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. Grade A Notes at Ulrich's Bookstore y 549 E university Ave..# 741-9669 Selling equipment? LOUIS BROWN/Daly call Izczeenlak and the volleyball In play in the NCAAs tomorrow.332-0984