The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - Feburary 11, 2002 - 3B Michigan Ohio State 75 88 THE DOWN-LOW GUEVA-RANT: "L-00000-N-G" - Guevara on Michigan's chances of making it to the NCAA Tournament follow- ing yesterday's loss to Ohio State KEY STAT: Michigan tied a season-high with 25 turnovers which led to 30 points for the Buckeyes. YoU KNEW IT WAS OVER WHEN: With 10:13 to go, Tomeka Brown drove to the basket for a layup, sparking an 11-5 Ohio State run that pushed the lead back to 18. TURNING POINT: 13:03 left in the first half, DiDi Reynolds, who plauged Michigan in the teams' first meeting, hit two conescutive 3-pointers to put Ohio State up 13-10. This was the last lead change of the game, and it was never close after that. THE DAILY'S MVP: Michigan forward Stephanie Gandy; tallied a career-high 29 points inculd- ing a perfect 10-for-10 from the chari- ty stripe and pulled down six offensive boards. Gandy led or tied Michigan in 10 categories. She also broke the Value City Arena record for the most points scored by an opponent. 'M' STATS Through Feb. 10 Duo too much for Cagers By Jim Weber Daily Sports Writer COLUMBUS - On Jan. 10, Ohio State beat Michigan without two of its best players, Tomeka Brown and Courtney Coleman. Yesterday, the duo made up for lost time by each scoring 21 points and leading the Buckeyes to an 88-75 victory. Michigan (4-8 Big Ten, 14-9 over- all) fell behind by 18 points at half- time but cut the deficit to 12 after a jumper by Alayne Ingram midway through the second half. Ohio State (6-7, 11-13) immediately responded with an 11-5 run to push the lead back to 18 points and put the game away. Michigan coach Sue Guevara was frustrated by the "wasted" perform- ances of Stephanie Gandy and LeeAnn Bies. Gandy had a career- high 29 points, and Bies added 18 in the losing effort. Michigan jumped out to an early 10-7 edge but the lead was short lived. Ohio State's DiDi Reynolds, who had 22 points against Michigan on Jan. 10, hit two consecutive 3- pointers to the disbelief of Guevara. "For DiDi Reynolds to get two 3- pointers in transition is just unbeliev- able because we know she can shoot the ball," Guevara said. Minutes later, with Michigan trail- ing by three points, Guevara was called for a technical foul after an offensive foul was called on Bies. Lauren Shenk made both free throws and started a 15-4 run for the Buck- eyes, during which Michigan turned the ball over nine times. The Wolver- ines finished the half with 15 turnovers, one more than they had in their last game against Northwestern. Ohio State' post players, Coleman and D'wan Shackleford, combined for 17 points in the first half and out- played Michigan's Bies and Jennifer Smith, who both got into trouble early with two fouls apiece. "It didn't matter if we went into a 3-2 (zone defense) or a 2-3, they were able to get the ball inside to Coleman or (Shackleford)," Guevara said. "It was more our lack of aggressiveness, RAPHAEL GOODSTEIN Hardaway's departure cools down Riley 's Heat n a season of low points, Tuesday's loss to the lowly Atlanta Hawks might have been the lowest for the Miami Heat. This is quite a statement considering Miami lost a game 95-56 earlier this season, but Tuesday's loss was worse because three-straight wins had instilled confidence in the NBA's most disappointing team, and just when it looked as though the Heat were starting to rally behind coach and team president of the season. Meanwhile Hardaway.and the Dal- las Mavericks are the third best team in the NBA, enjoy a 35-14 record and appear to be a presence for years to come. All of this prompted Riley to recently admit his mistakes to which Hardaway responded with, "It's too late. But admitting the mistake is a good thing. That's a step in the right direction," and later DANNY MOLOSHOK/Daily Stephanie Gandy came up huge on Sunday scoring a career-high 29 points, but Sue Guevara called her efforts "wasted" after Michigan's 88-75 loss to Ohio State. Player G Bies 22 Ingram 21 Smith 22 Gandy 21 Pool 21 Oesterle 19 Mason 20 Jara 19 Hauser-Price 14 McPhilamy 9 Goodlow 5 Min 31.5 37.8 30.8 29.5 24.2 20.6 8.6 15.6 10.0 3.1 26.0 A 1.9 4.8 1.4 1.7 1.7 1.9 0.3 1.7 0.4 0.0 2.4 Reb 8.8 3.3 7.9 4.5 4.3 3.9 2.7 1.6 0.8 0.8 5.6 Pts. 16.3 14.6 13.6 10.7 8.0 42 3.2 1.7 1.1 0.0 8.8 our lack of defense. That, I think, is most disappointing because we have been working on it." Michigan tied a season high with 25 turnovers. Although turnovers have plagued Michigan all season, both coaches agreed that Michigan's problems were a result of Ohio State's pressure. The turnovers result- ed in 12 fast-break points for the Buckeyes in the first half. "We force turnovers," Ohio State coach Beth Burns said. "For us, if we can force turnovers, we do a pretty good job in numbers. And that was the story of the first half. We didn't have to score out of a half-court set much at all." Ohio State, which had lost three straight coming in, shot 53 percent from the field. After allowing more than 80 points for the seventh time this season, Guevara questioned whether she would stay with the start- ing lineup she has used the past the past four games. "I thought I was going to stay with this starting lineup, but I'm going to find the best defensive unit we have to go against Iowa," Guevara said. Pat Riley, old habits While it looks, resurfaced. The low Hardaway will ric point of the game sunset, Riley isl was when a frus- a mess that he n trated Riley was T-d completely clean up in the first quar- ter while his team looked lethargic, uninspired and out of sync. These attributes might have been accepted in Portland, but with All Star Alonzo Mourning manning the mid- dle, Eddie Jones locking down oppos- ing teams' best guard, and the team's success that dated back to the mid '90s, Miami was supposed to be a contender in the weak Fastern confer- ence. But a pathetic 5-23 start ruined any hopes Miami fans had of making the playoffs, let alone making it to the NBA Finals. And while the squad rebounded, going on a 13-5 run to finish the first half of the season with an almost respectable 18-28 record, Riley ruined this team before the sea- son even started when he publicly embarrassed popular point guard Tim Hardaway. On a team of stars, the five-time All Star had been Miami's go-to player and Riley not only let Hardaway leave, but the coach pub- licly made it clear that he thought his popular point guard wasn't capable of recovering from a knee injury. The decision to allow Hardaway to leave was questioned by many, espe- cially since most of his teammates liked him, he had been so successful as the team's point guard and had suc- cessfully recovered from prior knee injuries. Riley not only let Hardaway leave, but he also compounded this mistake when he looked indecisive in his recovery plan, originally signing Anthony Carter (not that Anthony Carter) to a three year, $12 million contract, only to then sign Rod Strick- land, a free agent who attracted little attention from other teams because of his often childish behavior. Both have struggled for large parts as though de off into the left to clean up might never saying "You made your own bed, and now you have to sleep in it," to Riley and n. Jerry Krause, opera- tion chief of the Chicago Bulls, another team that con- sidered signing him. While it looks as though Hardaway will ride off into the sunset, Riley is left to clean up a mess that he might never completely clean. While some- times changes are needed to get a team over the hump, this change appeared to be made because Riley's ego got in the way. In today's NBA, the player typically wins this sort of battle, as he can simply sign with another team, in this case Dallas. Riley was left to not only find a suitable replacement for Hardaway - something that he might not ever do unless he wins the NBA Lottery and can draft Duke's Jason Williams - but he was also left to explain to the rest of his team and the fans the mis- take he made. Riley, who was won four NBA titles with the Los Angeles Lakers during the 1980s, has yet to win another title and more and more peo- ple now believe that he will never win another ONE. While he has tried to defend him- self in response to such criticism, Tuesday's game showed the stress this season has taken on the embattled coach. Considering Riley's inability live up to the goals set in Miami - or New York, another contender he coached before his stint in Miami - and the fall of the Heat franchise, it might be best for everyone if Riley stepped down after this season and Miami tried to rebuild. A good place to start would be finding a competent point guard. Raphael Goodstein can be reached at raphaelg@umich.edu. Field-goal percentage leader Bies 121-228 .531 Free-throw percentage leader * Smith 73-91 .802 3-point percentage leader: Ingram 42-100 .420 BIG TEN Team Purdue Minnesota Penn State Iowa Wisconsin Illinois Ohio State Indiana Michigan State Michigan Northwestern STANDINGS Conference Overall Ohio State D' prevails over Blue w 11 9 8 8 7 6 6 5 5 4 0 L 2 3 4 5 6 3 7 8 8 8 12 W 20 19 16 15 16 13 11 11 15 14 4 L 3 4 7 8 7 9 13 13 9 9 19 By Charles Paradis Daily Sports Writer Yesterday's Games: No. 8 Purdue 79, Indiana 55 No. 22 Minnesota 86, Northwestern 78 Iowa 96, Penn State 81 Ohio State 88, Michigan 75 Thursday's Games: Michigan at Iowa No. 8 Purdue at No. 22 Minnesota Michigan State at Penn State Northwestern at No. 21 Wisconsin YESTERDAY'S GAME MICHIGAN (75) FG FT REB MIN M-A M-A O-T A F PTS Oesterle 28 1-6 0-0 0-5 3 2 2 Smith 26 6-8 1-2 3-9 0 4 13 B ies 36 7-11 4-6 2-6 3 4 18 Hauser-Price 14 1-4 0-0 1-0 1 2 2 Ingram 37 4-12 0-0 0-3 3 2 9 Pool 18 1-4 0-0 1-2 1 0 2 Jara 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Gandy 35 9-15 10-10 6-9 3 2 29 Mason 4 0-0 0-0 0 0 00 Totals 200 29.60 15.1816-3414 16 75 FG%:.483. FT%: .833 3-point FG: 2-8 250 (Oesterle 0-2, Ingram 1-5, Gandy 1-1). Blocks: 1 (Pool). Steals: 6 (Oesterle, Smith, Bies, Pool, Jara, Gandy). Turnovers: 25 (Oesterle 2, Smith 6, Bies 3, Hauser-Price 3, Ingram 4, Pool 3, Jara, Gandy 3). Technical fouls: none. Ohio State (88) .FG FT RED MIN M-A M-A 0-T A F PTS Reynolds 32 512 0-0 3-3 2 0 12 Shackelford 22 3-8 1-2 1-5 0 4 7 Coleman 38 8-12 5-8 4-4 0 3 21 Brown 30 7-9 6-6 0-2 3 1 21 Shenk 32 1-2 2-2 2-2 10 2 4 Stokes 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Howe 1 0-0 0-0 0-1 0 0 0 McClure 9 2-3 2-2 0-0 1 1 7 Allen 14 3-7 0.0 2-2 0 2 ~8 Crews 20 2-5 4-4 1-2 1. 4 8 Haynam 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Totals 200 22-54 20-2410-25 17 17 88 FG%:.534. FT%: .833. 3.polnt FG: 6-13, .462 (Renolds 2-6, Brown 1-1, Shenk 0-1, McClure 1-2, Allen 2-3). Blocks: 3 Shackleford 2, Brown). Steals: 9 (Reynolds 2, Shackleford, Coleman 2, Brown 4). Turnovers: 18 (Reynolds, Shackleford 3, Coleman 3, Brown 2, Shenk 3, Stokes, McClure 2, Allen 2, Crews). Technical fouls: none. Michigan........................24 51 - 75 Ohio State...................... 42 46 - 88 At: Value City Arena, Columbus Attendance: 8,294 The Fowler Center Summer Camp for Children and Adults with Special Needs June 10 August 16 Seeks Applicants For: rCnuuncplarc COLUMBUS - Ohio State finally proved it could play defense. Defense has been a question mark for the Buckeyes all season, but after downing the Michigan women's bas- ketball team 88-75 yesterday, they put most of those questions to rest. The Buckeyes had been allowing 86 points per game over the last three games. But after a hard week of practice focused on defense, they came ready to play against the Wolverines. "Since last weekend the primary focus of what we've been doing has been defensively," Ohio State coach Beth Burns said. "We really pre- pared defensively. The first half (against Michigan) was as good as it gets in terms of doing everything we tried to do." Michigan has been living by the high-low game all season long. At the beginning of the season, Raina Good- low and LeeAnn Bies ran a two- woman game in the post. But Goodlow has been sidelined with a hip infection that has taken her out for the season. After Goodlow became injured, Jen- nifer Smith stepped into the role and played well with Bies. Ohio State knew that Michigan wanted to run-the high-low and decided not to allow Smith and Bies to dominate the game. "They do so much out of a high-low game that we really tried to say 'let them see if they can beat us another way than out of a high-low game,'" Burns said. The Buckeyes smothered the Michigan players in a deny defense. With all of the Ohio State players playing at ball level, it was nearly impossible for the Wolverines to even get the ball. This defense forced 15 turnovers in the first half, and in total, Michigan turned it over 25 times, tying a season high. "Ohio State is denying you all the way from sideline to sideline," Gue- vara said. Not only did the Wolverines turn the ball over frequently against the Buck- eyes, but Ohio State also converted on those extra chances - scoring 30 points, more than a third of their total offense, off them. Those points of off turnovers included 16 fast break points. Stephanie Gandy was one of the few Michigan players Ohio State could not stop. With the high-low game limited and Alayne Ingram held in check by Ohio State's Tameka Brown, Gandy stepped up for the Wolverines. Her career-high 29 points broke the record for most points allowed by an oppos- ing player at Value City Arena. "Stephanie Gandy is a very, very difficult matchup that can play lots of different spots," Burns said. The Buckeye defense may also have knocked the Wolverines out of NCAA tournament contention. Michigan reached the second round of the national tournament last year, but after the loss to Ohio State, a tournament berth looks unlikely. The loss against the Buckeyes was the eighth confer- ence loss for the Wolverines, which most likely removed them from con- sideration. "I think it is a little long, long shot," Guevara said. "I'm hoping the committee is going look at our con- ference as a whole and how strong the conference is." - DAILY SPORTS: YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO BE LIKE OS AND IN FACT YOU CAN! JOIN US AT 420 MAYNARD SUNDAYS AT NOON " Coursework and Internships offered in nine academic areas: Advertising, Marketing, and Public Relations, Arts and Art Administration, Economics, Film and Television, International Relations, Journalism, Management and Finance, Politics, Prelaw, and Psychology and Social Policy. " Eight-week, full-time internship for academic credit " 16 undergraduate credits per semester " Housing in fully-furnished apartments included * Program offered fall, spring, and summer .. f' U : ~+: f' v~%'%+ u..,::~i..." b:: . '.:. . ' , ;5: : .k :... ..a ::; i:. ~ i"C:R:sz :;; r :~ti rs.:o:cr:. ', ;. : ยข9 I