The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - December 7, 1998 - 7B Cincinnati began 'real' competition for Blue By Stephanie Often Daily Sports Writer Yesterday against Cincinnati, the Michigan women's basketball team did something a lit- tle unusual by recent standards. It scored fewer than 100 points. The Wolverines posted just 66 points in, their win over the Bearcats, a significant drop *m the 103 points. scored Friday againstB Central Michigan and theB 104 points scored against mmentxy Coppin State in the semi-. finals of the Torneo Cancun de Basquetbol. There may be questions as to why the drop occurred, but the answer would be simple. Cincinnati was a better team than the Wolverines had faced. The Bearcats were 3-1 going into this game, with their only loss com- in to another Big Ten team, Indiana, in the ason WNIT tournament. "Cincinnati is just a better team'" coach Sue Guevara said. "They've held the other oppo- nents to an average of 49 points, so this was really a battle of the defense." It was the defense along with the offense that stepped up yesterday. The offensive power Michigan produced in the games prior to yes- terday should not be overlooked -yesterday's game was the Wolverines' first sub-100 game in the past three matchups. Michigan has had an incredible presence on the offensive end. The Wolverines are leading the Big Ten in scoring offense with an 80.4 points per game average, a major reason for their domination. Having the second-highest free throw per- centage in the league is also impressive Of course, that's easier when teams commit 12 fouls in the first half, like the Chippewas did. To be productive on the offensive end, the defense has to play solidly. Fortunately for Michigan, that has also been the case. The Wolverines have held their opponents to an average of 62.4 points per game, almost 20 less than their average point total. "One thing that we've been trying to stress all year is our defense," Guevara said. "I think sometimes it's tough when you have such a big lead. You can kind of let up a little and that's something we've been working on. It's not so much about who we're playing, but about us, and being able to create our tempo." It can't be forgotten that these two 100-plus point games came against weaker teams. Coppin State, which went 10-18 last year, was simply overmatched by the Wolverines on both ends of the floor. Michigan also brought down 60 boards, which was the fifth-best rebounding performance in school history. The Chippewas were 10-17 last season, and are 1-4 so far this year. Besides being simply overmatched by the Wolverines, Central Michigan committed 34 turnovers, which proved the Chippewas have not yet gelled., There are tougher games to come for Michigan. The Wolverines start their Big Ten season at Indiana on Dec. 28, and the confer- ence is proving to be one of the toughest women's basketball conferences, with six teams receiving votes in the AP poll. They will also break from their grueling Big Ten schedule to play the No. 2 team in the nation, Louisiana Tech. For now, the Wolverines have to take these 100-point games for what they are - confi- dence builders. They're fun and keep the team in good spirits, and the roll-over games do not last long. "It's definitely exciting when you get 100 points and the crowd goes crazy," freshman Alayne Ingram said. "It gives you a definite rush, but it just happens." After Friday night's crushing of Central Michigan, Thomas declared this was a team that was ready for real competition. "We're ready to play with the big dogs," Thomas said. With a game-high 28 points against the Bearcats, Thomas, along with the rest of the team, proved that this is a team that is capable of competing among the best. WARREN ZINN/Daily The Michigan women's basketball team continued its roll with its first sub-100 point total in three games. WARREN ZINN/Daily T Michigan women's basketball team's effort on the glass paid off this past weekend as the Wolverines outrebounded both Cincinnati and Central Michigan. Defense keys wis" By Uma SubraianIan Dily Sports Writer It was the lowest point total in more n two decades for an opposing team. , the Michigan women's basketball team's 103-40 victory over Central Michigan (1-4) on Friday night was the team's largest margin of victory in more than 25 years of basketball. In 1975, Wisconsin scored a measly 33 points in an 84-33 rout in that year's Big Ten tour- nament. Though Michigan (5-1) was helped by the Chippewas' 28 percent shooting m the field, the Wolverines should rhaps credit themselves for the win. Fueled by a stellar defense, the Wolverines were firing on all cylinders, forcing Central to commit 34 turnovers and stifling the offense. "They did a nice job," Central Michigan coach Fran Voll said. (Michigan coach Sue Guevara) "changed some things up a little bit. Our kids have a hard time adjusting to quick changes. They're a quicker team than us." ts no surprise that Michigan is quick. veral players hold individual district and state high school titles in cross coun- try and track. Quickness is an element of Michigan's game that was especially evi- dent by the number of fast breaks the Wolverines had. Junior captain Stacey Thomas led the Wolverine charge against Central. On a play that was representative of the entire game, early in the second half Thomas an inbound pass and went coast-to- coast, outrunning the nearest Central defenders. Thomas had her way with the Chips, beating them out on several occa- sions. "I'm working hard on defense;" Thomas said. "I'm the kind of person that could be unstoppable. I'm trying to grow and mature (to be more aggressive on defense). I think my game's coming along, getting better as the games go. "I love to run, and we can all run. W're very athletic, that's our game. That's where we get our points. We're quick. I love that style of game." Thomas' predictions came true last night against Cincinnati. She was nearly unstoppable as she scored a career high 28 points on 12-for-28 shooting. For the second game in a row, Thomas had the quickest hands on the team. She swiped the ball seven times from the Bearcats. As a whole, the defensive quickness 0 the team was evidenced by its 14 steals against Cincinnati and its 20 steal against Central. Cincinnati was a much tougher oppo- nent for the Wolverines than the much- maligned Chippewas. The Bearcats forced 25 Michigan turnovers while committing only 19 themselves. But Michigan won the game on the boards, grabbing 36 rebounds to Cincinnati's 31. At the start of the season, there were a lot of questions about just how well this Michigan team would fare without its prolific rebounder, Pollyanna Johns. Johns led the team in rebounding the past three years. And though Cincinnati is the only high-caliber opponent the Wolverines have played since their season opener against Vanderbilt, some of those ques- tions such as who would take over Johns' role in the paint have been answered. "I was pleased with the way we played," Guevara said. "We tried a lot of different things (on Friday), we put in a 2-2-1, a fullcourt press. We extended our 3-2 matchup and we did it pretty well." Michigan's aggressiveness led to the Wolverines yanking down 40 defensive rebounds against the Chips. They fin- ished the game with a total of 52 rebounds, doubling Central's total. In a game in which every player saw double digit minutes, every player made a difference on defense. All 10 Wolverines - freshman Raina Goodlow is out with a knee injury - had at least two rebounds. Last night, freshman Ruth Kipping and junior Kenisha Walker stepped it up. "Kipping and Walker were really impressive on the boards,' Guevara said, MICHIGAN ("I. MIN M-A MA 04TA F PM Thomas 38 12-18 4-4 2-9 1 1 28 Miller 28 13 0-0 05 0 4 2 Oesterle 20 1-1 2-2 1-2 0 2 4 Ingram 12 0.3 0-0 O.1 1 2 0 Thorius 34 3.7 2.2 0-4 5 4 9 Lemire 30 48 4-4 14 0 3 12 Walker 18 0"2 3.4 1-4 0 3 3 Kipping 20 3-8 2-2 47 0 3 8 Totals 200 24-50 17.1810.36 7 22 66 FQ%:.480. F, :.944 3-point FG:1-5 .200. g(horius) Blocks: 1 ({Thomas). Steals: 14 (Thomas ,Kipping 3, Miller 2, Oestere, Thorius). Turnovers: 25 (Thorius 8,Thomas 5,Kipping 3, Ingram 2, Walker 2. Miller, Oesterle, Lemir. Technical Fouls: none. CINCINNATI (57) Fe) FT no MIN U*A *-A 0TA F PTS Stocks 33 14 35 &11 0 3 5 Kirk 35 6.18 12 13 1 5 14 Scott 33 5.14 3-6 541 0 1 13 Slaise 33 5416 2-2 0-4 2 0 12 Roberson 36 3-7 4-4 0.0 3 2 11 Douglass 8 01 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 Perry 6 0-0 0-0 0-0 10 0 Merriweather 7 0.3 0-0 0-0 0 2 0 Wilder 7 1-1 0-0 1.1 0 2 2 Groeber 3 0-0 00 00 02 0 Totals 200 2144 13-191631 7 16 57 FG% .328. FM- .684. 3-point FG: 2-19 (Kirk. Roberson). Blocks: 7 (Scott 4, Stocks, Slaice. Robersoni). Steals: 10 (Scott 3. Stocks 2, Kirk 2. Slaice 2. Groeber). Turnovers: 19 (Slaice 25 Roberson 4. Scott 3. Kirk 3, Wilder 2, Stocks, Perry). Technical Fouls: none. Michigan...............28 38-66 Cincinnati.....................19 38-57 CENTRAL MICHIGAN (41 MM!UM- A U-A A F TSt Woods 22 4-12 0-2 1-6 0 1 8 Jones 20 2-6 0-2 1-2 0 0 4 Daniels 18 1-6 0-1 16 0 4 2 Germany 9 1-3 0-0 1.1 0 2 2 Sedlar 16 0-8 0-2 02 1 2 0 Edinger 4 0.1 0-0 1-1 0 2 0 Culbertson 10 2-3 0-0 0-1 2 3 5 Munz 28 1-1 0.1 0-3 3 3 3 Rozak 22 2.11 01 2-2 1 4 4 Verhey 10 0-0 0-001 1 10 Winner 14 4-5 1-6 3.6 0 1 9 Erdman 9 0.4 0-001 01 0 Wenidt 18 1-4 1-2 0-0 0 1 3 Totals 200 18.64 2-15 12-32 9 25 40 F8%: .281. FT4: .083. S-pOnt F0: 2-6 (Culbertson. Munz). Blocks: 4 (Woods, Daniels, Winner. Erdman). Steals: 11 (Sedlar 3, Munz 2, Woods, Jones. Culbertson, Verhey, Winer, Wendt). Turnovers: 34 (Sedlar 8, Rozak 6, Munz 4. Daniels 3, Jones 2, Germany 2, Culbertson 2.Erdman 2, Woods. Edinger, Verhey). Technical Fouls: none. MICHIGAN (103) MIN *A MA04 A F PT Thomas 17 6-10 34 3-6 3 3 15 Oesterle 19 3.9 3.3 1-3 1 3 9 Miller 19 1.1 0.0 1-4 0 3 2 Thorius 23 44 3-3 0.4 6 1 12 Ingram 27 6-15 5.7 1.4 4 0 17 Walker 15 23 1-2 0-4 2 2 5 Lemire 30 7.9 6.8 1-8 4 0 20 Kipping 14 3-6 "-61.2 0 2 12 Dykhouse 17 05 0-0 1-2 1 2 0 Stowe 21 S-5 1.1 2-10 0 4 11 Totals 200 3747 283412-5220 20 103 FG%: .552. FM%:.824 3-point FG: 1-4, .250. (Thorius) Blocks: 1(Thomas). Steals: 20 (Thomas 5. Lemire 3, Oesterle 2. Miller 2, Thorius 2, Walker 2. Kipping 2, Ingram. Stowe). Turnovers: 25 (Qesterle 4, Thorius 4, Miller 3. Ingram 3, Walker 3. Stowe 3, Thomas 2, Lemire 2. Kipping). Technical Fouls: none. Michigan....................48 55- 103 Central Michigan . ......14 26-40 RICHARDSON'S O PT IC A L Student discounts on eye exams and eyeglasses Great Brands Polo TommyHilfiger Calvin Klein BEARCATS Continued from Page 118 Bearcats. Michigan not only played stellar defense once again, but proved it could come back. Michigan came out rather sluggish last night and allowed the Bearcats to score the first 12 points of the game. Michigan did not respond with a basket of it's own until an Anne Thorius layup with 14 minutes remaining. From that moment on, Michigan dominated. Michigan went on a 28-7 run to end the half leading 28-19. The second half was an even game, with both teams scoring 38 points. Michigan, though, never let the lead slip away. The closest Cincinnati cut the deficit to was nine points. "Cincinnati is a very athletic team," Guevara said. "They played a good game, but we were able to regroup early and establish and maintain the lead." Stacey Thomas had a career day, scoring 28 points on 12-for-18 shooting from the field. Before Michigan traveled to Cincinatti, they dismantled Central Michigan at Crisler arena Friday night. Michigan dominated Central from the opening tip-off. "We both came out with a lot of emotion," Michigan coach Sue Guevara said. "Both teams were playing a little sloppy in the opening minutes and the refs were not allow- ing a lot of contact." Michigan, however, regrouped very quickly and with five minutes remaining, led Central 30-10. Michigan played a 2-2-1 on defense and pressured the Chippewas into turning the ball over 19 times in the first half. At the half Michigan was leading 48-14. Michigan dominated on both offense and defense. Michigan out- rebounded the Chippewas 23-1 1 in the first half, and shot 5g percent from the floor (18-31), compared to Central's dismal 6-for-25 (24 per- cent) performance from the floor. Stacey Thomas scored all of her 15 points in the first half. She shot 6-for-10 from the field and 3-for-4 from the line. Thomas stole the ball five times in the first half, and was able to toy with the Central Michigan defense. The public address announcer for the game screamed "Bingo-bango, Thomas goes coast to coast," throughout the first half. three games. "Its a motivational score 100 points," "Especially because involved." Early into the second half, Guevara cleared the bench. All mem- bers of the Michigan squad recorded double digits in minutes. "I am happy with the win, but I am even happier that all the girls got quality minutes in tonight," Guevara said. "Down the road, we will need experience and depth, and tonight I think a lot of the girls got their feet wet." Ann Lemire had a big night. She scored a game-high 20 points off a 7- for-9 performance from the field and a 6-for-8 clip from the free-throw line. In addition, she pulled down eight rebounds and recorded four assists. 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