February 4,2005 sports. michigandaily.com sports@michigandaily.com SPORTS 8 Second-half slump sinks Wolverines Blue losses follow predictable pattern 0I By Matt Venegoni Daily Sports Writer College basketball is a 40-minute game. Unfortunately for the Michigan wom- en's basketball team, it still cannot string together a full game against a formida- 'S ble opponent. Last MICmiGAN 61 night's 76-61 loss to No. 23 Penn State showed that Michigan is halfway to being able to keep up with some of the best in the Big Ten, after leading at halftime 28-25. "We just have to put two halves togeth- er," Michigan coach Cheryl Burnett said. Two minutes into the second half, senior forward Tabitha Pool took an elbow to the head from Penn State sophomore Amanda Brown. It turned out to be a bad omen for the Wolverines. Penn State went on a 21-6 run, taking control of the game and never looking back. Michigan bottled up senior Tanisha Wright in the first half, but the 5-10 guard netted 17 points in the second frame to fin- ish with 19. During a key 19-4 run, Wright scored 9 points. Penn State's veteran team put pressure on Michigan (1-9 Big Ten, 5-16 overall) throughout the second half. Almost every time the Wolverines brought the ball up the floor, a Lady Lion was in the face of the Michigan ballhandler. Penn State's 1-3-1 zone forced many problems for Michigan, causing six of Michigan's eight second-half turnovers during the 21-6 run. Those turnovers led to layups that pad- ded the Penn State lead. "They changed defenses a lot," Burnett said. 'It was enough to keep us off guard. They run a half-court 1-3-1 zone. We had three wonderful possessions, but then we would have some not so great possessions. Our turnovers made a big difference for them and gave them some easy shots." After the fateful elbow incident, Penn State tied the score at 31-31 on a fall- ing layup from senior Jess Strom. With the Michigan defense concentrating on Wright, Strom took advantage of the extra space on her way to 29 points, tying her career-high. While Wright struggled in the first half, Strom carried the Lady Lions, dropping 10 points. "We played one great half of basket- ball," Michigan Cheryl Burnett said. "We did a great job of taking away their No. 1 option, Tanisha Wright. It was great team defense." Michigan's first half included a 16-7 run to take the lead going into halftime. Pool led Michigan with 22 points, including eight in the second half while helping keep Penn State on its heels. "Our first two shots were 3-pointers, which is not our game," Penn State coach Rene Portland said. "We are a team that likes to penetrate." Michigan held Wright to just 1-for-8 shooting by forcing her to take some PETER SCHOTTENFELS/I Freshman Krista Clement scored three points in last night's 76-61 Michigan loss. ill-advised shots. At times, the Wolver- ines would rotate up to three players to defend Wright. "They did a nice job of clogging up the paint (against) Wright," Portland said. "We knew we were going to be in for a dogfight." With Penn State's best player struggling, freshman forward Ta'Shia Walker spurred the Michigan effort on both ends of the floor, finishing with 10 points in the first half and 14 for the game. But, once again, Michigan could not maintain its inten- sity in the second half. Once Wright and Strom both got on track, the Wolverines fell behind and could not get within eight. The veteran duo for the Lady Lions never lost confidence - they knew it would just be a matter of time before their shots would fall. "We went into halftime and said 'our shots aren't falling,' Strom said. "But we said that we knew they would start," Even though the Wolverines suffered yet another loss, they do not feel like they are far from breaking through. "We're right at the edge," Walker said. "We just need to find that niche to win. If we can break that little barrier, we will be fine." Shorthanded Icers looking for revenge By Jake Rosenwasser Daily Sports Writer When Michigan and archrival Michigan State meet this weekend, it will be the second-straight time that Michigan will be playing its intrastate opponent shorthanded. Last time the two teams met - on Dec. 30 in the Great Lakes Invitational final - Michigan was without five play- ers, who were representing the United States in the World Junior Championships. This time, the No. 5 Wolverines (17-3-0 CCHA, 20-7-1 overall) will be shorthanded because of illness and injury. Michigan will take the ice for a two-game series against the Spartans (8-9-1, 13-11-2) without regulars Mike Brown and David Rohlfs - who are sidelined indefinitely due to mononucleosis. The Wolverines will also be without senior forward Jason Ryznar, who broke his finger in last Saturday's win against Northern Michigan. Seniors Charlie Henderson, Michael Woodford and Reilly Olson will play in their place. "I don't think you really need a full line- up," sophomore defenseman Matt Hunwick said. "It's all about determination, playing hard and just having that will to compete." These games will be the teams' fourth and fifth meetings between the intrastate rivals THIS W Michig NMichiga 7:35 p.m.' 7:30 p.m.' Yost IceA Louis game to attend because of the large, divided crowd and because of the inevitable importance in the CCHA race for one or both teams. "It has been a big crowd game," Michigan coach Red Berenson said. "And it always seems to be a meaningful game too. It's a crunch-time game for both teams." Its importance to the Wolverines is obvious. With a split against Northern Michigan last weekend and with Ohio State's sweep of EEKEND Western Michigan, Michigan's lead in the CCHA dwindled to three points. gan vS. Michigan State is hovering in the mid- an State dle of conference standings and.is playing Tonight, for home-ice advantage in the first round Tomorrow of the CCHA tournament. Arena/Joe "The rivalry is always gonna be there," Arena Hunwick said. "No matter if they're in first and we're in last or the opposite. It's still going to be an intense weekend." C-YA NEWs: Last night, executive Associate Ath- letic Director Michael Stevenson met, for the second time, with student season-ticket holders to discuss the controversy surrounding the C-YA cheer. Stevenson made clear that he wants to eradicate a few of the words he finds inappropriate and not the entire cheer. About 50 student season-ticket holders out of more than 1,000 came to discuss the issue over pizza. The athletic department also announced the creation of a contest for a 2005 Michigan hockey T-shirt contest. The contest would be similar to Michigan football's. The athletic department hopes to put the words to a new, revised C-YA cheer on the back of the T-shirt. The athletic department also rewarded those who came to the meeting by giving them a tour of the Michigan hockey locker room. STEPHANIE WRIGHT Wright on Target or a game with such a surprising start, the ending was all too pre- dictable. It has been a common theme for Michigan in conference play - keep the game close for part of the first half and then watch the other team not only come back but win by a large margin. It happened against then-No. 5 Ohio State on Jan. 11, when a 19-17 lead after 13 minutes turned into a 28-point Buck- eyes' victory. It happened against North- western and then-No. 20 Purdue. The only game in which the Wolverines were never competitive was their 24-point loss to No. 12 Minnesota two weeks ago. But as seemingly inevitable as that script has been, I have to admit I was shocked by how long the Wolverines kept it close against Penn State. The Lady Lions are the defending Big Ten cham- pions and led by seniors Tanisha Wright and Jess Strom - two reliable all-around players who know what it takes to win in almost any situation. I thought it would be a blowout by the first media timeout. But 10 minutes into the first half, Michigan was leading by one. And the most surprising scene was just around the corner. The Lady Lions exploded for a 12-2 run, and it looked like the Wolver- ines were going to step back and let No. 23 Penn State take over. Instead, Michigan fought back, refus- ing to back down, and playing with resolve and nearly flawless execution that was unlike anything it has shown all season. Janelle Cooper drove into the lane but missed a layup. Rather than be discour- aged, Cooper got back into position, grabbed the rebound and wouldn't stop fighting for it until she and Penn State's Jennifer Harris were on the floor. A few plays later, as the shot clock ticked down, Krista Clement caught the ball and forced an off-balance shot. When it didn't go in, Tabitha Pool was right there to nab the board and sink the put-back. Perhaps the best performance came from Ta'Shia Walker, who had struggled in recent games. Last night, she played with confidence and poise that enabled her to exploit Penn State frontcourt for 16 points. Her final basket of the half gave Michigan a 28-25 lead going into halftime. But that's when inevitability set in. As well as the Wolverines executed in the first half, Penn State played that much better in the second. Strom understood how to motivate and refocus her team- mates. She said she knew their shots would start to fall eventually. So she continued to set up plays for Wright, who made pretty passes underneath the basket and fought to score on every possession. Penn State made plays when it needed to make them. Michigan wasn't out- worked; it was simply outplayed. "There were some beautiful posses- sions," Michigan coach Cheryl Burnett said. "There just weren't enough of them." Last night, the Wolverines displayed the occasional flash of promise that keep me optimistic about their future. Even with their collapse in the second half, it was still the best game I have seen them play all year. I think Penn State is one of the most underrated teams in the nation - and Michigan was beating them at the half. But the reality of the present is that the Wolverines will struggle to win another game this season. Three of Michigan's final six opponents - Minnesota, Ohio State and Michigan State - are ranked among the top-15 in the nation, and two of those games are on the road. The Wol- verines have already played all six teams remaining on their schedule - and lost each time. Michigan is 5-16. Sometimes this team outperforms its record, like during its 14-2 run to close out the first half. But overall, I believe the Wolverines - like most teams - are only as good as their record indicates. There's a reason why they have lost 16 games. Those flashes of promise are too few and far between to argue that Michigan is better than its last- place standing in the Big Ten. Penn State proved last night that truly good teams find a way to win; Michigan seems to lose even when it plays well. That doesn't mean the Wolverines' season is lost just yet. No one - myself included - expected anything from this team when it suited up for its first game three months ago. Seven freshmen? Just one returning starter? You would have been crazy to think Michigan could hang with the much older and more experi- enced Lady Lions for even part of a game. But that's what the Wolverines did. Michigan should no longer measure its success by wins. Those pie-in-the-sky dreams of making the NCAA tourna- ment returned to the ground with a resounding thud weeks ago. Clearly, that fantasy will not become reality - at least not this year. But if the Wolverines can continue to play hard and work even harder, they will gain experience that is far more valuable than any of their five wins. I'm not imply- ing that Burnett should look to the future entirely; she won't help her young team improve by sitting Pool so the freshmen can play more. Michigan should still do everything possible to win a game if it can. But even if the Wolverines finish their season with six-straight losses, a little progress in each game could mean a few more surprises - and wins - next year. For this team at this point in the sea- son, predictable improvement would be more important than surprising wins. Stephanie Wright can be reached at smwr@umich.edu. this season. In November, Michigan swept the Spartans in a home-in-home series. The Wolverines beat the Spartans 4-2 at Munn Ice Arena and 5-4 at home in Yost Ice Arena. But the Spartans got their revenge in the GLI, with a 2-1 overtime win in the final. Ryznar's injury may have come at the worst possible time. In his three years at Michigan, Ryznar has been most successful against the Spartans. In Ryznar's first ever game for Michigan - the Cold War at Michigan State's Spartan Stadium in 2001 - Ryznar tallied a goal and two assists. This season, Ryznar- who is known as a defensive for- ward - tallied two assists in Michigan's November sweep over the Spartans. Today's game will be played at Yost and tomorrow's game will be in Detroit at Joe Louis Arena. The annual Joe Louis game between the two teams has become a fun JOEL FRIEDMAN/Daily Sophomore David Rohlfs won't be In action this weekend against Michigan State. T-SHIR T COlNTEST The Michigan Athletic Department announced its third annual football T-shirt design contest. Currently enrolled Michigan students are invited to submit original four-color designs for the front and back of a short-sleeved T-shirt. The winning design will be chosen by a panel of students and athletic department and Univer- sity officials. The winner will receive two football season tickets and the opportu- nity to hold the 'Go Blue' banner during the Wolverines' home opener on Sept. 3 against Northern Illinois. An entry form and more information can be found at MGoBlue.cFm. Entries will be accepted from now until Feb. 18 at 5 p.m. aMEN' s BASKETBALL Against Buckeyes, 'M' aims to end skid By Josh Holman Daily Sports Editor After Wednesday's 71-54 home loss to Minnesota, the Wolverines (3- on the season. "When you're going through a funk or in a slide as we are, you try to change things," Michigan coach Tommy Amaker said. 5 Big Ten, 12-10 overall) might be running out of options. During the course of this current five-game losing streak, Michigan coach Tommy Amaker has tried a variety of lineups and person- nel changes in order to find some sort of spark. Three different starting TOMORROW Michigan at Ohio State 12:17 p.m. Value City Arena ESPN-Plus But each time he's initiated some kind of change, Michigan's per- formance has just gotten worse. What began as a 62-53 loss at Indiana on Jan. 19 - a relatively close game until the final moments - trans- formed into blowout losses to what many considered two of the weaker teams in Purdue deal with another middle-of-the- pack team this weekend at Ohio State (4-4, 15-7). If Michigan wants to prevent itself from becoming a bottom-feeder in the Big Ten, it will need more help from two of its biggest contributors. Sophomores Dion Harris and Courtney Sims - Michigan's second and fourth leading scorers, respective- ly - were held scoreless in Wednes- day's game. With junior Lester Abram already out for the season with a shoul- der injury, and junior Daniel Horton suspended from the team indefinitely after being arraigned on domestic violence charges, the Wolverines basi- cally played without four of its biggest scoring threats. "(Harris and Sims) are very impor- lineups have taken the floor in those fives games. Amaker has already used a total of 14 different starting lineups Big Ten's tant to this team right now," junior tri- captain Sherrod Harrell said. "They're both in a slump right now, and we as teammates have to fight with them." Sims has fallen on especially hard times during the slump. He is averag- ing just 6.8 points and 21.6 minutes per game during the losing streak, forcing Amaker to look elsewhere on the roster for big men. "Courtney's not playing very well right now," Amaker said. "When you have some more bodies to rotate through there with Courtney, Brent (Petway), Graham (Brown) and Chris (Hunter), you're going to go with guys in an emergency moment. You don't have a lot of time to decide things." While Michigan is suffering from a case of underachievement, Ohio State has quietly overachieved. First-year coach Thad Motta has the team in the thick of things after most people gave up on the Buckeyes when they announced self-imposed sanctions that would prevent them from any postseason play this season. Three players - led by junior cen- ter Terrence Dials, who is averaging 15.2 points per game and 8.3 rebounds per game - average more than 10 points for game for Ohio State. But even without two of their top *<.