The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - November 26, 2001- 3B
Blue's red hot
shooting leads
to two wins
By Chris Burke
Daily Sports Writer
Despite defeating Detroit 67-52 last Sunday, the
No. 19 Michigan women's basketball team was
faced with a major concern. The Wolverines shot
just 36.7 percent from the floor as the offense
struggled to find a rhythm all afternoon.
Just a week later, that problem appears to be
solved.
Yesterday, Michigan (3-1) scorched the nets for
a 62-percent performance from the field that
included an 8-for-12
mark on 3-pointers. The
hot-shooting enabled the j MICHIGAN 84
Wolverines to grab a road ; SYRACUSE 76
win at Syracuse (3-1), '
84-76, to complete a two-
win weekend that also included an 81-61 victory
over New Hampshire (2-2) on Friday.
"I'm very happy to be 2-0 on the road," Michi-
gan coach Sue Guevara said. "And I'm even hap-
pier to be coming home to play Thursday (against
Marquette) in Crisler Arena."
Four Michigan players scored in double figures
against the Orangewomen, led by Alayne Ingram's
25 points. Ingram was forced to sit out the
Wolverines' game on Friday for violating a team
rule, but the senior guard returned with a
vengeance.
Ingram was 5-for-7 from 3-point range and
scored Michigan's first eight points of the second
half.
After starting the first two games of the season
at point guard, Ingram was moved back to her
normal shooting guard position - enabling
Susana Jara to take control of the point. Jara had
six assists and eight points against Syracuse.
"I was extremely pleased with the play of
Susana Jara - I thought she was pretty steady
both games," Guevara said. "I would say right
now Susana is going to be starting at the point for
us because it affords me two point guards on the
floor - the other one being Alayne."
Michigan jumped out quickly on Syracuse with
an impressive first half, rolling to a 47-31 lead at
RAPHAEL
GOODSTEIN
'M'needs a leader and
Navarre is not the man
Just four weeks ago, Michigan
was 6-1, and qualifying for a
BCS game was a given. Michi-
gan had bigger plans. At No. 4 in the
BCS, the team was talking about the
national title game. "We're Michi-
gan," was the team's swagger. "We
plan on winning every game we
play. It's always our goal to win the
Big Ten and national title."
So what the hell happened in one
times and seemed to reeress as a
quarterback. but much of that I
think had to do with an injury.
Todd Collins wasn't the Elvis Grbac
reincarnation he was advertised to be,
but if'Collins were the quarterback of
this team, there's little doubt that a
l3CS bowl would be on the horizon.
Ileading into Saturday's game with
Ohio State. Navarre and Michigan
knew they needed to win. There
ALEX HOWBERT/Daiy
Alayne Ingram was thrust into the starting point guard role by coach Sue Guevara. But upon Ingram's return
to the shooting guard spot yesterday, she scored 25 points to lead Michigan to an 84-76 win at Syracuse.
month?
This teanr
regressed. Mar-
quise Walker
conldn' 1have been
Michigan shouldn't pretend to cnuch more pressure
be a national title contender with on the team to get it
John Navarre as the quarterback. done. Illinois had
halftime.
Tho lead was just 21-19 with 9:44 remaining in
the half, but Jara - making her second consecu-
tive start at point guard -- hit a 3-pointer to spark
an 18-3 Michigan run. That stretch put Michigan
ahead by 15, and the Orangewomen were not able
to close the gap before the half.
Syracuse tried to come from behind as the sec-
ond half began and pulled within seven with
14:35 left in the game.
But that was as close as the Orangewomen
would get. Ingram scored 12 points from that
juncture, including a 3-pointer with 4:56 to go
that put the Wolverines ahead 74-62 and squashed
any chance Syracuse had at a late rally.
As opposed to Michigan's first two games last
weekend when LeeAnn Bies was the main offen-
sive weapon, averaging 23.5 points per game, the
Wolverines were able to establish a balanced
attack against the Orangewomen.
Sophomore Stephanie Gandy had 14 points off
the bench, while Bies had 12 and Jennifer Smith
added 10.
As has become the norm this year, Michigan
capitalized on impressive free-throw shooting.
The Wolverines shot 93.3 percent from the line
against Syracuse.
"I think we are very confident going to the free-
throw line, we have good shooters." Guevara said.
"We are doing a nice job focusing on the free
shot."
On Friday, the Wolverines opened their week-
end by avoiding New Ilampshire's upset attempt.
Tabitha Pool scored 21 points and Raina Good-
low pitched in 15 as the Wolverines exploded for
a 41-19 scoring advantage in the second hailf to
pull away.
Michigan turned the ball over 25 times against
both Louisiana Tech and Detroit to start the year.
But against New Hampshire, that number was cut
to 19 and against Syracuse, the Wolverines com-
mitted just 15 turnovers.
The decrease in mistakes is something that
Guevara is excited to see.
"I don't want to see the same kind of turnovers
-- people putting the ball down when they don't
need to," Guevara said. "Fifteen turnovers is rea-
sonable considering how much we run."
Duke women fall at home, 87-81
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) -- South Carolina's Kelly Morrone
felt good shooting the ball against Duke. She felt even better
about the basketball hoops at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
"I love these rims. I just love them," Morrone said after
shooting 8-of-9 from 3-point range to lead South Carolina
to an 87-81 overtime victory in the Duke Women's Basket-
ball Classic on Sunday.
Duke (3-2) made just 34.5 percent of its shots in the first
half, its worst half of the year. After shooting 16-of-29 in the
second half to tie the game, the Blue Devils were just 4-of-
14 in overtime.
Monique Currie led Duke with 22 points. Iciss Tillis
added 19 and Alana Beard had 18 in Duke's first home loss
to a nonconference opponent since falling 77-70 to Boston
College in the preseason WNIT on Nov. 17, 1999.
BAYLOR 65, DENVER 60 - Sheila Lambert's 19 points
and Danielle Crockrom's 17 points and 11 rebounds led No.
13 Baylor to a 65-60 win over the University of Denver on
Sunday.
The Lady Bears (4-0) led 42-22 early in the second half
before the Pioneers battled back and narrowed the margin to
57-54 on Misty Staton's jumper with just over two minutes
to play.
"We made a good run with a chance to win, but we didn't
pull it out," said Denver head coach Pam Tanner. "But we
did a tremendous job defending them, and we played a
much better game this year than last year."
With 36 seconds remaining, Denver pulled to within three
again on Nikki Weddle's 3-pointer, but Lambert connected
on two free throws with 14 seconds on the clock to clinch
the victory.
Staton led Denver (2-1) with 20 points, including 10-of-
I 1 free throws. while Weddle added 16 points.
Crockrom totaled eight of the 12 points in that span with
the Lady Bears holding the Pioneers scoreless for more than
8 minutes.
The Lady Bears held Denver's leading scorer Melissa
Garcia, who had averaged 22 points in the first two games,
to two.
PURDUE 80, SOUTHERN MississiPPi 40 - As Beth Jones
put on a practice jersey for the postgame news conference,
she realized it belonged to teammate Shereka Wright.
The jersey fit Jones just fine - and so did the role of
leading scorer.
Jones scored 22 points, and No. I I Purdue made I1 shots
from 3-point range in an 80-40 victory Sunday over South-
ern Mississippi.
Kelly Komara added 15 for Purdue (3-1), which played
the final 13:14 without Wright. Purdue's leading scorer had
to be helped off the court after she sprained her right ankle.
The Boilermakers made eight of 14 3-pointers in the first
half. Jones finished 6-for-8, and Komara was 3-for-4.
Komara, who also had seven assists and no turnovers,
said the Eagles (0-3) focused too much on stopping the
inside game and left Purdue open on the perimeter.
Curry wants Jones to keep shooting.
"She has a green light," she said. "When she's open, I
want her to shoot. I'm very pleased for her because she
worked so hard in the offseason."
Since losing the season opener to then-No. 4 Oklahoma,
Purdue has won its last three games by an average of 38
points.
YESTERDAY'S GAME
MICHIGAN (84)
FG FT REB
MIN t-A- M-.A 0-T A F PTS
Pool 23 4-6 0-0 05 3 2 9
Goodlow 23 23 2-2 0-4 3 3 6
Bies 26 58 2-2 02 1 1 12
Jara 30 3-5 0-1 01 6 0 8
Ingram 39 9-12 2 2 2-4 4 2 25
Gandy 30 5-10 4-4 3-4 3 3 14
Mason 2 00 0-0 01 0 0 0
Smith 27 36 4-4 25 2 2 10
Team 0 0-0 0-0 1-4 0 0 0
Totals 200 31.5014-15 8-3022 13 84
FG%:.620. FT%: .933. 3-point FG: 8-12, .667
(Ingram 5-7, Jara 2-3. Pool 1-2). Blocks: 1 (Smith)
Steals: (Jara 2. Smith 2, Ingram. Turnovers: 15
(Bies 4. Ingramn 4, Smith 3. Goodlow, Jara, Pool.
Team) . Technical Fouls: none.
Syracuse (76)
- G IFT REB
MIN M-A MA 0-T A F PTS
Wright 30 4-8 0-0 4-4 0 4 8
Newman 22 05 0-0 0-2 1 0
Trammell 1 2-3 0-0 1-3 0 1 4
McBride 40 6-15 2-2 0-2 4 3 16
James 38 6-12 3-4 0-1 4 2 18
Perry 30 8-11 3-5 1-1 5 2 19
Coleman 7 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 2 2
Nwagbo 22 4-6 1-3 3-6 0 1 9
Team 0 0-0 0-0 3-5 0 0 0
Totals 200 31-629-14 12-24 14 15 76
FG%:.500. FT%:.643. 3-point FG: 5-21, .238 (James
3-6. McBride 2-10. Newman 0-4, Wright 0-1). Blocks:
1 (Trammell). Steals: 9 (James 3, McBride 3, Nwag-
ti 2, Wright). Turnovers: 10 (McBride 3, James 2
Nwagbo 2, Coleman. Newman. Perry). Technical
fouls: none.
Michigan----- -......47 37 -84
Syracuse ........ 31 45 -- 76
At: Manley Field House
Attendance: 615
stopped playing It's that simple.
like the best
receiver in the country and returned
to what he was pegged to be before
the season started - a very good
player, but not one capable of carry-
ing I team through a season. The
same might be said about linebacker
Larry Foote.
But the real problem in 2001 was
this: The Wolverines didn't have a
quarterback who could deal with the -
pressure that comes with this job.
Michigan shouldn't pretend to be a
national'title contender with John
Navarre as the quarterback. It's that
simple. He freaks out in pressure sit-
uations worse than Richard Nixon in
a televised debate.
The Big Ten was weak this year and
Michigan had the best defenise and spe-
cial teams in the conference. This should
have been the year that the Wolverines
returned to a BCS came. After all, this is
Michigan remember?
But after one half in East Lansing,
the offeznse fell apart- and nobody
could put it back together again.
Lloyd Carr suspected this was the
true face of the offense all season and
tried to hide it by running trick plays
to score cheap points. The problem
was, by the end of the season, teams
we-ren't fooled by the Calvin Bell
reverse, and the "Trans-continental"
only works once a year.
So Carr just hoped the Wolverines
would find a way to win while
Navarre learned how to be a quarter-
back at one of the premier programs
in the country. This strategy worked
a cainst lowa and - 'Wisconsin, but a ler
14 games as a starter, Navarre still
wasn't where he needed to be. Last
week against Wisconsin was the worst
performance by a Michigan quarter-
back since Demetrius Brown's seven-
interception performance at Michigan
State in 1987. Luckily the defense and
special teams covered up the mistakes
made at Iowa and Wisconsin.
Can you think of a worse Michigan
starting quarterback than Navarre?
Sure Brown was a head-case, but at
least he could feel pressure in the
pocket and escape. Navarre usually
just stands there - hoping that Mar-
quise Walker gets open --while a
defensive lineman either sacks him,
strips the ball or both.
Scott Dreisbach played poorly at
already beaten North-
western and clinched
a share of the Big Ten title. A loss
would mean the Fighting Illini would
win the title outright and ring in the
New Year in the French Quarter
while the Wolverines returned to
their almost-annual holiday destina-
tion of central Florida.
Once again in the face of a major
challenue, Navarre panicked and
played poorly. I 'cryone in the stadi-
um knew exactly where he was throw-
ing the ball every time he dropped
back to pass. IIe rarely looked off his
primary receiver and even when he
pump-faked, he still threw it to Walk-
er, drawing even more attention to his
intended target.
The thing is, it's hard to blame
Navarre. lIe never cla ivied to be a
good quarterback. Even during the
good times, he made it a point to
remind everyone that lie was still
learning and that the offense was
still cr-owing.
While it's understandable why blue-
chip quarterback prospects wouldn't
want to play behind Drew Henson for
three years, there sioul d have been a
quarterback in the wings last year.
.Michigan has always had someone
ready to step into the fire when the
call came. When Bi-ian (Griese left,
Tom iBrady stepped in. When Brady
left, Drew I lenson stepped in.
And \while I lenson struggled as a
sophomore thrown into the fire, his
problems resulted fi-om working to
adjust to the speed of the college
game -not the inability to deal with
a presslure sit naition.
I have no idea why this void wasn't
filled after Hlenson agreed to play for
Michigan. There are many theories for
this reality, but Saturday afternoon, its
relevance was truly magnified.
I don't know if Jermaine Gonzales
is the answer. At times lie's impres-
sive, at other times lie looks like
Michigan's option quarterbacks of
the early '70s.
Regardless. if Michigan is going
to claim to be a premier foot ball
power, it needs to find a leader who
will get the job done when it needs
to be done.
Raphael Goodseicn c(anh e reached at
raphaeclg~iumtrich.ed.
Volleyball drops a heartbreaker
By Charles Paradis
Daily Sports Writer
The word on the lips of every
Michigan volleyball player Saturday
night - heartbreaker. There was no
other way to describe the 3-2 loss to
No. 21 Illinois, a defeat that all but
eliminated Michigan (9-11 Big Ten,
13-14 overall) from making their third
straight appearance in the NCAA
Tournament. After taking a two-games
to-none lead on the Fighting Illini, the
Wolverines were unable to seal the
deal.
"This match defines heartbreaker,"
Katrina Lehman said.
The match started out very well for
Michigan. The Wolverines dominated
the first game, handing Illinois a 30-
23 loss. Erin Moore and Carrie
Ritchie who had seven and six kills
respectively, led Michigan offensively.
Defensively, Moore added four digs to
lead the team, but the story was
Lehman's four block assists in the
first game.
Entering the match, Lehman need-
ed only five block assists to break the
Michigan single-season record of 115.
Last season, Lehman tied the mark set
by Lindsay Ebert in 1997.
Lehman needed only two block
assists to break the record going into
the second game. She not only got
them, but she also added four kills to
and they got stronger," Lehman said.
After the intermission, Illinois came
out better on defense, but it was Michi-
gan's errors that allowed the Illini to
steal game three. Illinois only recorded
11 kills in game three, but Michigan
gave the Illini 15 points on attack
errors. Winning the game 30-25 gave
Illinois momentum it desperately need-
ed, but it was the next game that proved
to be the backbreaker for Michigan.
Game four saw the Illini finally
find their offensive rhythm. Relying
heavily on its 6-foot-5 middle blocker,
Lisa Argabright, Illinois overpowered
the smaller Michigan squad.
Argabright led the Illini with seven
kills in game four. The Illini took a
27-22 lead late in the game. Michigan
used all its emotion to mount an
incredible comeback. After tying the
game at 28, Michigan had the
momentum, but neither team was able
to score the two consecutive -points
needed to win. Finally, the Illini
proved too much for the Wolverines as
Illinois won game four 34-32.
Errors also plagued the Wolverines
in the fifth game. Eight Michigan
errors gave the Illini more than half
the points they needed to win 15-9.
Friday's match commemorated sen-
ior night --- Nicole Kacor, Annie
Maxwell and Shannon Melka played
in their final match With the Wolver-
ines. While this was the end for the
three, they know the team is in good
hands.
"I know this program has nothing to
do but go up and increase our winning
record," Melka said. "They are going
to do awesome next year, I know."
..