Friday
December 1, 2004
sports. michigandaily.com
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PORTS
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Montoya, Sigalet
square off on ice
Frosh Clement,
a senior leader
By Jake Rosenwasser
Daily Sports Writer
Michigan scored 14 times in last
weekend's series against Notre Dame,
but goals will undoubtedly be harder to
come by this weekend against Bowling
Green.
Michigan (9-1-0 CCHA, 11-4-1 over-
all) will face stellar senior goalie Jordan
Sigalet in a home-and-home series this
weekend. The Wolverines will square off
tonight at Yost Ice Arena and finish the
series tomorrow at BGSU
Ice Arena.
Sigalet - a major
Canadian recruit before Mi.
he arrived on Bowling
Green's campus as a fresh- T 7:
man - has had three good
years at the Brown and
Orange prior to this sea- B
son. But he saved his fin- _
est play for this season, his
final one.
Thus far, Sigalet has won eight games
while dropping three and tying two. His
.927 save percentage has kept the Falcons
in many low-scoring contests, and he has
helped Bowling Green (5-3-2, 8-4-2) to
a surprising fourth-place standing in the
CCHA.
"Obviously he's been able to make big
saves," Michigan coach Red Berenson
said. "And he's been able to make a lot of
saves. They have confidence in him like
we have confidence in (Montoya). Sigalet
can make a difference in a game."
Last season, Michigan had Sigalet's
number. The Wolverines scored 12 goals
at Yost Ice Arena in a two-game sweep
of the Falcons. But Berenson knows that
scoring will probably not be as easy this
time around. Still, he has tried not to
g
g::
a
emphasize in practice the challenge the
Wolverines forwards will face.
"We don't talk about the other team's
goalie," Berenson said. "Sometimes the
more you know, the more you tend to
over-think, overpass and take too long
to shoot. We're going to try and play our
game."
Michigan senior David Moss plans on
playing without thinking about who will
be guarding Bowling Green's net.
"I don't think you change your mindset
with him back there," Moss said. "He's a
big part of their team, and
he's one of the reasons why
~EXEN they're doing so well. But
I'm going to approach it
like any other game."
Berenson is quick to
point out that every goalie
in the CCHA provides a
challenge for his talented
forwards.
"(Sigalet) is like all goal-
ies in this league," Beren-
son said. "He's going to stop that first
shot nine out of ten times - that's why
they all have a save percentage over .900.
We're not going to (find) a major weak-
ness in his game because, if he had one,
we would have found it two years ago."
Sigalet's counterpart at Michigan,
Montoya, knows Sigalet well because he
trained with him this summer. Montoya
has been impressed with the way Sigalet
has helped to turn around the Falcons
program. But once the game starts, Mon-
toya will not worry about who is staring
across the ice from in between the pipes.
"(It's not between us). It's Michigan
versus Bowling Green," Montoya said.
Montoya will be without one of his
regular defenseman. Yesterday in prac-
tice, senior Eric Werner tweaked his
By Jack Herman
Daily Sports Writer
Although the Michigan women's bas-
ketball team lost 69-60 to Eastern Mich-
igan on Wednesday, freshman Krista
Clement had a very special night.
Was it her four assists, which lead the
team?
Was it her 12 points, a new career
high?
Was it her outstanding 3-point shoot-
ing, as she put in four
from long range, includ- _
ing one spectacular shot S
from well beyond "NBA"
range?
Actually, it was none
of these - but rather a
very special fan in the
stands: her sister, who
had just returned to the
United States after an extended stay in
New Zealand.
"She's been (in New Zealand) for a
long time, and I haveh't seen her," Clem-
ent said. "We're a very close family, so
that was great to play in front of her like
I did in high school."
Yet, despite her sister's homecom-
ing and her own individual accom-
plishments, Clement's comments
described what makes her a truly
invaluable member of the Michigan
women's basketball team. Always a
team player first and foremost, Clem-
ent cares most about making sure her
team succeeds.
"I would rather have the 'W'," she
said immediately following the loss.
Stats do not tell the whole story for
Clement - who is averaging 5.4 points
and three assists per game this season.
The intangibles that she brings to the
Wolverines are what make her a great
player.
"She's such an incredible leader and
such an incredible competitor." Michi-
gan coach Cheryl Burnett said.
Clement came to Michigan as a high-
ly touted prospect from St. Ignace in the
Upper Peninsula. After being named
an all-state player her sophomore and
junior years, Clement received the titles
A
of Michigan Ms. Basketball and Detroit
Athletic Club High School Athlete of
the Year last season.
Although her current production
is a significant drop from her high
school averages last year - 24 points
and 7.4 assists per game - Clement
has shown great progress since the
start of the season. She turned the ball
over five times in the team's first game
against Alabama, but, since then,
she has not had more than three in a
game. She has even had
two games where she did
not commit a turnover.
Clement's shooting has
improved dramatically,
as well. She was shoot-
ing just 28 percent from
>ena the field before her 4-for-
7 showing on Wednesday
night. Burnett hopes that
after this performance the Wolverines
will get to see more of the offensive
player Clement can be.
"We got to see some of her range
offensively, and, again, we just want to
build confidence," Burnett said. "I think
she's special in a lot of ways, and I hope
that you can see it."
Clement brings her desire to succeed
to every activity she participates in. She
holds LaSalle High School records in
three different track events in the one-
mile, two-mile and 800-meter runs and
also lettered in volleyball.
She takes her passion outside of the
gym as well, excelling in the class-
room. At LaSalle, Clement was class
valedictorian and a member of the
National Honor Society. Like Bur=
nett, Clement's fellow high school
classmates recognized her leadership
abilities, electing her student council
president her senior year.
The greatest compliment for Clemr
ent's immediate impact as a leader fof
the team can be seen when Burnett
mentions her in the same breath as
senior captain and the most experienced
Wolverine, Tabitha Pool.
"(Clement) and (Pool) are keeping
our team very focused and directed all
the way down to 0:00," Burnett said.
MIKE HULSEBUS/Daily
Goalies Al Montoya and Jordan Sigalet will face off this weekend.
knee when he collided with freshman
Chad Kolarik. According to Berenson,
Werner will be out of action for about
three weeks. Defensemen Reilly Olson
and Tim Cook will fill in for the offen-
sive-minded defenseman.
The Wolverines are looking to finish
out the first half of their season on a posi-
tive note.
"We want to set the tone for the second
half of the season because that's when it
really counts," senior Jason Ryznar said.
N PRO BASKETBALL
NBA players testify in grievance hearing
ALEXANUER VLIAUUbL/Vaily
Michigan freshman Krista Clement has averaged 5.4 points per game this season.
NEW YORK (AP) - Ron Artest
took the witness stand and described,
in his words, one of the worst brawls
in NBA history. Teammates Stephen
Jackson, Jermaine O'Neal and Antho-
ny Johnson did the same, and a union
attorney and one of O'Neal's body-
guards also testified.
It went on for six hours, with none of
the witnesses being cross-examined by
anyone from the league office.
One of the strangest grievance
hearings in NBA history unfolded
yesterday at a Manhattan law office
just three blocks away from league
headquarters, with arbitrator Roger
Kaplan hearing arguments on the
brawl-related suspensions issued by
Snmmiocinnr Dnvid Stern.
reduction in each of the suspensions,
though union officials would not
specify what alternative penalties
they suggested.
Kaplan indicated he would not issue
a ruling for at least a week.
Stern, citing a clause in the collec-
tive bargaining agreement giving him
authority to impose discipline for on-
court behavior, suspended Artest for
the remainder of the season, Jackson
for 30 games, O'Neal for 25 games and
Johnson for five - penalties the union
contends were excessive.
Each of the players testified for at
least a half-hour, and union attorneys
submitted three lines of argument on
the issue of jurisdiction, challenging
the league's nosition that the nlavers'
said. "That has nothing to do with the
game itself. That's kind of an off-the-
court thing, because on the court actu-
ally means flow, the basketball game,
the rules and regulations that con-
trol the tempo and how the game is
played."
The arbitrator also reviewed video-
tape of the entire 12-minute brawl, in
which Artest sprinted into the stands
and confronted a fan he believed had
thrown a drink at him. Jackson also
went into the stands and exchanged
punches with fans, while O'Neal and
Johnson punched fans who came onto
the court.
"When you look at it all together, you
see the bigger picture," union attorney
Jeffrev Kessler said. "You can see the
ance before an arbitrator who has no
authority to intervene.
That lawsuit remains pending, with
the league having decided earlier this
week not to seek a temporary restrain-
ing order that might have prevented
yesterday's hearing from going for-
ward.
Kaplan said he would try to issue
a ruling before the latter part of next
week, though he cautioned that might
not be possible.
HORTON
Continued from Page 1
Freshman Ron Coleman continues
to improve with a recent boost in
playing time. Coleman shot 3-for-22
during Michigan's first six games,
yet has shot 6-for-8 in the past two.
His ten first half points against the
Irish were critical in Michigan's
victory.
"I'm feeling really comfortable
with my shot," Coleman said after
the game against High Point. "Just
letting it go. It makes me feel com-
fortable to take it when I am open,
and I do. And it's starting to fall."
With the losses of Horton and
Abram - Michigan's two most
prolific scorers - the bulk of the
offensive weight will rest on sopho-
more guard Dion Harris, who shot
3-for-13 against High Point. Har-
ris will likely be the lone player to
start tomorrow against the Bulls
who began the season in the start-
ing lineup.
"Coach explained to us that it's
time to show everybody that we are
a team," Coleman said.
Michigan and South Florida will tip
off at noon tomorrow at Crisler Arena.
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