6B - The Michigan Daily - SPORTSMonday - January 26, 1998 BASKETBALL i Thomas fills big shoes in victory Johns returns to :. spark board work By Andy Latack and Tracy Sandier "PaiyIV Sports \Xntcrs Michigan guard Stacey 'Thomas has done fairly well avoiding the dreaded sophomore jinx. Going into yesterday's game against Iowa, last year's Big Ten Freshman of the Year was averaging 1 1.9 points and 6.4 rebounds. In her past two games, with -Pollyanna Johns out with a knee injury, Thomas's numbers have increased sig- nificantly. In yesterday's a5 e' ' '2d e aa :: ,; :: -- ''.f .....tiv .':r. thrilling overtime victory, Thomas regis- tered her fourth double-double of the season and her fifth of her career, scor- ing 16 points and grabbing 11I rebounds. She also shot 8-of-11 from the free- throw line while playing all 45 minutes in the contest. "You saw Stacey Thomas, she has a &duble-double rebounding the basket- bal l," Michigan coach Sue Guevara said. "For us to outrebound Iowa is huge, because they're a big team." HATING THE HAWKEYES: Despite its victory yesterday, Michigan hasn't had much luck against lowa in the past. Before their 75-63 victory last year in Iowa City, the Wolverines had dropped )' straight to the H awkeyes, and were winless in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa ;fill holds a 27-4 advantage in the series. "This is a huge game for us," Guevara ti d following the win. "It's a big game for our program. We played a good team, a bigger team and a very athletic team that is second in the conference, and we beat them." BANKING ON THETHREE: With 14 see- H KEYES Continued from Page 1B the Hawkeyes inbounds pass with 3.2 seconds left. The freshman guard drove down court and was all alone for a layup at the buzzer, but it clanged off of the side of the rim. "It was a huge game for us," Guevara said. "We played a good team, a bigger team, a very athletic team, and we beat them" Despite being a smaller team and hav- ing their top rebounder -- Johns - side- onds left in the game and Michigan down 60-57, Guevara called a timeout. Coming out of the break, Guevara designed a play to get forward Molly Murray an open 3-pointer. When Murray curled around a Johns screen and drained the trey, forcing overtime, the momentum was clearly in Michigan's favor. What was Murray, who was suffering from bronchitis during the game, think- ing when she took the fateful shot? "Since I had banked in a three before that," Murray said, referring to an improbable trifecta four minutes earlier that gave Michigan a 55-54 lead. "I was just hoping that I didn't bank in another one." TAKING CARE OF THE BALL: Michigan had been cutting down on turnovers of late, a problem that had plagued the Wolverines throughout the better part of the season. After commit- ting a season-low of 10 turnovers against Michigan State last week, Michigan topped that mark, coughing the ball up just six times in its loss to Wisconsin. But, the Wolverines regressed yesterday, giving the ball up 17 times. WILLARD STEPPING UP: With Johns playing but still hindered by a knee injury, the burden of Michigan's post production has fallen on forward Tiffany Willard. While the six-foot senior strug- gled against Wisconsin, scoring just two points, she bounced back against Iowa, scoring nine and grabbing five rebounds while playing 33 minutes. "We got a good performance out of Tiffany Willard on the boards today," Guevara said. "We also got a good per- formance out of Kenisha Walker, when she had to come in and guard Tangela Smith" lined for most of the game, the Wolverines outrebounded the Hawkeyes, 39-35. "If you looked at my keys for the game on the board, No. 1 was rebounds," Lee said. "We should have dominated on the boards." Michigan point guard Stacey Thomas grabbed 11 boards, including four offen- sive, to lead all players in that category. "I tried to box out more,"Thomas said. "That's kind of hard for me. I like to go aggressively to the boards and anticipate where it goes, but today I just tried to box By B.J. Luria Daily Sporets iter Rebounding. It's such a simple concept. Ten players fighting for a loose ball after a missed shot. Yet for the Michigan women's basket- ball team, that task hasn't been an easy one recently, especially without its star scorer and rebounder, Pollyanna Johns. Johns injured her left knee last week against Michigan State and missed much of that game and the entire Wisconsin game on Friday. Without Johns in the lineup, the Wolverines struggled both on the boards and in the paint. Yesterday, Johns returned in the sec- ond half and played 16 minutes in Michigan's 69-65 overtime victory over Iowa. She was surprised to play even that many minutes. "I was telling everyone that I was going to play the last few minutes; Johns said. "So, I was grateful to play as much as I did." Johns made her first appearance in a week four minutes into the second half and scored the first time she touched the ball, two minutes later. Although Michigan coach Sue Guevara didn't plan on playing Johns in key situations, the senior wound up playing the final seven minutes of the game, including the entire overtime session. "I didn't want to get her in a tight, tight situation her first time in," Guevara said. "But maybe it was an emotional lift for the coaching, for me, to know that she was going to be ok." Johns scored five points and pulled down three rebounds in her return. Despite the importance of Johns' return, it was the rebounding efforts and inside play of the Wolverine guards and Tiffany Willard that made the difference against Iowa. Stacey Thomas recorded her second consecutive double-double against the Hawkeyes, with 16 points and a game- high I1 rebounds. Thomas played the entire game for the Wolverines and was 8-for-1 I from the free throw line. But it was her rebounding that was most important for the Wolverines. "I like to go aggressively to the boards and try to anticipate where the ball's going. Thomas said. "But today, I tri to box out more. Starting her second straight game in place of Johns, Willard scored nine points and grabbed five rebounds.while playing 33 minutes. Willard's perfor- mance was a far cry from her output in the game at Wisconsin, in which she scored only two points and grabbed five rebounds in 25 minutes. Johns' absence Friday was glaringly obvious. The Wolverines were -outr- bounded, 26 -16 in the first half,'as iW Badgers jumped out to a 16-point half- time lead. In addition to its lack of rebounding, Michigan also failed to establish any kind of inside game on the offensive end of the floor. "I thought we stood around ;a;lot against Wisconsin," Guevara said. "We weren't going to the boards and Idon't think we boxed out." Defensively, Michigan frontliriL couldn't compete with a much tal Wisconsin team. Freshman center LaTonya Simms, who stands at 6-foot-3, recorded 14 points and 13 rebounds, as she took advantage of the shorter Wolverines. Six-foot-two forward Ann Klapperich also faced little competition in the paint and scored a game-high.22 points. The only factor that kept Michigan-in the game against Wisconsin was the.play of Thomas, along with the lack turnovers. The Wolverines had a season- low six turnovers, but struggles from the free throw line prevented them from making the game close at the end. Michigan made only 38 percent from the charity stripe, while the Badgers made 12-of-1S. Getting virtually no production from the inside game, the Wolverines were forced to penetrate and hit outside shots Unfortunately for Michigan, its -shar shooters were off their mark against Wisconsin. The Wolverines made-only 37.7 percent from the field and made only 7-of-22 from behind the 3-point line. WARREN ZINN/Daily With 8.8 seconds on the clock, Michigan's Molly Murray drains a crucial three- point shot, sending the game into overtime. Michigan went on to win, 69-65. out more." Johns, who missed Friday's game with a knee injury, played just 16 minutes, but had five points and three rebounds, and provided an emotional lift for the Wolverines. "We had to use her sparingly but she was a lift," Guevara said. "She had a cou- ple of big offensive rebounds." The Wolverines took their biggest lead of the game early in the first half when Thorius capped a nine-point run with a jumper, putting Michigan up eight. But Iowa slowly chipped away at the Wolverines lead and tied the game at 22 with 3:26 left in the first half. The Wolverines entered halftime with a one- point lead, 27-26. On Friday, the Wolverines got a glimpse of the future --- what life will be like without Johns. And it's not pretty. The Wolverines lost to the Badgers, 79- 63, at the Kohl Center in front of 10,295. Michigan couldn't muster anything inside, relying solely on perimeter shoot- ing and penetration. And their perimeter shooters did not have their best game, going 7-for-22 from beyond the arc. But the Badgers' Katie Voight did have one of her best games. The guard was on fire from 3-point range, hitting five of nine 3-pointers. She had 19 points and nine rebounds. I U :JS n a" sa E RICHARDSON'S O P T I C A Student discounts on eye exams and eyeglasses no "wE- Michigan's Anne Thorlus attempts a shot throughr the Hawkeyes defense. Thqrip. contributed -4 points in the 9 Wolverines' thrilling overtime victory over Iowa. Polo Great Brands TommyHilfiger Calvin -Ei- Klein WARREN ZINN/Daily Sigma Phi EpSilon At: Alpha Gamma Delta.Sorority House 1322 Hill St. Tonight, January 26th Tuesday, January 27th 6-10 pm 6-10 pm Thursday, January 29th 6-10 pm At: Delta Gamma Sorority House 626 Oxford St. MONEY FROM YOUR UNCLE INSTEAD. Your Uncle Sam. Every fees. They even ay a flat rate Wednesday, January 28 6-10 pm GET i