10 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, November 16, 2001 FRIDAY Focus I _____... I Blue's leading ladies welcome you to Crisler Alayne has proven she can shoot. As the Guard team's point guard, she will now be asked 5-7 to feed the ball to the girls in the post. Senior Key Stat: 128 career 3-pointers is six shy of the Michigan record but she is focused on the single-season assist mark (156). Say What? Was a varsity golfer in high school. Coach G: "What helps Alayne out is her confidence. She is a very confident per- son - when we need a basket, she wants that basket to come from her." Alvne INGRAM Guard 6-O Senior Heather ended last season with an ACL tear in practice the week before the Big Ten Tournament. Look for her to con- tribute in every facet of the game. Key Stat: Averaged 7.0 points a game and finished third on the team with 71 assists last season. Say What? Oesterle loves Harry Potter and is anticipating today's movie debut. Coach G: "Nobody works harder on this team than Heather. She is one of the more versatile players on the team." i a 6 Heather OESTERLE Blue has potential; results to come Forward 5-10 Soph. By Allison Topp Daily Sports Writer This season the Michigan women's basketball team wants respect. After going to the NCAA tournament the last two seasons, the Wolverines are finally emerging on the national scene. Preseason polls have recognized the strengths of this season's team. The Associated Press ranked Michigan No.. 17, its highest pre- season ranking ever. With more hype and attention than these women have ever seen in their col- legiate careers comes increased pressure as well. "I think it's important for future teams since the writers and polls High Hopes in addition to beirg in the AP Poll, four national publications have picked the Wolverines as one of the top 25 teams in the country this season. The rankings:> PUBUCATION RANK bNDY'S 10TH STREET AND SwwH's 25TH ATHLON 18TH BASKETBALL JOURNAL 21ST are giving us all this respect now," said senior co-captain Heather Oesterle. "We don't want to blow it and make people think twice about giving Michigan respect again." The Wolverines could use this season to make a statement. Instead of being the new kid on the block, Michigan could become the neigh- borhood bully, intimidating every other team. But this new respect is contingent on winning games, and a tough early road schedule will require certain individuals to step up and to lead the team. "This season depends on how we're going to react to the tough road schedule," senior forward Raina Goodlow said. "They called us the 'road warriors' last year. We won more games on the road than at home." The Wolverines have only one home game in the first 10. Four of those away matches are against Notre Dame, Washington, Louisiana Tech and Louisiana State - all ranked teams. If Michigan can survive the games before the Big Ten season begins, then it has a great chance of going farther in the postseason than it ever has gone before. The biggest problem Michigan will have to overcome during con- ference play is finding a way to defeat last year's Big Ten champion Purdue. The Wolverines have dropped three in row to the Boiler- makers, something that will need to change if they hope to win the Big Ten Conference. Several players are poised to step up against Purdue and the other tough teams during the early road schedule. Junior forward LeeAnn Bies was an honorable mention All- Big Ten selection last year. Over the summer she traveled to Europe with a team of Big Ten players. The experience helped her improve her footwork because many European forwards she faced were small and agile. But LeeAnn thinks she has to take her defensive effort one step farther this season. "Right now they're (the Michi- gan coaches) are telling me I need to continually move my feet," Bies said. "I also have to recognize, offensively, that I have to go strong to the hole and not fade away." Bies weakness is compensated by the aggressive demeanor of her teammate, Goodlow. Extremely agile for a forward, Goodlow's quick first step to the basket can beat almost any other forward in the Big Ten to the hole. If Good- low's perimeter game improves, Goodlow could be another leader on the team this year. Stephanie made significant contributions last year as a freshman. This year her role will increase defensively and offensively. Key Stat: Averaged 7.1 points per game and tied for second on the team with 51 offensive rebounds. Say What? She was class president in high school. Coach G: "Stephanie has to be our defensive stopper. She is a very slashing type of player and she has got to get some easy baskets for us too." -4 Stephan' leGANDY Raina is capable of playing inside and Forward outside. That versatility allows her to be Snorn the floor with any combination of Seniorplayers. Key Stat: Led the team in field goals made last season with 132. She also started 28 games, tied for most on the team. Say What? Her bathroom is decorated with a Scooby Doo motif. Coach G: "She's got a quick first step to the basket, she's got a nice shot and can j ~also post it up.2 I tmd GOODLOW Is i - - V 1 LeeAnn was one of Michigan's best play- Center ers last year. Her presence in the post 6-3 gives Michigan an advantage over most Junior teams. Key Stat: Led team in points, rebounds, blocks and steals per game last season. Say What? Bies eats two Reese's peanut butter cups before every game. Coach G: "She was our leading scorer and rebounder and I don't know why that would change except for the fact that I want more rebounds and more points." Ingam points in new direction By Jim Weber Daily Sports Writer This is the most anticipatedyseason in the history of Michigan women's basketball. The 17th-ranked Wolver- ines are big, talented and well coached - but you already know that. So who will lead this team to a new level of success? Coach Sue Guevara is calling on senior tri-captain Alayne Ingram to answer that question. Throughout her career, Ingram has always been a leader. She motivates her teammates with emotional play and was described by Guevara as the clear on-court leader. In mid-September, Guevara asked Ingram to lead in a new way. Gue- vara moved Ingram from shooting guard, where she started for three years, to the point after the gradua- tion of senior and team MVP Anne Thorius. Neither Guevara nor Ingram had another option. The NCAA had just announced that incoming fresh- man Mie Burlin, who was expected to be the starting point guard, was ineligible to play this season. The Denmark native was three-fourths of a credit short of replacing Thorius. Six-foot-two forward Raina Good- low and 6-foot-3 centers Jennifer Smith and LeeAnn Bies will do most of the scoring. But they will be crip- pled if Ingram does not make a smooth transition to her new position. "I've asked (Ingram) to distribute the basketball and get it into the hands of the big kids," Guevara said. Smith said she was impressed with Ingram's performance in last Friday's 89-75 exhibition victory over RTU Klondaika. Ingram scored a team- high 24 points to go with four assists and three rebounds. Guevara loves defense and has seen Ingram lead by example, strengthening her on-ball defense, communicating on the floor and working hard to better understand the fundamentals of defense. Ingram's defensive efforts are even more appreciated when compared to her mentality as a freshman. "(Her defense) has gotten better over the years," Guevara said. "I think she came in as a totally offen- sive player. Defense was a side note." Guevara sees similarities in the way Ingram and Thorius play defense and lead vocally and by example. But Guevara noted that Thorius' tough- ness made her special. Ingram's dura- bility will be tested tonight against Louisiana Tech after she sprained her ankle in practice on Monday. "The half-court line reached up and grabbed my foot and tripped me," said Ingram, who then insisted that she will start in tonight's opener. A leader must set high standards for herself and her team, as Ingram has done. Two of her team goals are to win a Big Ten Championship and to prompt fans to pack the lower bowl at Crisler Arena. She doesn't even think like a shooting guard anymore. She used to think about setting the school record for three-pointers in a career. She is within six of that mark, but her new role has shifted her focus. Now her goal is to break the Michigan single- season assist record of 156 set by Vonnie Thompson in 1987-88. The respect, the crowd, the title and the record that Alayne wants are up to her. Voters, fans, Purdue and the record books had better be ready. ____BIE I 0 _-- ALYSSA WOOD/Daily With Anne Thorius' departure, senior Alayne Ingram becomes the team leader. I