The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Early runs
bury 'M'
By CHRIS HERRING number of fans with them
Daily Sports Writer didn't help the Wolverines in
their uphill battle, either.
Forward Ta'Shia Walker "There's no question that
said it best following Mich- when you're at home, you
igan's NOTEBOOK need the quick start," Bur-
loss to NO E O K nett said.
Penn Freshman LeQuisha
State on Sunday: "We can't Whitfield admitted Michi-
let other teams dig us into a gan didn't come out with
hole each time." the desire it needed to beat
Last night, the Wolverines a strong team like the Spar-
once again found out thehard tans.
way what happens when they "At the beginning of every
fall behind early - this time game, we should come out
in an 18-point loss to archri- saying, 'We want this more
val Michigan State at Crisler than the other team,' "Whit-
Arena. field said. "We can't wait
The Spartans started the until the last three minutes
game on an 8-0 run. Before to want the game."
Michigan could get anything OFFENSIVE OFFENSE: The
going, Michigan State had Wolverines shot just 5-for-27
already jumped out to a 27-10 from beyond the arc in last
lead. night's game.
But it wasn't the Wolver- Burnett said the team shot
ines' defense that performed more 3-pointers in an effort
poorly during the game. to cut into the big Spartan
Michigan held the Spartans lead. The 27 attempts were a
32-percent shooting (11-for- season-high.
34) in the opening half. "They have a lot of differ-
"Going into halftime, ent players that can shoot
we told our players that we threes,"MichiganStatecoach
thought we had defended Joanne P. McCallie said. "It's
(Michigan State) very well," part of their game."
Michigan coach Cheryl Bur- Attempting that many
nett said. 3-pointers may be within
But as the game pro- their game, but making them
gressed, so did the Spartans' might not be. At just under 29
shooting. They knocked percent, the Wolverines rank
down 50 percent of their last inthe BigTen.
shots (11-for-22) in the sec- "We're just a team that
and frame, making things shoots a lot of threes," senior
even harder for Michigan. Kelly Helvey said.
The fact that No. 20 Mich- Of the 12 Michigan play-
igan State brought a decent ers who saw playing time, all
Friday, January 19, 2007 - 5
Age trumps youth
Sophomore forward Ashley Jones and Michigan fell to Michigan
State last night, as the Wolverines committed 21 turnovers.
By DAN FELDMAN
Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan women's bas-
ketball team's underclassmen
significantly outscored Michi-
gan
State's MICHIGAN STATE 66
non- MICHIGAN 483
seniors.
But unlike the Wolver-
ines, the Spartans had a bevy
of senior leadership to draw
upon.
Just one of the four Michi-
gan upperclassmen to dress
scored (junior guard Janelle
Cooper with eight points),
but Michigan State's seniors
poured in 48 points to lead the
Spartans to a 66-48 victory last
night in Crisler Arena. It was
No. 20 Michigan State's ninth
win in as many tries against
the Wolverines.
Spartan Senior Myisha Ban-
nister scored 13 points and
pulled in 10 rebounds. And
teammate and fellow senior
Victoria Lucas-Perry seemed
to make plays consistently for
the Spartans, scoring in a vari-
ety of ways. The Flint native
scored 23 points and grabbed
six rebounds.
"She showed a lot of expe-
rience, really showed a lot
of experience on the floor,"
Michigan State coach Joanne
P. McCallie said. "Again, very
calm and poised. I thought she
was very aggressive. I liked
her rebounding. I just liked
her game overall. I thought
she played very confidently,
very poised."
But the type of savvy Lucas-
Perry showed for the Spartans
was non-existent in the Michi-
gan offensive.
When sophomore point
guard Jessica Minnfield
hit freshman guard Kalyn
McPherson streaking ahead of
the pack just a minute into the
contest, it seemed as if Michi-
gan would easily score its first
points of the game.
But McPherson missed the
open layup, the Wolverines'
first shot. Michigan went on to
miss its next six shots before
McPherson found herself on
a fast break again, with just
under 14 minutes remaining in
the half and the Spartans lead-
ing 8-0.
This time, even though
McPherson was under some
Spartan pressure, she hit the
layup for Michgan's first bas-
ket.
"There's no question that
when you're playing at home
you need to quick-start," Bur-
nett said. "You've got to play, I
don't want to say perfect game,
but you've got to do a much
better job of not giving them
what we gave them. And then
at the same time, we've got to
hit shots."
But the points didn't come
any easier for the Wolverines
(8-12 overall, 1-6 Big Ten), who
are last in the Big Ten in scor-
ing. They shot just 29 percent
from the field and had 21 turn-
overs, two other categories in
which they trail the confer-
ence.
But not everything was neg-
ative for Michigan, especially
the matchup of freshmen in
the pivot, where the Wolver-
ines were uncharacteristical-
ly successful against a taller
player.
Michigan had faced just two
players taller than its 6-foot-6
freshman center Krista Phil-
lips before last night - Duke's
Alison Bales and Indiana's
Sarah McKay, both 6-foot-7
seniors. Bales beat Michigan
up for 14 points on 7-of-11
shooting, seven rebounds.and
six blocks. McKay shot 11-of-
14 for 23 points, grabbed seven
rebounds and blocked a pair of
shots. In those games, Phillips
shot a combined 5-of-15.
One would expect Michi-
gan State's 6-foot-9 freshman
center Allyssa DeHaan would
enjoy similar success.
Entering the game last
night, DeHaan led the Big Ten
in blocks per game (4.53). She
led Big Ten freshmen in scor-
ing (12.8) and rebounding (8.9)
and is second among confer-
ence freshmen in field-goal
and free-throw percentage
(.528 and .746, respectively).
But Michigan kept DeHaan
under wraps most of the
game. The Grandville native
finished with 12 points and 10
rebounds,but most of that pro-
duction came in garbage time.
She shot just 1-of-7 for four
points with just four rebounds
until the game's final two min-
utes.
Meanwhile, Phillips was
a respectable 4-for-5 for
nine points and six rebounds
despite playing just 17 minutes
with foul trouble.
Freshman forward LeQui-
sha Whitfield also saw signifi-
cant playing time in the post,
adding 12 points and nine
rebounds for the Wolverines.
Even though Michigan won
the battle of youngsters inside,
the Spartan seniors proved to
be just too much for the Wol-
verines to handle.
but two (sophomores Steph-
any Skrba and Ashley Jones)
attempted at least one shot
from downtown.
BACK TO OLD FORM: The
Wolverines committed 21
turnovers against Michigan
State, just one game after
turning theball over 22 times
against Penn State.
Before those two games,
the Wolverines had gone four
straight games with 17 turn-
overs or less.
The miscues played a big
role in Michigan's lackluster
first half.
"Certainly our turnovers
made a difference," Burnett
said.
As a result, the Spartans
took nine more shots than
Michigan, helping them
build a comfortable 29-15
lead before going into half-
time.
DOGS WILL BE DOGS: At
halftime, a group of frisbee-
catching dogs performed for
the fans. The crowd seemed
to enjoy the entertainment
- especially when Ballistic
Belle, a three-time world-
finalist Frisbee-catcher, had
to relieve herself.
The pup didn't seem to
mind using the Crisler Arena
floor as a restroom.
"The whole reason that
happened was because she
didn't like Michigan State,"
said Bill Camp, the dog's
trainer..
Apparently, the dog didn't
discourage the Spartans too
much. Michigan State out-
scored the Wolverines, 37-33,
in the second half.
M' ready for rematch
By DANIEL LEVY
Daily Sports Writer
The last two Michigan-Purdue
games played at Crisler Arena have
been decided by a combined four
points - with
the Wolverines Purdue at
winning both Michigan
times. Matchup:
If Michigan Michigan 15-4;
hopes to beat Purdue13-6
the Boilermak- When: Saturday
ersforthethird 12:17 P.M.
straight time Where: Crisler
in Ann Arbor, Arena
it must find a TV/Radio:
way to con- ESPN Plus
tain Purdue's
dynamic duo
of Carl Landry and David Teague.
The seniors torched the Wolver-
ines for a combined 43 points in the
Boilermakers' 67-53 win in West
Lafayette last Saturday. Landry
did his damage around the rim,
and Teague hit 4-of-5 shots from
downtown. The combination gave
the Wolverines' defense headaches
inside and out.
With a week to prepare for the
rematch, Michigan coach Tommy
Amaker decided to focus on stop-
ping the other Boilermakers
instead.
"Sometimes, when you have key
players, you do a decent job in that
category, but some of the other
players have a tendency to jump up
and hurt you," Amaker said. "That
happened down at Purdue. Teague
and Landry were awesome when
we played them, but they had some
other players who were able to mix
it in, make us guard them and open
things up for Landry and Teague."
One of those other players
Amaker was referring to is Purdue
center Dan Vandervieren, who was
the Boilermakers' third-highest
scorer last Saturday (six points).
A few others chipped in a baskei
here or there, but Landry was the
story of the game. Michigan had
no answer for him then, and the
Wolverines will have a hard time
defeating the Boilermakers if they
can't stop Landry tomorrow - a
task that Michigan center Court-
ney Sims will take on yet again.
"I don't know (how to slow
down Landry)," said Sims, who
saw limited action at Purdue after
picking up two quick fouls trying.
to defend him. "I'm just going to
have to play the same defense and
hope the calls go my way this time,
because I thought I played good
defense."
Without Sims in the lineup,
Landry had his way in the paint
against the smaller, lighter and
less-experienced trio - of Brent
Petway, Ekpe Udoh and DeShawn
Sims. And it was Courtney Sims's
back-to-back buckets in the lane
that capped off an 8-0 second-half
run that cut the deficit to six and
temporarily got the Wolverines
back in the game.
Keeping Sims on the court is just
one thing Michigan is looking to
change in hopes of achieving a dif-
ferent result. The Wolverines com-
mitted 17 turnovers and recorded
just seven assists last weekend.
Purdue scored 14 points (the
final margin of victory) off the
sloppy Michigan play. Amaker
freely acknowledged the Wolver-
ines will commit their fair share
of turnovers, given the fast-break
style he wants from his players.
But Amaker does want his team
to eliminate what he calls "silly"
turnovers.
In a convincing win over Penn
State Wednesday night, Michigan
fixed some of its offensive woes;
The Wolverines assisted 19 of their
24 field goals. Even though the Nit-
tany Lions use a zone defense - a
stark contrast to Purdue's aggres-
sive man-to-man pressure - Mich-
igan guard Dion Harris thinks the
Wolverines can take what they did
well against Penn State and apply
it to tomorrow's game.
"I think (we need to play) like we
did (Wednesday) on the perimeter
as far as penetrating and try to hit
other guys," Harris said. "Instead
of trying to penetrate and score
ourselves we need to penetrate
and pitch and try to find the open
man."
The final key to Saturday's game
sounds like a broken record: Mich-
igan must win at home.
Purdue is 11-0 at home this sea-
son. But away from Mackey Arena,
the Boilermakers have lost to the
likes of Indiana State and Big Ten
doormat Minnesota. Meanwhile,
just one of the Wolverines' four
losses has come at Crisler Arena.
Sophomore goaltender Billy Sauer struggled in Alaska last season; and will seek to make up for his performance this weekend.
Jeers seek to avenge lst
year's defeat in Alaska
By JAMES V. DOWD
Daily Sports Writer
Alaska's on-ice results might not be consistent,
but you can always count on the Nanooks to be the
CCHA's most passionate squad.
As No. 13 Michigan prepares Michigan at
to face off with Alaska in Fair- Alaska
banks tonight, memories of last Matchup:
season's series opener are still Michigan 15-9;
fresh in the Wolverines' minds. Alaska 7-11-4
Michigan entered the Carl- When: Tonight
son Center on Oct. 28 with a 4- 11:05 P.M.
0-1 record and a No. 1 ranking. Where: Carlson
But once the referee dropped Center
the puck, it was hard to tell TV/Radio:
which team was supposed to be ESPN Plus
the nation's best.
The Nanooks, fresh off an upset of the previous
No. 1 (Minnesota), outskated and outhustled the
Wolverines in front of one of the CCHA's loudest
and rowdiest crowds en route to a 4-2 victory.
Sophomore goaltender Billy Sauer remembers
the game vividly.
Before facing the Nanooks last year, Sauer had
helped the Wolverines knock off Boston College
and hold Michigan State to a tie. But after allowing
Alaska to notch four goals in the first game, Saner
was replaced by then-senior Noah Ruden between
the pipes.
This time around, Sauer hopes to erase those bad
memories by putting up the same strong perfor-
mance that helped Michigan notch wins over Bowl-
ing Green and Northern Michigan last week.
"(Last year's game) was my first loss ever in col-
lege," Sauer said. "It would be kind of nice to get a
little payback for that."
One of the keys to whether Sauer can avenge last
year's defeat will be how he plays on Alaska's Olym-
pic-sized ice. Most college hockey rinks are 200-
feet long by 85-feet wide. But a handful of schools,
including Alaska, have rinks that are 200 feet by
100 feet.
In last year's series opener in Fairbanks, Sauer
struggled with the wider angles and gave up goals
that he usually saves. Because a scheduling conflict
forced the Wolverines to practice at a different rink
until the day of last year's game, Sauer was even less
prepared for the wider rink.
This year, Michigan (10-6-0 CCHA, 15-9-0 over-
all) arrived in Alaska on Wednesday night and was
promised some extra ice time before the first game.
"We (had) some extra practices (in the days
we were there before the game)," Sauer said. "I'm
going to spend some extra time on the ice and kind
of make some markers so that when it comes game
time, I will be used to it."
In addition to adjusting to the larger rink, Michi-
gan will try to be consistent between the two nights.
Saturday's 2-1 loss to Northern Michigan marked
the fifth time this season Michigan lost the second
game of a series after winning the first.
Last week, it seemed as if the Wolverines had
taken a step in the right direction with Tuesday's
convincing victory over Bowling Green and Friday's
shutout win over Northern Michigan.
But once Saturday rolled around, it appeared as if
nothing had changed for the Maize and Blue.
Alternate captain T.J. Hensick hopes things will
be different this weekend.
"I think it's an ongoing thing that we're trying
to get two good games together," Hensick said. "I
think we did that last week Tuesday and Friday, but
we forgot we had a game Saturday. We need to put a
good weekend togethner this week."
The Nanooks (5-8-3, 7-11-4) seen like the perfect
opponent for a Michigan squad looking for two solid
victories. Alaska is in the midst of a seven-game los-
ing streak, which includes a pair of losses at Michi-
gan State last weekend.
Despite the Nanooks' struggles, they have not
relinquished their passion for the game. After
Friday night's hard-fought overtime loss in East
Lansing, a brawl started when Alaska coach Tavis
MacMillan confronted Michigan State coach Rick
Comley during the handshake line.
And the Nanooks' fans are just as raucous as the,
players. With an extra year of experience under his
belt, Sauer is looking forward to the challenge of
playing in hostile Carlson Center.
"I think it's fun," Sauer said. "I don't like to play
in front of a nice, steady crowd. The more crap I get,
and the harder time the fans give me, the moreI like
to play. It's a fun environment."
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