The Michigan Daily - Monday, February 7, 2005 - 3B
YESTERDAY'S GAME
Minnesota 76
Bolden
Broback
McCarville
Calhoun
Schonrock
Podominic
Roysland
Lacey
Alsdurf
TEAM
Totals
FG FT REB
MIN M-A M-A 0-T A F PTS
20 2-3 0-0 0-1 2 2 4
13 3-5 1-1 1-3 2 1 7
33 9-12 3-6 1-15 2 1 21
33 1-5 0-0 0-3 5 1 3
k32 1-2 2-2 0-1 3 2 5
k27 4-5 5-6 1-4 1 3 14
20 2-5 6-6 1-2 1 3 12
7 2-2 0-0 0-2 0 2 4
15 2-5 0-0 0-0 0 0 6.
1-2
20026-4417-21 5-33 1614 76
WHAT DID YOU SAY?
- Michigan sophomore
Kelly Helvey on driving
against Minnesota senior
Janel McCarville.
Minnesota
YESTERDAY'S SCORE
76
55
Blue and Ill
on different paths
Michigan
Foul
FG%: .591 FT%: .810 3-point FG: 7-14,
.500 (Roysland 2-2, Alsdurf 2-5, Calhoun
1-1, Podominick 1-1, Schonrock 1-2, Bold-
en 0-1, Broback 0-2). Blocks: 2 (McCa-
rville 2) Steals: 4 (Bolden 2, McCarville,
Podominick). Turnovers: 15 (Calhoun
3, Podominick 3, Bolden 2, Roysland 2,
Schonrock 2, Alsdurf, Broback, TEAM 1).
Technical fouls: None.
MICHIGAN 55
FG FT
MIN M-A M-A
Pool 35 8-15 0-0
Helvey 37 6-13 4-5
Walker 18 0-4 4-4
Clement 17 0-6 0-0
Cooper 30 1-4 2-2
Flippin 25 3-7 3-3
McPhilamy24 0-4 3-4
Starling 14 2-3 0-0
TEAM
Totals 200 20-5612-14
R EB
0-T A F PTS
2-5 0 3 16
0-5 1 1 16
1-1 1 5 0
0-0 1 3 0
1-2 0 0 4
0-2 5 1 11
2-3 0 1 3
0-0 1 3 5
3-5
9-23 917 55
FG%: .357 FT%: .857 3-point FG: 3-15,
.200 (Flipping 2-5, Starling 1-2, Helvey
0-1, Walker 0-1, Clement 0-3, Pool 0-3).
Blocks: 4 (Pool 3, Helvey). Steals: 6
(Helvey 2, Walker 2, McPhilamy, Star-
. ling). Turnovers: 12 (Walker 3, Flippin
2, Helvey 2, Pool 2, Clement, Starling,
TEAM 1). Technical fouls: None.
troubles
Walker
By Jack Herman
Daily Sports Writer
Midway through the second half of
Michigan's 76-55 loss to No. 14 Minne-
sota, Michigan freshman Ta'Shia Walker
received a pass on the baseline, made
a perfect drive and found herself wide
open for a layup.
She missed it.
This was typi-
cal of the entire day $O 0
for Walker, who $00
struggled to find her
game and did not
score a point.
"(Foul trouble) kind of limited how
aggressive she could be - took her out
of her game." Minnesota senior Janel
McCarville said. "She's a better player
than she played tonight."
Walker committed two fouls within
the first 12 minutes of the game, and
Michigan coach Cheryl Burnett sat her
on the bench for the rest of the half. The
problem persisted in the second half,
and she eventually fouled out with three
minutes remaining.
The foul trouble prevented Walker
from settling into the game. She missed
all six of her shots, including a wide-open
3-pointer from the top of the key.
"I don't want to necessarily say it took
me out of my game, because that's mak-
ing an excuse, but it didn't help," Walk-
er said. "I did not play above the foul
trouble, so, therefore, that was my fault.
Mentally, I just got to get tougher and go
out and play no matter what the circum-
stances are."
Burnett noted how Walker's difficul-
ties appeared to be just another obstacle
preventing the Wolverines from finally
putting together a complete game.
"It just seems like, in every
Minnesota..................33
Michigan:....................27
43 - 76
28 - 55
DAVID TUMAN/Daily
Freshman Ta'Shia Walker went scoreless in yesterday's 76-55 loss to Minnesota.
At: Crisder Arena
Attendance: 3,265
BIG TEN STANDINGS
Team
Ohio State
Penn State
b Michigan State
Minnesota
Purdue
Illinois
Iowa
Wisconsin
Northwestern
Indiana
Michigan
Bid Ten Overall
9'
9
9
8
6
5
4
3
2
2
1
1
2
2
2
5
6
6
7
9
10
22
14
20
18
13
13
15
9
5
9
5
2
8
3
4
9
8
6
11
18
12
17
game, we have somebody that doesn't get
to produce for us at a high level," Burnett
said. "For us to play with a Penn State or
a Minnesota, we've got to have all players
on all cylinders playing extremely well."
NoT-So SWEET REVENGE:: The last
time the Wolverines faced the Gold-
en Gophers, Michigan senior Tabitha
Pool saw her 18 game double-digit
scoring streak come to end. This
time, it looked like she was poised
to take control of the game after
10 first-half points, but her level of
performance did not continue in the
second half.
Pool came out of halftime just like she
ended the first frame. On the Wolver-
ines' second time down the court, Pool
drove by Minnesota junior Shannon
Bolden on her way to a layup. Two pos-
sessions later, Pool drove to the baseline
before pulling up for a jumper and buck-
eting her fourth point of the half. But the
shots stopped dropping, and Pool would
not score again until there were just 22
seconds left in the game.
Much of Pool's difficulty can be
attributed to improved defense by the
Golden Gophers in the second half.
Bolden - who shut Pool down in the
previous matchup - sat out much of
the first half due to foul trouble. After
Pool's initial scoring spurt to open the
second, Bolden clamped down defen-
sively and forced Pool to take some
poor shots. Burnett said that the extra
post player Minnesota ran at Pool when
the shot clock was winding down also
gave her trouble.
"We're just now understanding where
to get her the basketball," Burnett said.
"She's getting a lot of looks, but getting a
lot of attention from the competition.
NOTES: Michigan sophomore Kelly
Helvey netted 16 points, tying her
career-high ... Pool blocked three
shots, bringing her career total to 63
and moving her into sole possession
of 10th place all-time in Michigan's
record book. She is now just one block
shy of tying Penny Neer for ninth
place ... The Wolverines committed
just 12 turnovers, their second-lowest
total all season.
il and water ... Black and
white ... Night and day ...
Heaven and Hell ... Fox News
and an unbiased report ... a pre-bar
Pancheros
"El Gordo"
and a post-bar
Pancheros "El'
Gordo" ...,
Michigan and
Illinois.
Polar oppo-
sites come inG GENNARO
many different FILICE
forms. And The SportsMonday
when the top- Column
ranked Fighting
Illini come to
town tomorrow for their only scheduled
showdown with the Wolverines this sea-
son, Crisler Arena will host a contrast of
the most glaring degree.
Illinois enters the game as college
basketball's darling. The Illini boast
a perfect record, having rolled off 23
straight wins (including nine in Big
Ten play). They lead the conference in
everything but practicality of uniform
color: points per game, scoring margin,
field goal percentage, 3-point field goal
percentage, 3-point field goals made,
assists, turnover margin, assists/turnover
ratio and attendance. Arguably the best
group in America, their backcourt was
the subject of a five-page feature in last
week's Sports Illustrated. And their
coach, Bruce Weber, has emerged as a
front-runner to be this season's confer-
ence and national coach of the year.
Michigan enters the game as - at
least in recent weeks - college basket-
ball's laughing stock. The Wolverines
have lost six straight games (including
five by double digits). They lead the Big
Ten in turnovers. Arguably the thinnest
group in the Big Ten, their regular back-
court rotation features as many walk-ons
as scholarship players (three) and is the
subject of constant ridicule around Ann
Arbor. And their coach, Tommy Amak-
er, has emerged as a front-runner to be
next season's conference and national
coach on the hottest seat.
It wasn't always this way, though.
In fact, these teams were quite
comparable the last time that Illinois
made the trip to Ann Arbor, just two
years ago. Entering that March 1, 2003
game, the teams shared identical Big
Ten marks of 9-4 (tops in the confer-
ence with Wisconsin at the time).
Although each side boasted a dynamic
senior - Brian Cook for Illinois and
LaVell Blanchard for Michigan - the
promising, mature-beyond-their-years
underclassmen truly defined both teams.
Illinois started four underclassmen
- sophomore Roger Powell and fresh-
men Dee Brown, Deron Williams and
James Augustine - and brought sopho-
mores Luther Head and Nick Smith off
the bench. The Wolverines started the
freshmen trio of Daniel Horton, Lester
Abram and Graham Brown and played
freshmen Sharrod Harrell and Chris
Hunter.
The tightly played game thrilled all
13,507 in attendance from start to finish,
but Dee Brown - who was edged out
by Horton for the media and coaches
Big Ten Freshman of the Year awards
- hit a short jumper that ignited a 7-0
Illinois run in the game's final minute.
This 11th-hour rally gave the Illini an
82-79 win and snapped Michigan's 12-
game home winning streak. But in hind-
sight, the game seems to carry a much
bigger significance, as it sent the teams
in completely opposite directions.
Michigan went on to finish third in
the conference and suffered a season-
ending (the Wolverines were banned
from NCAA tournament play) first-
round loss to sixth-seeded Indiana at
the Big Ten Tournament. Last season,
Michigan struggled throughout confer-
ence play. While the Wolverines did get
it together and won the NIT, this sec-
ondary tournament's only real signifi-
cance lies in the belief that it primes the
winner for a subsequent breakthrough
season - obviously a myth in the eyes
of Michigan faithful as the 2004-05
campaign winds down.
After its win in Ann Arbor, Illinois
finished second in the conference
behind Wisconsin but won the Big Ten
Tournament and gutted out a win in the
NCAA tourney. Last season, Illinois
took the Big Ten's regular-season title
and made it to the Sweet Sixteen before
losing to Duke - an eventual Final
Four squad. And this season, the Illini
have obviously taken a Yao Ming-sized
step forward.
So while Orange Krush members
eagerly anticipate packing their bags for
St. Louis in late March, Maize Ragers
consider possible coaches to supplant
Tommy (I've heard people mention
everyone from Rudy Tomjanovich to
Bobby Knight) and mull over which
group of five Michigan football players
could beat the Wolverines' current start-
ing lineup.
I'm not foaming at the mouth, calling
for a Braylon Edwards-Gabe Watson
pick-and-roll. And I'm wasting my
time trying to analyze why Michigan
has completely diverged from Illinois,
because my editor only gives me so
much space.
I just long for the days when Illinois
needed seven unanswered points in
the game's waning seconds to steal a
win from a competitive Michigan team
- days that existed just two years ago.
Gennaro Filice would give his left baby
toe for Bruce Weber to don his bright
orange suit coat tomorrow. He can be
reached at gfilice@umich.edu.
THIS WEEKEND'S RESULTS:
Minnesota 76, MICHIGAN 55
PURDUE 50, Penn State 44
MICHIGAN STATE 68, Illinois 59
OHIO STATE 78, Indiana 59
Wisconsin 88, IowA 78
THURSDAY'S GAMES
! Michigan at Ohio State
Michigan St. at Minnesota
Illinois at Wisconsin
Indiana at Penn State
Iowa at Northwestern
YESTERDAY'S GAMES
Michigan State at Wisconsin
Indiana at Northwestern
Penn State at Illinois
Ohio State at Iowa
Purdue at Minnesota
7 p.m.
7 p.m.
7 p.m.
7 p.m.
7:05 p.m.
1:30 p.m
2 p.m.
2 p.m.
2:05 p.m.
4 p.m.
KEY STAT
75
Minnesota's shooting percent-
age on its way to 43 second-half
points. Minnesota's pressure
defense led to seven second-
half turnovers for Michigan.
The easy looks helped pad the
Gophers field goal percentage.
GOPHERS
Continued from page 1B
well, and a post player that passes the ball so well; it's very hard
to get any help from anywhere," Michigan coach Cheryl Burnett
said of the Gophers (8-2 Big Ten, 17-4 overall). "Janel just does
a great job of keeping a defender on her back, rooting them right
underneath the rim and really getting some very easy looks."
But McCarville controlled the game with more than just her
offense. Ten minutes into the second half, McCarville sent a no-
look bounce pass to forward Jamie Broback along the baseline.
Broback sank the layup to give Minnesota an 18-point lead, its
largest of the game to that point. McCarville finished with just
two assists - two fewer than her season average. But the senior
had 15 rebounds, including 14 off the defensive glass - the same
number of defensive rebounds as the entire Michigan squad.
"It's scary," sophomore Kelly Helvey said of driving into the
lane against McCarville. "You kind of just want to pass it out.
You never know what she's going to do."
In addition to intimidating Michigan's guards, the 6-foot-2
center shut down forward Ta'Shia Walker, the Wolverines' sec-
ond-leading scorer. The much larger McCarville forced Walker
into early foul trouble and held her scoreless for 18 minutes.
Walker came into the game averaging 13.1 points.
Michigan appeared to catch a break when Broback got hurt
five minutes into the first half. Pool drove to the basket and
knocked down Broback, who held her leg and writhed in obvi-
ous pain. In her absence, Minnesota center Liz Podominick
came off the bench and contributed 14 points. Broback returned
to the floor later in the half.
"I think a great thing about our team is, when we're facing a
little adversity out there on the floor, that we have other people
that really stepped up," Minnesota coach Pam Borton said.
"That's what happened in the first half, and that carried over into
the second half."
Michigan (1-10, 5-17) gave up six straight points to start the
game before Helvey hit a layup off an inbounds pass from Flip-
pin. That ignited a 10-2 run, giving the Wolverines their only
lead of the game.
Helvey notched half of her 16 points in the first frame to keep
the score close early. But after the Gophers built a 26-16 advan-
tage with just over five minutes remaining in the half, it was Pool
who almost single-handedly brought the Wolverines back into
the game. In a 50-second stretch, Pool scored three consecutive
baskets to pull Michigan within four.
Pool finished the half with 10 points and three rebounds but
added just six points and two boards in the second half. Her
largely quiet second-half performance reflected Michigan's ten-
dency to fade as games progress, a trend that continues to puzzle
the Wolverines.
"It's a mental thing," Flippin said. "We have one turnover, and
we want to stop it right then and not have two or three in a row."
Said Helvey: "It's a question we talk about everyday. We can't
find out what it is we're not doing. We have to bring to the table
what we brought in the first half, and it's kind of hard for some
people to do that."
RYAN WEINER/Daily
Maize Ragers are looking for Michigan to snap its six-game losing streak. But the
Illini head to Crisler Arena leading the Big Ten in most statistical categories.
Road woes sink inconsistent 'M'
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5 By Daniel Levy
Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan women's tennis team.
coasted by Maryland, 6-1, on Saturday
in its neutral-site match in Columbia,
S.C. The win improved the Wolverines'
record to 3-3 and helped salvage a disap-
pointing weekend. Having been upset by
South Carolina, 4-3, on Friday, the No. 21
Wolverines needed to shake off the loss
and get back on the winning track.
Despite getting the victory over Mary-
land, Michigan's play was far from
impressive. Four of its five singles players
needed three sets to beat an overmatched
Maryland squad.
Michigan senior co-captain Michelle
DaCosta got off to a slow start and
dropped the first set to junior Ramona.
But DaCosta came back to win, 1-6, 6-4,
7-5, at No. 1 singles. Sophomore Eliza-
beth Exon, senior co-captain Leanne
Rutherford and junior Nina Yaftali also
were pushed to the limits in their wins at
No. 2, 4 and 5 singles, respectively. Soph-
omore Kara Delicata took a straight-set
singles victory, and, earlier, the Wolver-
ines took the team doubles point.
then DaCosta stormed past South Car-
olina's Christyn Lucas, 6-2, 6-1, to give
Michigan a 2-0 lead.
But South Carolina fought back and
the lead vanished. Exon, Delicata and
Rutherford fell at No. 2, 3 and 4 singles
respectively, and South Carolina had a 3-
2 lead that left Michigan clinging to life.
The match rested on the racket of
Yaftali and the outcome of the No. 5 sin-
gles match. South Carolina's Fallon Koon
took the first set, 6-4.
Yaftali fought back to take the second
set but found herself in a seemingly insur-
mountable hole - down 5-1 in the final
set. Reaching for all she had left, Yaftali
came back to win the third set in a tie-
breaker and even the dual match, 3-3.
The match hinged on freshman Allie
Shafner at No. 6 singles. Shafner fought
hard to force a third set, but she ultimate-
ly fell to Maryland's Justine Walsh, 7-5,
3-6, 6-4.
"We have a tough nonconference
schedule," Delicata said. "We are play-
ing a lot of quality teams so we expect the
matches to be close. We just have to focus
on getting the job done every match."
Michigan's tough loss to South Caro-
-:,, ,., I., -t~t. .,, >.o.li.r;..
and got pummeled, 7-0. Michigan knows
it will have to improve away from home if
it is to be competitive in the Big Ten and
nationally this year.
While technically a neutral-site match
and not a road match, Michigan can take
its win over Maryland as the first step to
better results away from Ann Arbor.
"The key (to winning on the road) is to
take the double point early," Delicata said.
"Then, we need to use that momentum
and hang in the tough individual battles."
Two bright spots for the Wolverines
during the weekend were the play of
DaCosta and Exon. DaCosta won her
singles and doubles matches against both
teams, while Exon recorded her first sin-
gles victory in dual match play in 2005.
The Wolverines will look to step up
their road play as they head to Knoxville
to take on the Tennessee Volunteers on
Feb. 13.
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