Wednesday
December 7, 2005
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01
Helvey explodes
for 30 in victory
Public coaches'
polls make forfun
By Ian Robinson
Daily Sports Writer
Back-to-back.
Last night with a 77-59 win over Uni-
versity of Maryland Eastern Shore (1-3)
at Crisler Arena, the Michigan women's
basketball team put together consecu-
tive wins for the _MES _ 59_
first time since
last November.
The Wolverines (4-4) held the advan-
tage from the opening possession, when
sophomore Krista Clement found for-
ward Kelly Helvey in the right corner
for an open three - the first basket of
her career-high 30 points. The junior put
together her second consecutive double-
double, grabbing 11 rebounds as well.
"We knew we needed to get a good
start," Michigan coach Cheryl Burnett.
"I was proud of our team's execution
against the zone early."
Helvey set up Michigan's next hoop
on the ensuing possession. After snag-
ging a rebound, she pushed the ball up
the court and saw sophomore Ta'Shia
Walker streaking up the right sideline.
Helvey launched a pass to Walker, who
put in a lay-up to help the Wolverines
with a 16-2 run to open the game.
UMES sophomore Kristi Velt-
kamp - a Michigan native who was
recruited by Burnett - responded by
scoring 14 of the Lady Hawks' first
16 points, trimming the Michigan
lead to 23-18.
Including a stretch where they scored
five 3-pointers in just over a minute,
the teams traded baskets for the next
six minutes.
Over the course of the first half, both
squads relied heavily upon the long-
distance shot. Each team went 7-for-10
from 3-point land.
Michigan freshman Carly Benson fin-
ished that run of 3-pointers with a bomb
from the top of the key as part of the Wol-
verines' streak of eight straight points.
Clement - who finished the game with
a career-high nine assists - fed Benson
on all three field goals. Benson posted a
career-high 15 points.
UMES cut the lead to 45-41 at the
break with a 10-2 run that included two
baskets from well beyond the arc by the
Lady Hawks Tori Kennedy.
"I told the team, 'She's a 3-pointer
waiting to happen,' " Burnett said.
Four Michigan scorers recorded dou-
ble-digit points in the first half, combin-
ing for the team's second-highest first
half total this season.
Even though the first half was dictat-
ed by 3-point shots, the defense buckled
down in the second frame.
"At halftime, we said that we need to
get down on defense and stop the other
team from scoring," Michigan sopho-
more Janelle Cooper said.
After the Lady Hawks shot 48 per-
cent in the first half, the Wolverines
allowed them to shoot just 16 percent in
the second.
Michigan held Veltkamp - who
scored 15 points in the first half - score-
less in the second half by preventing her
See UMES, page 12
CAITLIN KLEIBOER/Daily
Junior Kelly Helvey, usually a defensive star, dominated on offense last night.
ver wonder where L
ranks Michigan whe
out his ballot for the U
coaches' poll? Or for that m
high - or low - any of th
coaches who participate
in the poll place their own
team?
Thanks to an unprec-
edented display of forth-
rightness on the part of
these particular pollsters,
you no longer have to - at
least for a week.
All 62 ballots were
published in Monday's
edition of USA Today, the
first time the coaches have
elected to make their votes
public. Not that the coach-
es made the decision on
their own. BCS officials requi
the coaches disclose their vo
the 2004 season, when Texas
support in the coaches' pollI
berth and California was releg
Holiday Bowl. Something sme
and - for once - the BCS to
That's all well and good, bu
publishing the ballots begin
the poll's secrecy if no onet
analyze them? That's whereI
Even though some of you hav
scoured the ballots for proofo
acy a la 1997, I'm sure most]
campus are too consumed wit
follow suit.
So in the grand tradition
Sinclair, I'm going to hold the
accountable and see what I
about balloting bias along thev
Let's start with Michigai
record, Carr ranked his to
- one spot higher than in 1
poll. But that placement i
able, especially when you
that Carr has Wisconsin a
The Badgers beat Michigan
ished with a better overallr
they should be ranked highe
Wolverines. And none of the t
placed below Michigan - Flo
Boston College, Clemson,I
South Carolina - can really c
much better, even though theS
found their way into a BCS b
As is to be expected, most off
es put No. 21 Michigan s
between 20th and 22nd, wit
ful placing it 19th or 23rd. Si
didn't rank the Wolverines at,
is fine with me. Maybe I'm s
frustrated with all the late-ga
downs, but I'm not sure if
deserves a top-25 ranking eith
And then there's Indian
Hoeppner, Arkansas's Housto
Northwestern's Randy Walke
methodology only they can tr
loyd Carr stand, those three coaches ranked the
n he fills Wolverines 14th, 15th and 16th, respec-
JSA Today tively. A four-loss team is the 14th-best
atter, how squad in the nation? Sure, and Max Mar-
e 62 head tin is a lock for the Heisman this year.
I'm guessing Hoeppner
and Walker were just a
tad influenced by the way
Michigan dominated their
teams en route to two of
its most convincing wins
of the season. Their bal-
lots make one thing clear:
If a decent team destroys
your squad, you're probably
going to inflate its ranking.
STEPHANIE As for Nutt ... his last name
WRIGHT seems to say it all.
And then there's my
Uright on Target favorite pollster - Troy
State's Larry Blakeney.
nested that First, his ballot reflects a wacky reshuf-
oting after fling of teams that deserve to be in the
rode late top-25, such as making Ohio State the
to a BCS No. 9 squad in the nation. And then on
ated to the top of that, he includes a number of teams
elled fishy, that make you scratch your head. In one
Kok action. of several odd moves, he gave Toledo its
it how will lone point by voting the Rockets in at
to erode No. 25. Blakeney was also one of those
bothers to eight coaches who didn't rank Michigan.
I come in. I might be down on the Wolverines, but
e no doubt I still think they're better than the sec-
of conspir- ond-best MAC team (no disrespect to
people on Toledo).
h finals to And I guess Blakeney's placement
of Nebraska at No. 24 indicates that his
of Upton money is on the Cornhuskers come Dec.
e big boys 28. His ranking exemplifies an addition-
can learn al norm of balloting: If you don't coach
way. in one of the BCS conferences, you have
n. For the permission to make your ballot a little
eam 20th off-the-wall.
the actual So what has this examination of bal-
s reason- loting practices taught us? Blakeney's
consider singular pursuit of originality aside,
t No. 19. most of the coaches' polls looked pretty
n and fin- similar, and most of them refrain from
record, so ranking their team 10 spots higher than
r than the it deserves to be. In almost every case, I
eams Carr doubt the conspiracy theories were true.
rida State, More than likely, Texas rose in the rank-
Iowa and ings last year because it deserved to, not
laim to be because there was a widespread conspir-
Seminoles acy against California.
owl game. Now that the coaches' ballots have
the coach- been made public, the knowledge that
omewhere their voting practices could be disclosed
h a hand- at any time is probably a good safeguard
x coaches against any coach participating in cor-
all, which rupt behavior in the future.
till a little Too bad Phil Fulmer wasn't held
me break- accountable in 1997.
Blue's trey-bombs
spark blowout win
By Sara Livingston
Daily Sports Writer
With nine minutes remaining in the
first half, junior Kelly Helvey ignited a
flurry of Michigan 3-pointers, and the
Wolverines went on to hit three consec-
utive shots from beyond the arc. Helvey
knocked down the wide-open trey from
the right wing after sophomore Krista
Clement dished her the rock from the
top of the key. The team finished the
run with four triples over five consecu-
tive trips down the hardwood, giving it
an 11-point lead late in the first half.
"I think it was good at any point
for (3-point shooting) to be happening
because we usually go on a 10-point run
and then let them catch up," freshman
Carly Benson said. "But this time, we
were able to keep the lead for a while,
so that was excellent."
The Wolverines lit it up from beyond
the arc in their 77-59 win over Universi-
ty of Maryland Eastern Shore last night.
For the first time all season, Michigan
made more than half of its 3-pointers,
draining seven of its 10 treys in the first
half alone.
Clement, Michigan's go-to shooter,
failed to hit 3-pointer, let alone a field
goal all night. UMES's defense focused
on containing Clement - who leads
the team in both attempted and made
3-pointers - but that left the rest of the
Wolverines unguarded along the perim-
eter. Helvey - who posted a career-
high 30 points - went from beyond the
arc after the Lady Hawks ignored her as
an offensive threat.
"I just kept getting passes from my
teammates," Helvey said. "They know
I can shoot, and I haven't been shoot-
ing lately. I was open, and, if they aren't
going to guard me and respect me, then
I'm going to shoot it."
Benson, who was 3-for-8 from 3-
point range heading into this game, was
also left alone beyond the arc. When the
Lady Hawks defense collapsed to guard
sophomore forward Ta'Shia Walker
down low, she would quickly dish the
RODRIGO GAYA/Daily
Sophomore Katie Dierdorf and the Wolverines fought for an Impressive home win.
ball outside to Benson for a wide-open
trey. Benson, the only freshman starter,
went on to finish the game 3-for-5 from
beyond the arc.
"(Benson) is just very fundamental,"
Michigan coach Cheryl Burnett said.
"Again, she did a great job of being con-
fident and getting wide-open looks and
getting that rhythm jump shot going."
The Wolverines established them-
selves from beyond the arc in the first
three minutes of the contest. In the
team's fourth trip down the court, soph-
omore Janelle Cooper hit Michigan's
second trey of the night, draining a
wide-open three from the top of the arc
after a bounce pass from Helvey.
"We work in practice on getting the
ball around and getting the ball to the
open players," Cooper said. "When my
teammates would dribble penetrate, I
would try to spot up (where) I knew the
defense wouldn't be."
By the second half, UMES revised
its zone - allowing just two 3-pointers
on the Wolverines' eight attempts. But
by then the damage was already done.
Then, Walker hit her only trey - the
team's last of the night. The Wolverines
sported a 16-point lead and had already
sealed a victory with nine minutes left to
See TREY-BOMBS, page 12
Michigan
ter.
ia's Terry
n Nutt and
r. Using a
uly under-
- Stephanie Wright thinks Texas
coach Mack Brown should have ranked
his Longhorns ahead of Southern Cal.
Stand up for your boys, Mack. She can
be reached at smwr@umich.edu.
"
0 MEN'S BASKETBALL
Cagers hope to rewrite history vs. Hornets
By Jack Herman tough. But if we didn't go through that, we wouldn't be
I
Daily Sports Writer the team you see now."
The seniors have a chance to reverse their fortunes
Senior Daniel Horton described it as the worst trip from three years ago when it hosts Delaware State
of his life.
At the start of the 2001-02 season, the
current Michigan seniors - then fresh-
man - were offered a rude awakening to
the world of college basketball.
The team traveled to the Virgin Islands
for a tournament in which it dropped three
straight. Then, after losing two close home
games to intrastate rivals Eastern and Cen-
tral Michigan, the Wolverines suffered a
crushing 83-57 defeat at the hands of No. 4
Duke. Just like that, Michigan was 0-6.
f jTlON
F:.
tonight at Crisler Arena. A win would improve the Wol-
verines' record to a perfect 6-0.
"It's ironic," Michigan coach Tommy
EGHT Amaker said. "When you think about
that, that's pretty significant given where
these kids were at one point with the self-
imposed sanctions and all the things that
we went through. So I'm hopeful that we
can see things come full circle."
It was Horton who turned in a team-
high 26-point showing to lead Michigan
to its first win of his freshman season, an
83-57 romp over Bowling Green. The senior has also
been critical in Michigan's current start, almost single-
handily winning games against Boston University and
Butler.
But the Wolverines are unlikely to need a game-
changing performance by Horton to emerge victorious
tonight. About all Michigan must do is avoid tripping
over its own feet. Coming off nationally-televised wins
against Miami and at Notre Dame, the Wolverines need
to make sure they don't overlook the Hornets - who are
2-5 but employ a slow-down offense that can confound
top teams.
"Winning on the road is difficult, and you treasure
those moments, and I think now we're guarding against
a letdown," Amaker said.
The key to tonight's game will most likely lie within
the paint. Delaware State's tallest player - 6-foot-9
Aaron Fleetwood - averages just five points and three
rebounds per game. As a team, the Hornets average four
fewer rebounds per game than their opponents.
Michigan will look to big men Graham Brown and
Courtney Sims to put the team on their shoulders.
Brown excelled in Michigan's win over Notre Dame
See HORNETS, page 12
ICE HOCKEY
Captains looking
to jumpstart
By H. Jose Bosch Miami captain Andy Greene, who
Daily Sports Writer then scored. The game-winning goal
for then-No.2 Wisconsin during the
Kermit the Frog once said it's College Hockey Showcase occurred
not easy being green. But for the when the Badgers' Adam Burish took
Michigan hockey team, it isn't easy the puck from the neutral zone and
being blue. split the defense before pushing the
Players and fans alike aren't too puck past goalie Noah Ruden.
happy with the team's recent per- But Michigan hockey coach Red
formance - back-to-back weekend Berenson isn't worried about these
sweeps - but a quick look on the ice problems.
at Yost Ice Arena reveals the hockey "That's a split-second thing that
team isn't skating with its shoulders happened once," Berenson said of the
down. Instead the players seem to Cook pass. "I thought we came out
have hops in their steps and smiles on of our own zone really well against
their faces. But that's not to say the Miami's forecheck, and then, that one
team isn't upset. play, (happened and) Cook missed his
"At first, there wasn't a word said pass. In hockey, sometimes you miss
on the way home (from Miami)," your shot and sometimes it doesn't go
sophomore Chad Kolarik said. "We right, and that's what happened.
had a team meeting set up by the cap- The captains have been the calm-
tains, and (senior Andrew) Ebbett set ing force on the team, making sure
the record straight and let everyone that everyone steps up in practice
know that we can't play like this. But this week. Even though the fresh-
he said that we have to have fun at the man have played well this season, the
same time." upperclassmen know they will have to
According to Kolarik, the team has jumpstart the team and get it back on
been trying to do too much on and off track toward a possible CCHA title.
the puck. This week in practice, the "It pisses you off a little bit," alter-
team will just try to simplify things nate-captain Brandon Kaleniecki
and have some fun. said of the four-game losing streak.
Michigan has to work on the defen- "It's kind of embarrassing when you
sive lapses that lead to easy break- look at it. You don't want to be a part
aways and needs to improve on its of anything like that, especially at a
sloppy passing in the defensive zone. winning program like this. Things
"(The Virgin Islands) was a beautiful place and a nice
place to go on vacation, but it was terrible getting beat
bad," Horton said. "Then to come home and lose games
here and go to Duke and get blown out again, it was
B i am .. sa-'am a
TRUE RQFTALSU?
" Animals have languages much like human languages
" Deaf children go through the same stages of language
development as hearing children
* English is like so degenerating before our eyes (ears)
* Inuit languages have hundreds of words for snow
* The average high school graduate has approximately 45,000
I
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