Daily forum is something about Michigan's hockey team bothering you? Are you disappointed by the coverage of your favorite team? Just plain bored? Stop yelling from the sidelines. Speak your mind at michigandaily.com/forum. We'll see you there. michigandaily.com/sports J1E Mchgu 1a SPORTS FRIDAY FEBRUARY 16, 2001 10" 52-point second half rockets Blue to upset Stretch run begins versus Irish, Spartans By David Roth Daily Sports Writer Down 20, the weathervane was firm- ly pointed south, but a gust of Jennifer Smith dominance in the second half led the Michigan women's basketball team to a 80-78 upset over No. 25 Iowa. The Wolverines' effort shadowed that of Smith, meaning a slothful start but a beastly finish. Smith ge IowA 78 "turned the c MH N ball over f MICHIGAN 80 the first three times she touched it," Michigan -coach Sue Guevara said. "She' could have come on the bench and gone in the dumps but she didn't." A combination of Michigan's butter- finger ball handling and Iowa making easy shots deep in the paint led to a 14- 0 run that put the Hawkeyes up 25-7. It was nothing that intra-team oral abuse couldn't solve. "People were yelling at each other in the floor, but not in a bad way," said Michigan's Anne Thorius, who recorded her 500th career assist. "Everyone got into it, and it was really intense. People were getting excited." Being senior day and fan appreciation day, the Crisler crowd wouldn't let Michigan hibernate. "They were screaming and yelling and on their feet and we feel their sup- port and it really lifts us," Thorius said. With Michigan carving into Iowa's lead with a 10-0 run before half-time, the Wolverines felt their 40-28 deficit wasn't unmanageable. "Neither did Iowa. If you have a lead, that doesn't mean anything," Iowa's Jennie Lillis said. "'You've got to keep going with your gamne" In the second session, Michigan's 55- Percent shooting chipped into Iowa's lead. After cutting the deficit to 68-67, a hustle play by Stephanie Gandy resulted in an acrobatic save to keep the ball inb-ounds. Somehow, Gandy found Smith alone, and a layup gave Michigan its first lead since 16:42 remained in the first half. "That (save) was not expected," Sm ith said. "That was awesome, though." It was fitting that Smith scored the basket that gave Michigan the lead because she was having a career night that resulted in a personal-high of 26 points. "She had her way in there in whatev- er she wanted to do," Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said. Smith said her confidence snow- balled as the game went on. "Once I start going, I can really stick with it," Smith said. "It's just a matter of keeping posting up and making my shots." Smith exposed the weakness of Iowa center Randi Peterson, who made a bet- ter dwarf than a giant. Smith "is six-foot-five, and Randy is six foot. She's going to be in position to shoot over her," Lillis said. Smith was just one of four Michigan players to score 14 points or more on the night. Stephanie Gandy also added nine. "We're never going to win a game let- ting up 52 points in the second half," Bluder said. YESTERDAY'S GAME Iowa (78) FG FT REB MIN M-A M-A 0-T A F PTS Lilis 34 8-11 67 6-10 2 3 22 Peterson 30 5.8 0.0 11 2 3 10 Meder 26 38 2-2 0-2 1 2 11 Magner 36 1-7 2-2 0-4 9' 3 5 Consuegra 38 6-10 2-3 1-5 8 2 14 Watson 6 1.3 0-0 3-3 0 0 2 Berdo 20 39 0-1 0-2 1 2 8 Bullock 10 3-5 0-0 0-3 0 1 6 Totals 200 30.61 12-1512-32 23 16 78 FG%: .492. FT%: .800. 3-point FG: 6-19,.316 (Meder 3-6, Berdo 2-7, Magner 1-5, Consuegra 0. 1). Blocks: 6 (Berdo 2, Lillis 2, Consuegra, Magner). Steals: 9 (Consuegra 3, Peterson 2, Berdo, Bullock, Llls, Magner). Turnovers: 15 (consuegra 6, Meder 2, Peterson 2, Watson 2, Berdo, Bullock, Magner). Technical fouls: none. By Jon Schwartz Daily Sports Editor Turn back the pages of your mind to Nov. 2 of last year and Jan. 25 of this year. On each of those- days, the same thoughts were going YOST ARENA/ JC through the minds of Vho No.5 Michigan the Michigan hockey overall) vs. Notre Dan players - two days Michigan vs. No.1 M until Michigan State. 2434) It's possibly the When:7:35 p.m. Fd most eatedLatest A bus service, most heated rivalry Michigan Athletic De at Michigan, more from Crisler Arena toJ intense than in any 5:30 p.m. on Saturda other sport. ' Both $6. Tickets can bepu teams are near the Michigan Ticket Offic top of the national ccNA Stand;gs: (co polls, the games are Team always extremely I.Michigan State competitive and the 2. Michigan implications are tremendous. Suffice it to say, the comments [OE (1 me( ich lay a pai Jo ay.1 urc ce. anfe a ALYSSA WOOD/Daily Grrr! Jennifer Smith's early frustration turned into a career night, as the freshman overcame early turnovers to have a career night and help Michigan beat Iowa. olV get one and only chance at Gophers from the Wolverines yesterday echoed those stated before the previ- ous two meetings. "The State game is going to be huge, one of the biggest games of the year," said defenseman Andy Burnes, getting ready for his third meeting with the Spartans. "This game against State is going to be a huge stepping stone for the team." Of course, there's one pesky detail that must be worked out before the two teams can take the Joe Louis Arena ice - Notre Dame. On paper, the Fighting Irish should not weigh too heavily on the Wolverines' minds. After all, Notre Dame sits at the bottom of the CCHA, and in the teams' previous meeting, Michigan prevailed in a 9-0 laugher. But in reality, the Wolverines have had trouble this season against the less-intim- idating teams, while playing exceptional- ly well against the tougher ones, the 1-0 loss and the subsequent 4-3 win over Michigan State being perfect examples. Also, Michigan has blown out a lot of teams this season, only to lose to them the next time (see the 8-0 drubbing of Alaska-Fairbanks in November and the next night's 5-2 loss to the Nanooks.) Notre Dame is "going to come put and play tougher against us," defense- man Mike Roemensky said. "After the Notre Dame game, we really have to concentrate hard and fast about Michigan State." There's a lot to co centrate on. Louis ARENA Even though the 5&2 CCHA, 21-84 Wolverines put four (5-144, 821-5); goals past Michigan igan State (17-3-3, State goalie Ryan Miller when the teams nd Saturday played on Jan. 27, he ;ponsored by the rtment, is vailable is still the best netmin- e Louis Arena at der in the league and is The round-trip fee is a force to be reckon* hased at the with. In addition, since Michigan is five rence games only) points behind- the W L T PTS Spartans in the CCHA 173- 3 3 standings going into 1560-2 32 the weekend, the Wolverines need -.0 take both remaining games againt Michigan State if they have any hope of winning the regular-season title. "We're really looking forward to this weekend and 'rebounding from la* weekend," captain GeoffKoch said. "We all made a conscious effort to really step our game up for the last five games of the season and it starts (tonight)" Koch's classmates don't have much longer to kick it into gear. Tonight is senior night, and after the game, the nine-member class will be honored on the Yost ice. "Everything is put in perspective" Koch said. "It goes by so quickly yoiW four years here. Senior night you're really feeling that, that weight where it's bearing down on you. You've got to make every game count and every shift count" USCHO POLL As of Feb. 12, 2001 From www.uscho.com Team Record PVS 1. Michigan State (40) 24-3-4 2. Boston College 21-7-1 3. North Dakota 20-5-7 3 4. M innesota 22-7-2 6 5. Michigan 21-8-4 5 MICHIGAN (80) FT REB By Michael Kern Daily Sports Editor MIN M-A M-A 0-T A F PTS Gandy 33 2-8 44 2-6 4 4 9 Smith 31 9-12 8-8 4-8 1 3 26 Bies 11 0-1 2-2 0-1 1 1 2 Thorius 37 5.9 3-4 1-3 7 3 15 Ingram 40 6.15 0-1 0-2 21 1 14 Oesterle 22 0-4 0-0 0-5 2 1 0 Goodlow 22 6-8 2-2 1-2 1 4 14 Totals 200 28-57 19-2111-32 18 17 80 FG%: .491. FT%: .905. 3-point FG: 5-14,.-357 (Thorius 2-4, Ingram 2-7, Gandy 1-2, Oesterle 0-1). Blocks: 4 Steals: 11 (Goodlow 3, Ingram 3, Thorius 2, Bies, Gandy, Oesterle). Turnovers: 14 (Thorius 4, Smith 3, Goodlow 2, Oesterle 2, Bies, Gandy, Ingram). Technical Fouls: none. The Michigan men's basketball team has been inconsistent this season, to say the least. A four game winning streak is followed by a 20 point loss at Purdue. Another double-digit loss at Ohio State occurs in the same week as Michigan's most exciting win of the year - a 70-69 thriller at then-No. 14 Iowa. Wednesday night, the Michigan wave crested once again, as it blew the 24th- ranked Hawkeyes right out of Crisler Arena in the first half, only to let them sneak back into the game and almost Iowa...............................40 Michigan...........................28 38 3- 78 52 - 80 At: Crisler Arena Attendance: 1,706 '1 CRISLER ARENA Who: Michigan (4-8 Big Ten, 10-13 over- all) vs. Minnesota (4-8, 16-9) When: 12:17 p.m. Latest: Michigan must win all of their remaining home games in order to qualify for the NIT tournament. steal away the Wolverines' 95-85 victo- ry. Michigan (4-8 Big Ten, 10-13 over- all) shot 60 percent in the first half and scored 50 points but returned with a much more human 9-for-20 shooting performance in the second 20 minutes. The question for the Wolverines has become how to maintain a high level of , play on a regular basis. "If I knew, I would coach,' junior for- ward Chris Young said. "But I don't know how you get someone to get that type of energy going." With the second of four-straight I home games at Crisler Arena tomorrow against Minnesota (4-8, 16-9), Michigan will get its chance to put together back-to-back Big Ten wins for the first time this season. Depleted by NCAA sanctions and injuries, Minnesota will dress just eight scholarship players for tomorrow's game. The Gophers began the season See GOPHERS, Page 11 M' gymnasts finally return to Cliff Ken'0 REC SPORTS The University of Michigan Department of Recreational Sports INTRAMURAL SPORTS PROGRAM WHAT'S HAPPENING INTRAMTU RALS Intramural Mini-Soccer Officials Needed!! By Naweed Sikora Daily Sports Writer Nobody is happier to be in Ann Arbor this weekend than the Michigan women's gymnastics team. After three consecutive weekends away from home - during which the team compiled a 2- 2 record - the Wolverines will host Southeast Missouri State on Saturday evening. It will be Michigan's first home meet in almost a month. I I I " No. Nece Experience * Get a Fr ssary T-Shirt SPORTS Cicials are INTRAMURALS * Flexibl for All Hours es Worked' Trin Clinics Be n rain1iI I IS R ee Looki o PARTY for Spr- 2k k001? 1? STS has ua pC0 To lowing destnations: BAHA LORI1DA | 1