The MichiganDaily - SportsMonday - January 11, 1999 - 3B
Disappointment
reigns for Blue
Michigan's task
now is to refocus
By Josh Sorkin
Daily Sports Writer
Disappointment, embarrassment
and tears. This past weekend culmi-
nated into a giant snowball of fail-
ure. Louisiana Tech proved it is in a
class only occupied by a few promi-
nent programs in the country, while
the Wolverines made it apparent that
they are several years away from
competitive basketball against the
NCAA's best.
Michigan coach Sue Guevara was
no afraid to admit the truth.
think it's
pretty obvious -----------------
that we weren't Basketball
ready to play C'
with the big
girls." ----------------~
While one could commend
Michigan for only losing to
Louisiana Tech by 18 points, no one
could find any positives in regards to
l night's disgraceful and retarding
l to an unimpressive Minnesota
team.
Louisiana Tech came out Saturday
afternoon with a swagger. The Lady
Techsters ran on to the court and
everyone could tell from the start
that they were for real. This was a
team that made it to the way to the
NCAA finals last year and ultimate-
ly lost to mighty Tennessee.
Michigan came on to the floor
e*ted to play, but more than any-
thing nervousness was apparent in
their movements and obvious in their
eyes. Louisiana Tech was quick and
manipulative. The team ran numer-
ous traps which caused the
Wolverines to turn the ball over 26
times. Michigan was always one step
behind.
Louisiana Tech center Shaka
sey and Amanda Wilson domi-
n .d the Michigan frontcourt with
their power and speed. They com-
bined for 36 points and 16 rebounds.
Alison Miller looked confused and
her frustration took over.
She tried to drive but traveled. She
tried to put the ball up over Massey
and Wilson but was rejected with
ease. Miller tried, but her natural
ability lacked in comparison to the
Lady Techsters' powerful forwards.
t Miller's play was not the only
detrimental factor in the Wolverines'
loss. The guards carelessly tossed the
ball across the court, without under-
standing Louisiana Tech's ability to
trap and steal.
In the second half alone, the Lady
Techsters stole the ball 13 times and
20 times in the game. They toyed
with the Michigan guards, and
Michigan was defenseless against
their attack.
While it is understandable that
Michigan was outmatched, it is unac-
ceptable that looks of discourage-
ment turned into frustration, which
ultimately caused the Wolverines to
give up.
Although Michigan lost to one of
the best teams in the country, they
were considered a "promising" team
by Louisiana Tech coach Leon
Barmore.
"Eventually Michigan will have a
very good team," Barmore said.
"They are a young group who still
has a lot to learn."
And what makes a team great is
their ability to learn from a loss and
progress from that point. Last night
,the Wolverines "took 10 steps
back," Guevara said.
Michigan disgraced itself on the
court yesterday night. They clearly
showed that they were not ready to
play, nor were they able to put a dis-
appointing loss behind them.
Michigan shot a dismal 32 percent
from the floor, and turned over the
ball 19 times.
Guevara said that she was worried
before the game about several of her
players, feeling that they had not
gotten over the loss to Louisiana
Tech.
"What we had to do today to get
over the loss to Louisiana Tech, we
didn't do," Guevara said. "And you
can chalk that up to an immature
team."
But the team's inability to refocus
after a loss was apparent even in the
emotions reflected in Guevara's
post-game appearance. Guevara
walked into the press conference
with tears in her eyes. Shortly after
her entrance Guevara started to cry
and had to leave to compose her
emotions.
While Guevara can be commended
for her dedication to the program
and her success last year, her weak
appearance after the game was
unprofessional. She cites the
Minnesota loss as the biggest disap-
pointment in her career, and demon-
strated those emotions with her
sobby appearance.
One can sympathize with Guevara
and'her ballclub, but great teams are
able to bounce back and learn from
their mistakes.
Last night's game could only be
classified as pathetic. Guevara tried
to motivate her team, but Michigan
didn't respond to any form of stimu-
By Stephanie Offen
Daily Sports Writer
Last night's Michigan women's bas-
ketball loss to Minnesota left one ques-
tion to be answered.
What happened?
What happened to the team that just
broke a team record with a nine-game
winning streak? What happened to the
team that opened its Big Ten season with
a win?
Now, three consecutive losses later,
Michigan is in an unexpected position.
"I don't want to hit the panic button
but we've lost three games in a row"
Michigan coach Sue Guevara said. "We
haven't done that since my first season
here."
But that panic button may have
already been pressed.
Michigan shot 28 percent from the
field in last night's game and commited
19 turnovers. The team also shot only
15 percent from three-point range,
which was incredibly costly in the last
few minutes of the game.
What looked like a young team that
matured quickly suddenly "took about
10 steps backward," Guevara said. What
happened could be that their minds were
somewhere else.
"Before the game I was really wor-
ried about the team," Guevara said. "I
didn't feel even in the lockerroom that
we were ready. As much as we talked
about yesterday, and refocusing on
Minnesota today, we didn't, and you can
chalk that up to an immature team."
What happened could have also been
the lack of defense. The Wolverines
switched up the defense in order to stop
the Gophers largest offensive threat,
Cassie Vanderheyden but they were inef-
fective. She finished the game with a
team-high 17 points, which included
four 3-pointers.
The offense also contributed to the
team's weekend woes. The dismal shoot-
ing, combined with the high number of
turnovers, was present in this weekend's
games. Against Louisiana Tech,
Michigan barely crossed the 30 percent
mark from the field, and also added 26
turnovers to the disappointing loss.
The team was also not getting any
help from the bench. They started both
games with a veteran lineup, but those
players were tired out by he time the
Minnesota game rolled around.
"It concerned me because yesterday
Stacey, Anne (Thorius) and Lemire
played 36, 37 and 38 minutes," Guevara
said. "So I thought here's a chance for
Alayne and Heather and Ruth to play,
but I didn't get any help coming off the
bench."
There is also a question of why, all of
a sudden, this team can't pass the ball.
During last night's game the Wolverines
were passing out of bounds. Even after
steals, while running down on the break
they threw the ball out of bounds.
"It's simple, it's just pass and catch;'
Guevara said.
The one thing that the team knows
about what happened is that they have to
find some way to turn it around. And if
that means changing up the starting line,
or continuous shooting drills in practice,
Guevara says she is willing to do it.
"Some teams only respond to run-
ning stairs and punishment." Guevara
said. "We usually take tomorrow off, but
there's no way we can now. Not after a
performance like that. I told them in the
lockerroom that if there is one thing they
know how to do, it is run, and they know
how to do stairs, and I just pray that they
respond."
And the team has one week to use
these practices to not only answer the
question of what happened, but make
sure it doesn't continue for another three
contests.
DANA UNNANE/Daity
Freshman Ruth Kipping and the Michigan women's basketball team had a tough
weekend on offense. Against Minnesota the team shot 28-percent from the field.
fo Wolvswee
fo W 'V lIde
By Geoff Gagnon
Daily Sports Writer
After cruising through the first
two months of its regular season,
collecting nine wins in I1 tries, the
Michigan women's basketball team
was stalled this weekend as the
Wolverines came up short not once,
but twice.
And what may be even more
unimaginable is that defeat reared its
ugly head in the usually-friendly
confines of Crisler Arena for coach
Sue Guevara and her squad for the
first time this season.
"I'm just really embarassed with
our program and the direction it went
today," said Guevara.
In dropping their second home
game in as many days, Michigan
now stands only one loss away from
equaling last year's home loss total,
with seven games yet to be played at
Crisler.
After rattling off five road wins
just prior to the winter break, the
travel-weary Wolverines found
themselves thankful to roll back into
Ann Arbor.
And why not? Until the team
entered this weekend, Michigan had
won seven of its last eight games at
home, while Guevara had only come
up short in Ann Arbor on six occa-
sions in her third season at the helm.
Tradition seemed to account for
little this weekend though, and after
failing to duplicate the success they
experienced at home earlier in the
season, perhaps Michigan is looking
forward to hitting the road again.
After all, the team's road record now
stands at 6-2, while last night
Michigan's home record fell to 3-2
on the year.
And as Michigan failed to capi-
talize on its home opportunities, per-
haps it showed it is now anxious to
board the bus for this weekend's
matchup against Wisconsin in
Madison.
BLUE STREAKS: For Guevara, it
seems that this season's good things
have come in streaks.
Unfortunately, with this week-
end's upsetting showing, the team
learned that bad things can also
come in streaks.
In opening their season with nine
wins in 10 outings, the Wolverines
were able to post a school-best nine-
game win streak.
And as Illinois brought that
streak to a close last week, the
Fighting Illini touched off another
one for the Wolverines.
But, Michigan's current streak
has been a lot less favorable for
Guevara and her squad, as the
Wolverines has dropped their third
straight game for the first time in
two years.
"We've lost three games in a
row," said Guevara. "We haven't
done that since my first season here,
and two of them had to be at home."
And in dropping this weekend's
games, Michigan not only ended
their home winning streak, but actu-
ally began a home losing streak.
MINNESOTA (54) MICHIGAN (471 FT RED
MIN M.A MA 0T AF PTS4 MIN l-A MA0"T A FPTS
Harris 25 1-7 0-0 1-3 0 2 3 Thomas 36 717 3-3 810 0 2 18
Robinson 32 4-7 0-0 1-5 3 0 8 Walker 32 27 0-035 2 3 4
Bell 17 2-4 0-016 0 34 Miller 28 1-934 3-11 11 5
Olson 34 04 2-2 0452 2 Thorius 19 0-6 0-00-2 3 4 0
Taylor 3 01 000-0 0 00 Lemire 36 4-13 0-017 0 010
Vanderheyden27 5-11 3-4 0-3 3 1 17 Oesterle 11 1-4 0-0 13 1 1 2
Hansen 8 0-1 00 0 0 1 2 0 Goodlow 12 2-4 0O01-2 0 0 4
Tate 22 1-5 341-2 0 05 Kipping 12 2-3 0-0 0-0002 4
Pickens 2 00000-0000 Ingram 14 0-5000-0100
LeCuyer 30 510 3-4 4-12 1 0 15 Totals 200 19.68 6-7 19-44 8 13 47
Totals 200 18.50 11141039 13 10 54 FG%:.279. FT%:.857. 3-point FG: 3-20, .150
FG%: .360. FT%: .786. 3-point FG: 7-16, .438. (Lemire 2-8, Thomas 1-2, Thorius 0-4, Ingram 0-4,
(Vanderheyden 4-10, LeCuyer 2-2, Haris 1-4).3 esterle 0-2). Blocks: 3 (Thomas 2, Miller).
Blocks: 2 (Bell 2). Steals: 10 (Harris 4, Tate 3, Bell. Steals: 13 (Thomas 4, Walker 3, Lemire 3, Miller,
Olson. LeCuyer). Turnovers: 23 (Vanderheyden 6, Thorius, Kipping). Turnovers: 19 (Thorius 4, Lemire
T 5, Harris 4, Bell 3, Olson 2, Hansen 2, 3. Ingram 3, Walker 2, Oesterle 2. Kipping 2.
L yer). Technical Fouls: none. Goodlow, Miller, Thomas). Technical Fouls: none.
Minnesota ..........35 19 - 54
Michigan. ..........26 21 -47
At: crnsler Arena Attendance: 796
DANA INNANE/Daily
The Wolverines had a tough time controlling the basketball against both
Minnesota and Louisiana Tech. Over the course of the weekend, they committed
45 turnovers.
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