The Michigan Daily - SPORTSMonday - November 17, 1997 - 7B
'M' women hoops cruises past
Slovakia in exhibition, 95-67
By Andy Latack
Daily Sports Writer
In a ceremony preceding Saturday's
exhibition game with Sporitelna
Bratislava, the Michigan women's bas-
ketball team exchanged gifts with its
European opponent.
That was about all the Wolverines did
to strengthen foreign relations.
In its only exhibition game of the sea-
son, Michigan pounded Sporitelna, 95-
67, in a game that served as a tune-up
for the regular-season opener against
St. John's on Friday.
Behind a well-balanced offensive
attack that boasted four players in dou-
ble figures, the Wolverines dominated
the slower and smaller Slovakians,
especially under the basket.
"I was definitely pleased with the
way we rebounded the ball," said
Michigan coach Sue Guevara, whose
team yanked down 23 offensive
rebounds. "One of the things we want-
ed to do is make sure we went to the
boards."
Leading the charge was freshman
forward Mandy Stowe, who had four
offensive rebounds to complement an
impressive 17-point outing. Center
Pollyanna Johns also scored 19 points
while grabbing seven total rebounds.
From the tipoff, it was obvious that
Michigan's speed and quickness were
too much for the overmatched
REGIONAL
Continued from Page 18
by the second half of the race, I was too
cold and tired to even think about the
muddy course."
From the start, McGregor dominated
the front position - the closest runner
was 50 yards behind. During the final
400 meters of the race, Kampfe's
steady pace turned into a quicker
sprint. She steadily gained ground on
McGregor, and in the final 100 meters
passed the Big Ten Champion.
"I was not disappointed that Kampfe
won, since she is my teammate,"
McGregor said. "I didn't really know
she was coming up so fast, and I did
not run my best race today."
Kampfe was very pleased with her
performance on Saturday, yet
expressed concern about the team's
overall performance.
"I paced myself very well through-
out the whole race, and in the end I had
Slovakians. Coming out in a full-court
press, the Wolverines' aggressive
defense harassed the Slovakians into six
turnovers in the first five minutes.
Michigan capitalized, jumping out to a
16-6 lead. Guard Stacey Thomas had
three steals in the first half and scored
18 points on the day, many off layups
resulting from Sporitelna turnovers.
"That's something you're going to
see from us all year," Guevara said,
referring to Michigan's defensive inten-
sity. "I think we have the kind of ath-
letes that can press, and that the kids are
smart enough and talented enough to do
that."
Sporitelna, winners of the 1994-95
Slovakian Cup, is in the middle of a
stretch of 10 games against various
midwestern opponents.
In preparation for St. John's and
Felpausch Tournament in East Lansing,
the Wolverines used Saturday's game to
measure their progress.
"We're a faster team this year," said
Johns, last year's leading scorer on a
team that finished 7-9 in the Big Ten
and 15-11 overall. "We have a lot more
people that are not only shooters, but
who can score."
Guevara, whose team reeled off five
straight wins to begin last season, is
even more optimistic this year.
"This team is way ahead of where we
were last year, I'll tell you that much;"
more in meso l took advantage of it'
she said. "1 was definitely happy with
my individual performance, but was
more concerned with the overall teams'
performance and our bid to the nation-
al championship."
Not only did Kampfe and McGregor
perform well, but Julie Froud ran one
of her best races this year, finishing
fifth with a time of 18:08. For the first
seven minutes, Froud kept pace with
Kampfe behind McGregor. But, the
strain was evident on Froud's face and
her speed gradually deteriorated.
"I don't know what my problem
was," Froud said. "I'm not sure if my
problem was mental or physical, but I
have to work on my pacing in the early
part of the race."
While Froud slipped back, her com-
petitors continued to gain on her as she
fell back to sixth place. Nevertheless,
Froud picked up her pace during the
final stretch and finished with an
impressive time.
Guevara said.
The second-year coach was particu-
larly pleased with the team's depth.
More than one third of the team's total
points came from reserves. In all, four
players scored in double figures.
"I'm really pleased with the scoring,
because (other teams are) not just going
to be able to double in on (Johns) or key
on (Thomas)," Guevara said.
Guevara was also impressed with her
team's ability to compete with the older
Slovakians, whose five starters were all
more than 22 years of age.
"Today we played against an older,
experienced team that has been playing
a lot," Guevara said. "You can see that
they play well together, and I'm very
pleased with the way we played against
them.
"It gives me a barometer of where we
are and where we need to go."
BULLDOGS
Continued from Page 18
And MIuckalt proved that he vuas rad
to be in the spotlight.
"Our first priority is to shut them down
defensively and limit their shots,' Haves
said. "And then we can get it out to Billy
Muckalt and go on the offensive:'
The game went to overtime after the
teams finished regulation tied at twQ.
With about two minutes left in the extra
period, Hayes took the faceoff in E"rris
State's zone, and the Wolverines
employed a different twist on their usual
alignment.
"We moved (Muckalt) on the faceoff,"
Berenson said. "I just ... shifted Jij'
around and it worked. It's one of thoe
things - I can't tell you it's great coamb-
ing - but it's what I would have done as
a centerman to get the puck to your best
shooter. That's where a faceoff can make
the difference in the game, and it did.
Muckalt shot the puck from dead cIi-
ter right through the net to give Micbiip
the victory. Muckalt, who was involyed
in all three Michigan goals, scored the
game-tying goal at the onset of the third
period as a result of a 4-on-2 rush.
Gibson Lecture
Frederick Cooper
Charles Gibson Collegiate Professor of History
nz s
'r~
FILE PHOTO
Michigan cagers Stacey Thomas and Pollyanna Johns led the Wolverines past
Sporit#tna Bratislava In their lone exhibition game. The Wolverines won, 9567.
QHAMPS
ntlnued from Page 1B
the Wolvennes.
Michigan finished with 21 points to
capture the crown in businesslike fash-
ion. It was a dominant performance by a
team that hasn't lost all year.
Kevin Sullivan, pacing with Mortimer
the entire way, edged his teammate to
win the individual title of the 10,000-
meter race in a time of 31:30. Both
&Iverines fended off a small challenge
-oi' Eastern Michigan hopeful Ben
Reese, who was unsuccessful in pushing
'the pace beyond Sullivan and
Mortimer's comfort level.
"I tried to steal it," Reese admitted.
With two Wolverines in the finish
chute, the spotlight turned to Ann Arbor
native Todd Snyder, who turned in a
solid 31:43. Earlier this month, Snyder's
finish at Big Tens, despite being ill,
OJped secure the conference champi-
.ship for the Wolverines. This time,
Snyder used a burst of speed to lose the
second-tier pack and move up into con-
tention, Warhurst said.
"it was the first race I've run healthy
in about a month;' Snyder said.
Steve Lawrence was the fourth
Michigan finisher to come in under 32
minutes with a time of 31:56, good for
sixth place overall. Jay Cantin rounded
out the top five for the Wolverines, fin-
ishing eighth overall in a time of 32:00.
Cantin's finish was vital to the
Wolverines' success, in the absence of
one of Michigan's key runners. Don
McLaughlin dropped out of the race
with a calf strain, putting the pressure on
Cantin to sew up the victory.
Before the season began, one of the
Wolverines' top goals for their season
was to place at nationals. Even amidst
their success, their sights have not
changed.
Sullivan, a senior, shares that goal for
his final race as a Wolverine. But he's
not taking time to savor Saturday's victo-
ry.
"It's just another meet to me," Sullivan
said. "Next week, I'm sure it'll be a dif-
ferent story."
a.
Africa at
Century's End r
Representations #
and Ex~IsanatIons
Monday, November 17, 1997.,
4:10 pm
Rackham Amphitheatre
Reception follows
All lectures are open to the public
Presented by LS&A
U U
SA
9
and
Sl
actions
Wednesday Nov. 19 and Thursday Nov. 20
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