really wish we knew more about
Michigan coach Greg
Glovanazzi said. "It's tough to figure
them out, because we really don't share
very many common opponents with
thep"
Now that they have finally made the
jump into the tournament, the
Wolverines are looking forward to the
mystery their tournament opponents
present.
"'We are really excited right now,"
* or setter Linnea Mendoza said. "We
are'looking forward to playing teams we
dorf't normally play."
Michigan and Temple have faced only
one common opponent - Rhode
lsiand. The Rams might be the only
team who could have an educated guess
on the winner, as they were swept by the
Wolverines at the Husky Tournament in
Seattle in August. Meanwhile, the Owls
took out the Rams three times, sweeping
- twice in the regular season and
tg them in four games in the
Atlantic 10 tournament.
- ;With the Michigan regular-season
schedule regarded as one of the top in
the country, there is some skepticism
about Temple's record and the quality of
opiposition it played.
,,"They really have not gone out and
played an ambitious schedule,"
GioVnazzi said. "Therefore, I don't
ey know what to expect fromthem as
fir as their skill level is concerned."
The Owls are led by the outside hitter
combination of senior Sharia Bryant
and junior Amber May. Bryant, the older
sister of Los Angels Lakers' guard
Kobe Bryant, leads the way in kills with
4.01 per game.
She has had to go through a lot in
the past few years," Giovanazzi said. "I
believe Bryant's family moved out to
4 ornia to be with Kobe, so she has
much been on her own'
,May, the other half of Temple's out-
side combo, is third on the team in kills
with 2.86 per game, behind Bryant and
midde blocker Tamu Cooper.
.Cooper, a 6-foot- senior, is perhaps
tbe.most well rounded of the Owls.
Along with her 3.2 kills per game,
Coeper leadsthe Owls in blocks (2.5 per
game) and service aces (2 per game).
, e reins of the Temple offense falls
unior setter Akiko Hatakeyama.
Hatakeyama, a native of Japan, averages
1217 assists per game.
Hatakeyama is also one of four for-
eigf-born Temple players. Along with
Hatakeyama, the Owls have two players
fromsrael, Myteesha Coffer and Maria
Vutskova, and one from Albania, Alma
Kovaci.
The foreign experience is the biggest
Btrast between the Owls and the
verines - the most exotic location
that Michigan taps players from is
southern California.
-I'm not a really big fan of foreign-
born players," Giovanazzi said. "I just
See NCAAS, Page 13A
Baston's 23 leads
over Panthers
Despite mistakes, Blue rolls, 71-62
By Dan St~iman
Daily Sports Witer
Michigan squandered an early 13-
point lead, Robert Traylor struggled to
find the net from underneath the basket
and the Wolverines continued their slop-
py ball handling.
Nevertheless, Michigan improved to
4-1 with a 71-62 victory over Florida
International (3-2) last night at Crisler
Arena, thanks to a 23-point effort from
Maceo Baston - Michigan's Mr.
Consistency this season - and key con-
tributions from freshmen Josh Asselin
and Brandon Smith.
On a night when the Wolverines .
looked like they might finally blow out
an inferior opponent, a 13-point
Michigan lead with 12:55 left in the first
half turned into a 27-26 halftime deficit.
But after hitting just I of 1 3-point
attempts in the first half and shooting
34.4 percent
* Michigan 71 overall, the
Wolverines
Florida Int'l. 62 found their
stroke in the
second half, shooting 60.7 percent from
the field, including five of nine from 3-
point range. Michigan went on a 13-4
run in the middle of the half, eventually
extending its lead to a game-high 14
points with 4:18 remaining.
"We played well in spurts," Michigan
coach Brian Ellerbe said. "But we could-
n't find consistency in our game."
While the Wolverines struggle to find
stability as a team, guard Louis Bullock
- who accounted for two of Michigan's
treys in the second half after missing all
four of his first half field goal attempts
- is gaining momentum. Bullock has
now made 6 of I1 3-point attempts since
missing his first 13 of the season.
It was Baston, Asselin and Smith,
however, who won the game for the
Wolverines. Baston pulled down 13
rebounds to go along with his game-high
23 points, 17 of which came in the sec-
ond half. Asselin and Smith sparked the
Wolverines with several big plays, com-
bining for 17 points and eight boards.
Although Michigan pulled away late
in the game, it was a missed shot by
Traylor in the second half that symbol-
ized the Wolverines' poor decision mak-
ing this season. With the Golden
Panthers, and most of the 11,236 in atten-
dance, daring Trsylor to take an uncon-
tested jump shot from the foul line, the
co-captain hesitated for what seemed like
an eternity, before throwing up a brick.-
"It was a mental mistake," Ellerbe
said of Traylor's decision to shoot. "It's
just like any other mental mistake - w
have to cut them out at the end of the
games."
Similar mistakes could be costly for
the Wolverines as the quality of comps-
tition improves. The Wolverines' neXt
three games are against UNLV, Eastern
Michigan and Duke.
"Making mental mistakes - we've
got to learn," said Conlan, who played in
his second game since coming back
from a wrist injury. "Now it's for real.
We're playing big-name teams now."
For a change, Michigan actually
turned the ball over fewer times than its
opponent. But the Wolverines commit-
ted several of their 17 giveaways-
against 18 by the Panthers -at the most
inopportune times. Those turnovers,
combined with a Michigan scoring
drought late in the first half, allowed tho
Panthers back into the game.
With the Wolverines leading 21-13
midway through the first half, the
Panthers capitalized on a poor pass by'
Traylor, intercepting the ball and scoring
on Raja Bell's tip-in. Then, after Bullock
airballed a 3-pointer, Darius Cook drove
the lane on the other end of the court and
scored to cut the Michigan lead to 21-17.
The Wolverines tumed the ball over on
their next two possessions, and a
Damien McKnight 3-pointer soon after
brought the Panthers to within 22-20.
Michigan stretched the lead back to
six, but the Panthers went on a 7-0 run to
end the half, including five points from
Derkack, to take a 27-26 lead.
Early in the game, matters hadn't been
that close, however. The Wolverines
jumped out to an 8-2 lead as the Golden
Panthers, known for their defensive pres-
sure, surprised everyone by starting
without a press.
"We wanted to pressure the two
guards, Reid and Bullock, but we decid-
ed to gamble and let (Michigan forward
Jerod) Ward shoot from outside,"
International coach Shakey Rodriguez
said. "If he were hitting his shots early,
we would've been in trouble?'
Ward, the Wolverines' second-leading
scorer coming into the game, went one
for eight from the field.
WARREN ZINN/Daily
Raja Bell beats Michigan Center Robert Traylor to a rebound In the first half of Michigan's 7162 victory over the Golden
Panthers at Crisler Arena last night.
Women's C r s win, 78-66
By B.J. Luda
Daily Sports Writer
GRAND RAPIDS - Good teams
win ugly games. Not even championship
teams play well every night, but it's the
mark of a mature team to win even
when it's not playing its best.
The Michigan women's basketball
team (4-1) pulled out a 78-66 victory
over a scrappy Central Michigan team
(3-3) in a hard-fought, though not neces-
sarily well played game at Gerald Ford
Fieldhouse in Grand Rapids. For the
Chippewas, this was their third consecu-
tive loss after beginning the season with
three straight wins. Michigan won its
second game in a row.
The Wolverines came out flat in the
first half, perhaps the result of not arriv-
ing in Grand Rapids early enough to
warm up properly. After Michigan
scored the first two buckets of the game,
the Chippewas scored 15 of the next 19
points to take a 15-8 lead just over seven
minutes into the game.
The Wolverines fought back and took
the lead for good on a lay-up by Akisha
Franklin with 5:36 remaining in the first
half. Though they struggled for much of
the first half, the Wolverines clawed and
scratched their way to a 39-31 halftime
lead and pulled away in the second half.
The lead stayed near 10 for the entire
second half, and Michigan held on for
the 12-point victory.
Michigan was paced once again by
senior captain Pollyanna Johns, who
scored 22 points while dominating the
paint on the offensive end of the court.
"I knew Central was going to have
trouble defending her inside because
she's so strong, and she's very mobile,"
Michigan coach Sue Guevara said. "She
has been our most consistent player.
When we needed a rebound, when we
needed a basket, there she was:'
Another one of the few bright spots
for Michigan was the play of guard Ann
Lemire. Despite going out for five min-
utes in the first half with an injury,
Lemire scored 15 points, second most
for the Wolverines. Lemire made both of
Michigan's three point baskets and
added four assists.
Despite her own solid performance,
Lemire realized that the Wolverines have
a lot to do before the Big Ten season
begins in three weeks.
"We need to work on rebounding,"
Lemire said. "We didn't box outa lot."
Although Johns pulled down eight
boards, the Wolverines were outplayed
under the basket. Despite being out
rebounded 41-39, the Chippewas
grabbed 18 offensive boards and were
able to convert on many of their second
chances.
"I was very concerned about that,"
Guevara said. "We were making contact,
but we weren't pushing. We weren't box-
ing out. Trust me, we will not give up 18
offensive rebounds again."
Neither team took particularly good
care of the ball, combining for 35
turnovers. Many of them, however, were
a direct result of the stifling defense both
teams played. Michigan routinely
trapped the Chippewas, leading to sever-
al steals on the press.
One part of the Wolverines' problem
was the lack of scoring from outside the
paint. Usually deadly from three-point
range, Michigan's sharpshooters con-
verted only 2-of-8 three point attempts
against the Chippewas.
Michigan scored most of its 78 points
on lay-ups and short range jumpers. The
Wolverines shot 48% from the field.
Central Michigan was similarly cold
from behind the arc, making only one
three-point field goal all game.
The Chippewas also had problems
See CHIPPEWAS, Page 13A
Michigan's
'f Pollyanna Johns
had a stellar per-
formance last
night, as the
Wolverines beat
Central Michigan,
7866. Johns
racked up 22
points and eight
rebounds.
FILE PHOTO
T H I S M O NT H N L Y
U of M Ski Team's
28th Annual
ki Swap.
COPIES
8.5x11, 20# white, one-sided
Offer expires 12/31/97.
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549 E university Ave..# 741-9669
Selling equipment?
LOUIS BROWN/Daly call
Izczeenlak and the volleyball
In play in the NCAAs tomorrow.332-0984