I
Tuesday
November 26, 2002
michigandaily.com
sportsdesk@umich.edu
(Th iAMfdigrniail
PORTS
8
Blue overcomes
eight-point deficit
DAVID
HORN
0
By Gennaro Flice
Daily Sports Writer
With 4:38 remaining in the game,
Cal.-Santa Barbara forward Kristen
Mann hit her second consecutive shot,
extend-
ing the i UC SANTA BARBA 64
G a u - MICHIGAN 70
lead to
eight. In Santa Barbara coach Mark
French's mind, the fat lady was hitting
her high note.
"I thought maybe we were going to
YESTERDAY'S GAME
Santa Barbara (64)
FG FT REB
MIN M-A M-A 0-T A F PTS
Richardson 23 2-5 0-0 2-3 3 1 4
Mann 31 7-18 0-0 1-3 4 4 14
Taylor 30 4-13 0-0 2-6 0 4 8
Hansen 26 3-7 4-4 1-2 2 2 11
Caine 30 4-8 0-0 0-2 2 2 10
Bonds 9 1-5 0-0 0-0 0 0 2
Willet 17 1-5 0-0 0.1 0 3 2
Fisher 26 4-8 0-0 3-5 1 4 9
Sarr 6 2-2 0-0 1-1 0 3 4
Totals 200 28-71 4-4 15-29 12 23 64
FG%: .394. FT%: 1.00. 3-point FG: 1-12, .200
Richardson 0-1, Mann 0-4, Taylor 0-1, Hansen 2-5,
aine 2-6, Bonds 0-2, Willet 0-1). Blocks: 3
nRichardson 1, Taylor 2) Steals: 11 (Richardson 2,
Mann 20Caine 2, Bonds 3, Fisher 2). Turnovers: 11
(Taylor , Hansen 3, Caine 3, Bonds 1, Willet 1,
Fisher 1). Technical fouls: none.
MICHIGAN (70)
FG FT REB
MIN M-A M-A 0-T A F PTS
Pool 31 5-14 2-2 1-7 3 1 14
Smith 29 4-10 2-4 5-10 2 3 10
Bies 36 3-9 7-8 4-11 2 2 13
Reams 30 3-6 0-0 4-4 3 0 7
Burlin 15 0-2 0-0 0-1 3 2 0
Andrews 25 2-4 5-5 "0-1 0 2 9
Goodlow 10 1-2 0-0 2-3 0 0 2
Gandy 24 5-9 - 2-2 0-4 1 1 15
Totals 200 23-56 18-211649 14 11 70
FG%:.411. FT%: .857 3-pointFG: 6-12 500
(Reams 1-1, Gandy 3-4, Pool 2-5, Burlin 0-2).
Blocks: 4 (Pool 1, Bies 2, Andrews 1). Steals: 5
(Bies 2, Gandy 1, Reams 2). Turnovers: 24 (Burlin
3,Bies 3 Pool 4, Gandy 3, Smith 4, Reams 2,
Andrews 2). Technical fouls: none.
UC Santa Barbara:::::::::::::::............31 33 - 64
Michigan .............................31 39 - 70
At: Crisler Arena, Ann Arbor
Attendance: 926
blovw them out there," French said. "We
had momentum going, and we had
them by eight."
But the youthful Michigan squad
stayed calm and erased the late-deficit,
eventually winning the game over No.
25 Santa Barbara, 70-64.
In the first half, Michigan rode the
back of sophomore forward Tabitha
Pool, who led both teams in scoring
after 20 minutes. Pool's 12 points and a
6-0 Michigan run to end the half left
both teams deadlocked at 31 with one
half to go.
Ten minutes into the second half, the
Gauchos took control of the game.
Santa Barbara gained its biggest lead,
60-51, at 8:05. During this stretch, the
Wolverines had a lot of trouble taking
care of the ball. In the game, the Santa
Barbara defense helped cause 24
Michigan turnovers.
"Our game plan going into the game
was to try and pressure their young
guards, and maybe see if we could try
to create enough pressure to gain some
turnovers," French said.
Although Santa Barbara began to
pull ahead, Michigan would not go
away. One thing that kept the Wolver-
ines in the game was their relentless
effort on the boards as they beat the
Gauchos in rebounding, 49-29.
"Coach Guevara kept up with us, and
she told us to never let our head down,"
Andrews said. "She told us we had a lot
of time left, and we could pull it out. So
that gave us faith. She was still with us
even though we were down by seven or
eight. We believed in her, and we lis-
tened to what she said."
Then, after the aforementioned out-
burst by Mann, Michigan roared back.
With 3:28 left in regulation, Andrews
It's like de/d vu all
JASON UCOOPER/Daily
Michigan's Lauren Andrews' two free throws with 30 seconds left in the game put
the Wolverines ahead for good. Andrews finished with nine points.
drove hard to the hoop and converted a
shot after being fouled. After making
the free throw, Michigan trailed the
Gauchos 64-59.
In the Wolverines' next possession,
senior LeeAnn Bies received the ball,
and the Santa Barbara defense con-
verged on her. Junior Stephanie
Gandy felt the defense leave her, and
relocated behind the 3-point arc.
"I just found an open spot," Gandy
said. "Bies had three people on her, and
I called for the ball. I was wide open,
because they were collapsing so hard
on our post people all game. And it was
just up to me to hit the big shot."
Gandy nailed the open three and cut
the deficit to 64-62.
With a minute remaining, Gandy
smoothly hit two free throws, and tied
the game at 64. Thirty seconds later,
Andrews stepped to the charity stripe
and downed both of her attempts, giv-
ing the Wolverines their first lead of the
second half.
After a Gauchos' timeout, the
Wolverines stuffed Santa Barbara on
their ensuing possession. After harness-
ing the rebound, Pool was fouled with
nine seconds remaining. Having not
scored since the first half, the Ann
Arbor native iced the game making
both free throws.
"We practice free throws everyday.in
practice," Pool said. "It was a big chal-
lenge, and I had to focus."
over aga in
Back in April, I jokingly asked
coach Lloyd Carr whether I
should book my flight to central
Florida then. He laughed. The joke, of
course, was that Michigan had managed
to find its way there every New Year's.
History, for Michigan football, has had a
way of repeating itself over my four
years here.
Saturday night, on the way back from
Columbus, it occurred to me that I would
like to get in a time machine and go back
to an hour before the Michigan-Ohio
State game. I'd like to have had a word
with Carr; to tell him what he could do
differently to alter the course of history.
But if there's one thing I've learned
from pop-cultural time travel, it is futile
to disrupt the space-time continuum.
Indeed, there is little I could have told
Carr about what to expect that would
have made much difference. I could
have told him to put nine men in the
box, and to over-commit to stopping
Maurice Clarett. That Craig Krenzel and
the Ohio State passing attack weren't
going to beat him, and that taking
Clarett out of the equation would mean a
complete collapse of the Buckeyes.
But truly, as successful as Clarett was
against the depleted Michigan front
seven, there was not much more that
could have been done. Clarett moved in
and out of holes with the grace and flu-
idity of an old seamstress,iutting and
accelerating better than any tailback I
have ever seen. He beat us, fair and
square, and putting 30 men in the box
probably wouldn't have contained him.
I could have told Lloyd to go for it on
4th-and-goal at the end of the magnifi-
cent second quarter drive that resulted in
Adam Finley's third field goal could
have told him that points were to be at a
premium in the second half, and that it
would have been worth his while to call
a fade to Braylon Edwards or a sweep to
Chris Perry or a short curl to Bennie
Joppru and go up 13-7 entering half-
time. The field goal, at the time, was
"
for Varsity
definitely the right call. But man. That's
what time machines are for.
I have had mixed feelings about
Michigan's offensive play calling this
season, but Saturday was probably the
best-called game by Carr and offensive
coordinator Terry Malone, save for a
miscommunication with one second left
in the game.
The first half was an absolute pleas-
ure to watch, as quarterback John
Navarre picked apart the middle of the
Ohio State defense and Perry ran as
intelligently as he ever has. Finley's field
goal proficiency was tremendous.
The thing of it is, this game was a
matter of predestination. Michigan foot-
ball was on a crash course with destiny
that has existed as long as I, a senior,
have been at this school. That destiny?
6-2 in the Big Ten. Central (or southern)
Florida. The SEC on NewYear's Day.
There was nothing to tell Carr
because there was nothing Michigan
could have done to escape its fate. You
don't want to mess with the space-time
continuum, and beating Ohio State on
Saturday would have altered the course
of history and bucked a predetermined
trend for Michigan football. It would
have given the team a 7-1 Big Ten
record and a strong possibility of play-
ing a non-SEC team in somewhere other
than Florida. It would have redefined
what is expected of the Wolverines.
There is no finger-pointing. Michigan
played as well as it could have, and I
have no complaints. The bottom line,
and the only thing that I could have said
to Carr an hour before kickoff, is this:
Michigan, over my four years here, is
only so good. There's nothing you can
do in theHorseshoe this afternoon that's
going to change that. And Lloyd: I'll see
you in central Florida. My ticket is
already bookk.
David Horn can be reached via email at
hornd@umich.edu.
"
Men surpnse the NCAA field in taking eighth
MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY TERRE HAUTE, IND.
By Chris Amos
For the Daily
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - On a deso-
late and windswept Indiana field, the
Michigan men's cross country team
made history yesterday, finishing
eighth, the team's highest ever place at
an NCAA Championship. The Wolver-
ines were led by sophomore Nate Bran-
nen and freshman Nick Willis, both of
whom earned All-America honors by
finishing among the race's top 30.
Brannen paced all Wolverines in
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30:20.4 to finish in 21st place while
New Zealand native Willis finished sec-
ond among Wolverines in 30:24.7, net-
ting a 22nd overall finish.
Senior Nick Stanko, junior Tom
Greenless and redshirt freshman Sean
Moore each turned in career-best per-
formances to round out the Wolverines'
top five. Greenless finished 103rd with
a time of 31:08.6. Stanko finished 120th
in a time of 31:18.1 and Moore finished
one place behind Stanko in 31:18.2.
Michigan Coach Ron Warhurst
expressed pleasure with the team's per-
formance.
"We were 19th going in and finished
eighth," Warhurst said. We ran very
well."
Warhurst was pleased by his top five
runners and lauded Stanko, Greenless
and Moore for running together through
the race's first 3,000 meters and encour-
aging each other to finish as highly as
they did. He also cited Brannen's
improvement, as the Canadian went
from 180th last year to 21st this year.
"We peaked at the right time and got
rested up. Both factors are very impor-
tant in cross country," Warhurst said.
Stanford soared to an NCAA
Championship with a low score of
47 points. Several teams that Michi-
gan faced in last week's regional
championships fared well at the
NCAAs. Wisconsin finished second
with 107 points and local nemesis
Eastern Michigan finished third
with 165. Central Michigan finished
in ninth place with 337 points.
"A lot of teams from our region
placed well," said Warhurst. "Teams
from our region captured seven of the
13 at-large bids. It shows that when you
run against top competition like we have
all season, it makes you prepared to do
well in races like this one."
Colorado's Jorge Torres edged
Arkansas' Alistair Cragg to win the
individual NCAA crown. Torres fin-
ished in 29:04.7; Cragg, in 29:06. Stan-
ford's Grant Robinson took third place
in 29:36.7. Eastern Michigan's Boaz
Cheboiwyo finished seventh in 29:46.
Warhurst said he looks forward to
next year.
"All nine guys (are) returning,"
Warhurst said. "Five redshirts will also
be back and we are expecting some
strong freshmen recruits. We will have
some very competitive practices, but
you need that to improve."
Ryan Gall, a freshman team mem-
ber unable to qualify for this year's
NCAAs, expressed his optimism
about next year.
"I came expecting guys that I had
read and looked up to all through high
school to put me in my place, but it was
just the opposite," Gall said. "Upper-
classmen have been very supportive,
and I look forward to working with
them to help us out next year."
Paradise lost; cagers
finish tourney at 0-3
By Nawed Sikora
Daily Sports Writer
Freshman Walters leads women
harriers to 15th place in NCAAs
WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY TERRE HAUTE, IND.
By Chris Amos
For the Daily
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Rebecca
Walters would have been unlikely to be
cast as a future collegiate heroine last fall
at Groves High School in Beverly Hills,
Mich. while running in relative obscurity.
"She wasn't even on the national
scene recruiting-wise last year during her
senior year of high school," said coach
Mike McGuire.
But her stalwart effort led the Michi-
gan women's cross country team to an
unexpectedly strong 15th place finish at
yesterday's NCAA Championships.
Walters finished in 51st place with a
time of 20:49.3 and was followed across
the finish line by junior teammate Lind-
sey Gallow in 21:22.4. Senior captain
FOOD FOR 'I lLGu'
HANOI JANE
Jane Martineau surpassed her lifetime
best by 25 seconds, to finish third among
the Wolverines with a time of21:22.7.
Coach Mike McGuire was especially
pleased with Walters' performance.
"She turned in one of our best per-
formances ever by a first-year freshman.
During the last 3,000 meters she passed
32 competitors while being overtaken
only once;' he said "That is both excep-
tional and rare."
McGuire explained that Walters' per-
formance was especially noteworthy
because she didn't have the high school
credentials of many of her competitors.
"She adapted very well to a college
level training regimen rand does a
great job of maintaining her compo-
sure during races," McGuire said. "As
a result, she was able to defeat many
young women who were far more
heavily recruited than she."
McGuire was equally pleased by the
team's overall performance.
"We weren't even ranked nationally
preseason, but won the Big Ten and fin-
ished second in our region and entered
this tournament ranked 15th nationally.
Our goal here was to hold our ranking
and we did," he said.
. McGuire said he expected his younger
runners to use today's race to hone the
mental toughness necessary to compete
at national level events featuring large
fields of talented athletes, saying that
mental toughness is a key indicator of
national success.
Walters seemed to echo McGuire,
saying that yesterday's race was especial-
ly difficult mentally.
"Some racers were falling down after
being elbowed or spiked by other run-
ners jockeying for position," she said, " I
had to hurdle one girl who fell in front of
me. I was tiring out near the end, but on
the final straightaway I got a burst and
ended on a good note."
Martineau said she was pleased to
end her collegiate career on such a
positive note.
"In past years, we had multiple All-
Americans, but this year we accom-
plished what we have because we
were as close as a group of girls can
Following Michigan's 65-53 loss to
Virginia Tech Sunday night in the sec-
ond round of the Paradise Jam Tourna-
ment, Michigan coach Tommy Amaker
had this to say about changing the los-
ing mindset of his team: "All of that is
a culture, and
as we contin- KANSAs STATE 82
ue to move
forward to try i MICHIGAN 71
and build our
program, it is a very difficult thing to
crack. So we have a losing culture right
now, and we have a chance to bounce
back with our game tomorrow night."
Unfortunately, for the Wolverines,
yesterday's fifth-place game against
Kansas State seemed more like a con-
tinuation of culture rather than a turning
point, as Michigan was defeated 82-71
to fall to 0-3.
It's the first time the Wolverines have
began a season 0-3 since the 1970-71
season, and only the fourth time in their
history they have opened with three
straight losses. Coupled with their first
two losses, Michigan was the only team
to go winless in the tournament.
Michigan's strong second-half per-
formance, in which it outscored the
Wildcats 48-41, was overshadowed by a
poor-shooting, turnover-ridden first
half. After shooting just 34 percent in
the first half to Kansas State's 53 per-
cent, Michigan found itself down by 18
going into the lockerroom.
Michigan was not able to control
Kansas State's offense, as the Wildcats'
went on two long first half scoring runs.
With the score knotted at seven and just
under eight minutes to play, the Wild-
cats went on a 14-5 run to take a nine-
point lead. Following a basket by
Michigan center Chris Hunter, Kansas
free throw line."
The one bright spot for Michigan
was freshman Daniel Horton. The
point guard came out firing in the
second half, going 5-for-8 from the
field and scoring a career high 17
points. Senior LaVell Blanchard
added 17, while Bernard Robinson
had 14 points.
Michigan sophomore guard Dom-
manic Ingerson did not travel with
the team due to concerns about
potential tendonitis in his Achilles
tendon. Michigan sorely missed his
shooting ability from behind the arc,
as the Wolverines went 18-55 (32.7
percent) from 3-point land for the
tournament.
Overall, Michigan's Paradise Jam
experience made it evident that the
Wolverines have a lot of room for
improvement. Although Michigan
managed to play well in spurts, such
as the second half last night, it failed
to put together 40 solid minutes. The
Wolverines were was also outre-
bounded in each of the three games
they played.
Michigan will return home to face
Western Michigan Saturday afternoon.
YESTERDAY'S GAME
MICHIGAN (71)
MIN M-A MA 0-T A F PTS
Robinson 34 6-12 0-0 1-4 5 4 14
Blanchard 32 6-15 3-4 3.7 0 5 17
Hunter 22 1-6 1-2 3.4 1 4 3
Abram 24 5-8 2-2 0-2 1 5 13
Horton 35 5-15 6-8 0-3 2 2 17
nueen 12 0-1 0-0 1-2 2 1 0
Harrell 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Groninger 13 1-2 0-0 1-1 0 2 3
Brown 17 1-5 2-5 2-4 0 2 4
Bailey 9 0-0 0-0 0.1 0 1 0
Totals 200 25.64 14-2115.331U126 71
FG%: .391. FT%: .667. 3-polnt FG: 7-20, .350
(Blanchard 2-4, Robinson 2-5, Horton 1-8, Abram 1-
Banchard). Steals: 7 (Horton 3,oblanchard 2n -
Robinson, Abram). Turnovers: 14 (Horton 4, Fobin-
son 3, Blanchard 2, Abram 1). Technical fouls:
none.
Kansas State (82)
FG~ FT REB
9