7B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - Monday, February 12, 2001 .'M' takes fight out of Illini :Wolverines pull away from Illinois in second half By David Horn missing from her game all year - and that Fly Sports Writer Guevara had been asking her to unleash for months. Four games out with three to play - no Big "I love showing emotions, I love showing :en regular season title for the Michigan how much I love playing this game. It just gets W omen's basketball team. But although that me more fired up," Thorius said. was made official by Purdue's double-overtime The senior's attitude and play were conta- win against Ohio gious. Michigan shot an impressive 6-of-14 State yesterday, from behind the arc, and was able to utilize ILLINOIS 60 Michigan has its both perimeter and post play - a combination MICHIGAN 74 sights set on that had been lacking in recent games. something else - Five Wolverines - a balanced attack of top five in the three guards and two forwards - scored in conference. The top five teams get a bye on the double figures. Defensively, Illinois was held first day of the Big Ten tournament, and the to 37-percent shooting in the second half, Wolverines' 74-60 win over Illinois yesterday which yielded them just six points in the first propels them past the Illini into fifth place. ten minutes. We're back in the Big Ten, and we're fight- The first half was highlighted by back-to- Ig for our lives," Michigan coach Sue back fastbreak layups by Thorius and junior 'J.uevara said. "I feel like we're on the bubble, Heather Oesterle, followed by back-to-back 3- and I think the kids know that we're on the pointers by Gesterle and guard Alayne Ingram. bubble, and every single game is very, very The latter began a run by Michigan to turn a important." six-point Illinois lead to a one-point Wolverine Yesterday's contest was the first Big Ten lead at the half. ;ame in two weeks for senior captain Anne "I thought the second half was a much dif- Thorius, who went down with an ankle injury ferent situation," Illinois coach Theresa Grentz on January 28 against Northwestern. Her 10 said. "We did not play well at all - as a unit. oints, seven assists, four steals and 38 minutes On the other hand, I thought Michigan played were only half of her contribution to a team very well, very poised, very much in control of that had lost two in a row. Thorius played with the situation." the emotion and excitement that seemed to be Michigan forced 20 turnovers, due in part to Licns to f° : Guevara *sticks it out By David Roth Daily Sports Writer BIG TEN STANDINGS Conference Overall Team W L WIL Purdue 12 1 22 4 Iowa 9 3 14 8 Penn State 9 3 17 6 Wisconsin 9 4 15 8 Michigan 8 5 15 9 Illinois 7 5 12 12 Indiana 7 5 16 7 Ohio State 4 8 14 8 Michigan State 2 10 8 14 Minnesota 1 11 8 15 Northwestern 0 13 4 19 Yesterday's scores: MICHIGAN 74, Illinois 60 Iowa 82, MINNESOTA 71 Purdue 74, OHIO STATE 71 (20T) Indiana 52, MICHIGAN STATE 50 Wisconsin 70, NORTHWESTERN 54 a quick zone defense and the renewed leader- ship of Thorius. "From the time we stepped on the bus at 6 a.m. Friday morning, we knew we had some work to do," Thorius said of her team's defense, following Thursday's disappointing loss to Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass. "Both Friday afternoon and Saturday at practice it was all defensive drills." The Wolverines play at home against Iowa this Thursday. They control their own destiny - by winning their remaining three games, they can ensure a break on the first day of the Big Ten tournament. Sunpson s rousing success surprising in State College By Adam Kaplan Daily Sports Writer The Michigan women's track team experi- enced a lot of unexpected delays traveling to State College for the Nittany Lion Qualifier. But the Wolverines were not fazed by such distractions. They finished in fifth place among the twelve competing teams, four of which are in the Big Ten. "We would have loved to have done bet- ter," Michigan coach James Henry said. "Although, we got a chance to compete against teams vying for the Big Ten champi- onship." On Saturday, the performance of sopho- more Teyonna Simpson in the triple-jump event surprised just about everybody, includ- ing herself. Her NCAA provisional leap of 41-8 3/4 made her the first Wolverine to qualify for the NCAA Championships this season. "Simpson is a triple jump specialist, putting all her energy and emotion into it," Henry said. "It was a pleasant surprise for me because it didn't feel as if it was that type of jump." For Simpson, the feelings were mutual. "It was surprising," Simpson said. "Hopefully, it will have a cyclical effect on the rest of the team." To some degree, her success rubbed off on her teammates. Sprinters Carly Knazze and Regine Caruthers placed high in the 200- aind 400-meter dashes, respectively. In the 200-meter dash, Knazze, a sophb- more, finished seventh with'a time of 24.66 seconds. She also placed fifth in the 400- meter dash. The performance-enhancing conditions 6f the track helped Caruthers sprint 55.44 sec- onds in the 400-meter to take third place And 24.80 seconds to take ninth in the 200-meter dash. "Penn State has an excellent, state-of-the- art track facility," Henry said. "The environ- ment put out outstanding performances throughout." At this juncture in the season, the Michigan women's track team finds itse if amidst tough competition in the Big Ten. Bnt it must not look too far beyond the Big Ten Championship - taking place on February 23 and 24 in West Lafayette. "Overall, our goal is not to qualify for the nationals," Henry said. "It is to have an over- all impressive performance and place as high as possible in the Big Ten championship."' It is important to note that the Wolverines are not at full strength. Junior Tasha Phillips, who didn't jump this past weekend, is cor- ing off a minor injury. There is no timetable for her return, Okenwa finds redemption at Mchigan Intercollegiate Goodbye Tark the Shark, hello Sue the -Chew. Michigan women's basketball coach Sue Guevara bit and buried her head in a towel esterday despite one of her team's best per- formances of the season, a 74-60 defeat of Illinois. At the post-game press conference, Guevara revealed her nausea wasn't because of how her team performed. "That towel had vomit in it. That had noth- ing to do with Jerry Tarkanian," Guevara said. "I got sicker than a dog right after training tables this morning. "I cannot keep anything down at all. I sat -the whole game - I never do that. I was *izzy." Guevara might have caught something from Christie Schumacher, who was sick and didn't even attend the game. No HEATHER NO CRY: In only 17 minutes, Heather Oesterle came off the bench to hit 6- of-7 shots, including two 3-pointers to lead all scorers with 15 points. Despite catching fire, Oesterle could never find an extended groove because she was on e bench. Guevara said that Oesterle's lack of playing time was because of mishaps in previous games. "I've been talking a lot to Heather about some of her fouls," Guevara said. "We seem to be getting some of the same silly fouls out of her and that's why she came out of the lineup." But Guevara was pleased with Oesterle's extremely productive time during game action. "She didn't sulk because she didn't start," Guevara said. "Heather responded. She just *ame in and did a really nice job." Also, Michigan's other forwards were By Kareem Copeland Daily Sports Writer YPSILANTI - Saturday, Eastern Michigan's campus was visited by schools from across the state. The Eagles hosted the Michigan Intercollegiate at the Bowen Fieldhouse. Among the competitors were Michigan, Western Michigan, Central Michigan, Detroit and Michigan State. But for the Wolverines, the meet ended up being a tale of two teams. Unfortunately, both of those teams were wearing the block "M".' The first team -- composed of the runners - was led by sprinter Ike Okenwa. Okenwa and company held the weight of the Wolverines on their shoulders, earning the vast majority of Michigan's 123.5 points. That total was second only to Eastern's 211. Okenwa was the star of the meet, running three races and qualifying provisionally for the NCAA Championships in the 200-meters. After a disappointing outing in South Bend two weeks ago, he was focused on returning to form. "My goal this week at practice was to just find my form again," Okenwa said. "Like I said last week in Notre Dame, that was some- body else running, that wasn't me." After finishing second to Eastern's Gerald Rasool in the 60-meter, Okenwa blazed through the 200 in 21.19 seconds. "The guy kind of handed me my ass in the 60," Okenwa said. "And there was no way in hell I was going to get beat twice." He finished the day running the second leg of the 4 X 400, helping the Wolverines place second with a time of 3:19.06. Fellow ironman Steve Lawrence ran back- to-back races to begin the running events. Stepping in at the last second, Lawrence helped the squad take first in the distance medley relay. Minutes later he laced up again and took third in the 5000-meter, clocking in at 14:53.70. Freshman Brian Turner continued to-run well, taking second in both the mile and 100- meter in 4:15.02 and 8:32.40, respectivel'l Jeremy Schneider continued, his dominiice by winning the 600 in 1:19.91 -just shy:of the meet record.The Wolverines owned the 600m placing Ravi Smith second and ban Cook sixth. In the 400 Josh Sellers, Kevin Lamb, and Chris Yee placed fourth, sixthand seventh. The story wasn't as happy for MichigTn's second team, which was composed of com- petitors in the field events. The second team was led by pole vaulter Charles DeWildt. Last year's Big Ten champi- on had all eyes on him as he easily won-the event, clearing 16-10 3/4. Taking third wii a leap of 16-0 3/4 for the Wolverines was jior Brent Sheffer. But, aside from the vaulters, the field events had lackluster performances. NTck Rodgers' fifth-place finish in the shot putas the only other top-five finish from those dim- peting in the field. "We were trying to win the meet, and obvi- ously we didn't," Michigan coach Ron Warhurst said. "Eastern has a lot of people, and people in every event." On Feb. 17, the Wolverines will come back home to host the Harold Silverston Invitational. The invite will be Michigan's last meet before the Big Ten Championships. "Next week we'll probably run people in some different events and not put any pres- sure on having to perform," Warhurst said. "Get a good solid week of training in and just get their heads into what they have to do for Big Tens." JESSICA JOHINSON/Daly Heather Oesterle hadn't been playing much lately, but she made the most of her opportunity yes- terday. In 17 minutes, Oesterle scored 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting, including two 3-pointers. putting in solid performances, keeping Oesterle as a resource that didn't need to be tapped. "Everybody at my position is playing real- ly well," Oesterle said. "My role today was to come in and score. That's what I did" THUNDER STICKS: The 2,345 on hand in Crisler were treated to sausage-shaped, yel- low thunder sticks to cheer on the Wolverines. Fans weren't the only ones in on the thun- der stick action. Michigan guard Alayne Ingram walked into the postgame press con- ference holding one. "I looked up at them and thought, 'wow, that's really great,"' Ingram said. Anne Thorius, Michigan's other force from the perimeter, was extremely emotional dur- ing the game. She accredited her emotion to not just her teammates' hitting long shot, but also the thunder sticks. "There was a good crowd today and every- one was into it," Thorius said. "When we do what we need to do on the floor, then every- one gets into the game and it just makes it more fun when there's that atmosphere in the gym." & Thonus is, on point in win for 'M' By Jeff Phillips Daily Sports Wrter Anne Thorius is back in the high life again. After nursing a sprained ankle for the past two weeks, the senior guard has returned to reopen the doors that were losed by her injury. "I didn't even feel my ankle like I did against Holy Cross," Thorius said. Thorius started for the first time since the injury and played nearly the entire game, until Michigan had built up a big enough lead to let her rest. The game got off to a shaky start, with Thorius starting off at the off-guard and Alayne Ingram at the point. The Wolverines turned the ball over in three f their first four possessions. After a timeout, Michigan coach Sue Guevara switched Thorius and Ingram - a move that paid dividends. "I felt that Alayne was struggling to see over the size of that zone," Guevara said. "Anne is a little bit bigger and can YESTERDAY'S GAME Illinois (60) FG FT REB MIN M-A MA 0-T A F PTS Hunter 35 25 00 0-3 1 1 6 Wilson 20 3-3 4-5 0-2 1 5 10 Vana 29 6-12 0 0 3-7 5 3 12 'Neil 25 03 12 0 H2 1 2 1 A. Curtin 39 5.12 22 3-9 5 3 13 Marcauskaite 23 6-14 0-2 3 s3 0 2 12 G. Curtin 4 0-3 0d0 0y1 0 1 0 Hagberg 7 2-3 0-0 0-2 0 0 4 Blackburn 0+i 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Oallas 18 1-2 0 0 0-1 1 3 2 Totals 200 25-57 7-21 10-35 14 20 60 FG%: .439. FT%: .636. 3-point FG: 3-10 .300 (Hunter 2-4, A. Curtin 1-3, Marcauskatie 0-1, S. Curtin 0-2). Blocks: 4 (Wilson 2, Hagberg 21 Steals: 4 (A. Curtin 2, Wilson, O'Neil), Turnovers: 20 (Hunter 6, A. Curtin 6, Vana 3, ONeil 3, Wilson, Marcauskatie. Technical Fouls: Vana. MICHIGAN (74) FG FT REB MIN M-A M-A 0-T A F PTS Gandy 28 4-9 2-2 0-5 1 1 10 Smith 32 1-3 3-4 3-7 1 4 5 Bies 15 2-6 2-4 3-4 0 4 6 Thorius 38 4-8 0-0 0-2 7 1 10 Ingram 35 3-8 4-4 0-3 8 3 12 Jara 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Leary 2 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Oesterle 17 6-7 1-2 0-2 1 1 15 Robinson 3 0-0 4-4 0-1 0 0 4 Goodlow 25 3-10 6-6 1-8 1 1 12 Oykhouse 3 0-2 0-0 1-1 0 0 0 Totals 200 23-54 22-26 8-33 19 15 74 FG%: .426. FT%:.846. 3-pint FG: 6-14 .429 Oesterle 2- 3, Thorius 2-5, Ingram 2-5 Goodow 0-1). Blocks: 5 (Smith 2. Thorius 2. Bies). Steals: 8 (Thorius 4.Gandys Bies, Oesterle, Goodlow). Turnovers: 12 (Thorius 5, Ingram 3, Gandy 2, Bies, Goodlow). Technical fouls: Thorius. Illinois-------------..........31 29 -- 60 Michigan-----------.........32 42 - 74 At: Crisler Arena Attendance: 2,345 the second half. Ingram finished with more assists than Thorius (eight and seven, respectively) from the two guard. Thorius also had a good game on the defensive end. Her four steals helped set in . ,nn MiA dnInn n -~clrnnk nn.r.ntc LI Loki n-o PAR TY far ; SprS has ryak 2001 ? SSTS has guara prlC $o tfIowing destinations: BAHAMAS= MfXICQ ILORDA inWfun-B ach Front @ 559: TiJax 4ma Starting @ 499 i America's ent Tour Opeaor Www fstfraveI.corr Acp o Starting @ 649 , 1 800 648-4849 Call Today. Space in Limited!I mm "m mmmm"wrrw"r"www"wwwwmrr"rr"rrrww"ww"""w""" " v 24enags, PRBE RGNNYKL 97 ,#x5 lqp q