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 NORTH CAMPUS: Media Union Conn. 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