6 8 - Friday, February 9, 2007 Blue falls on road By ANDY REID Daily Sports Writer IOWA CITY - For Iowa, play- ing the Michigan women's bas- ketball team was like a game of dominoes. Knock MICHIGAN 9 one down, IOWA 66 and the rest will follow. Inorder to disassemble the Wol- verines, the Hawkeyes first had to attack the lead domino: fresh- man center Krista Phillips. When she fell, Michigan had no answer, and the Hawkeyes stormed their way to an impressive 66-49 win at Carver-Hawkeye Arena last night. Early in the contest, Iowa's offense was unable to penetrate a stout Michigan defense, led by Phillips in the paint. With no openings inside, the Hawkeyes got flustered, rushing shots and making bad decisions. Michigan's offense also ben- efited from Phillips's play. With a viable threat in the post, the Wol- verines enabled to run a balanced attack. Iowa had trouble defend- ing everything, and Michigan took advantage of it. "Krista is a very big target for us," Michigan coach Burnett said. "In the women's game, the '6-6 kid' is a big factor. ... (Phillips) has done agreatjob forusgettingsome of those rebounds and doing some things that give us flexibility." The Hawkeyes came up with just one answer for Phillips's dom- inating presence: attack the first- year center head on. Even though the Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, native has shown bright spots both offensively and defensively this season, she often finds herself in foul trouble, early in the game. Yesterday was no exception. After just six minutes on the court, Phillips tallied her second foul and headed to the bench. Phillips had six points and one rebound in that time. When Phillips found a seat on the bench, the intricate domino maze that was Michigan began to tumble. "For me, I work hard and I do a lot of things in the paint, but then I just make mistakes that pull me out of the game," Phillips said. "I'm in the process of learn- ing what (foul is) good to take and what's not good to take." The team's effort took seri- ous blow after serious blow as each player Michigan sent in to The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Carr mum on future 0 By SCOTT BELL Daily Sports Editor On Wednesday, Michigan coach Lloyd Carr stood in front of report- ers and raved about the 20 NOTEBOOK newest mem- bers of the Michigan football team. But as the press conference moved along, the questions quickly took a turn in another direction. First came a question about how he reacts when recruits ask him how long he'll be coaching at the University. "Regardless of my situation, I think part of the landscape is that a lot of coaches are replaced," Carr said following the initial ques- tion regarding his future with the program. "A lot of coaches change jobs. "I think by and large, when you make a choice because of who the coach is, whether it's a position coach, whether it's a head coach, you can't be sure that he's going to be there." Carr also said that nobody spe- cifically asked him about his future while he went on recruiting visits this year. He then tried deflecting the attention back to his class on mul- tiple occasions, but reporters' questions continued to focus on his future with the program. The coach was asked about a recent change in his contract that would make it easier for him to step down as the team's head coach after the 2007 season. Carr didn't budge much, though, and just reiterated what he had previously said about his plans. "Look, you know, I've tried to answer that as best I could, but it seems as though everybody inter- prets it differently," Carr said. "Like I'm hinting; I've hinted. I've said everything I have to say on it." Following a couple more ques- tions, Carr made his final statement regarding the situation toward the end of the 45-minute long confer- ence. "At some point here, I'll have something to say about that," he said. "But I don't. You've got access to what's in (the contract), and I really don't have anything to say other than that." HAPPY TRAILS: Four members of the program that most assumed would return for next season have cleaned out their lockers at Schem- bechler Hall since the Rose Bowl. Three players (fifth-year seniors-to-be Ryan Mundy and Will Paul along with junior-to-be Marques Walton) and one coach (cornerbacks coach Ron Lee) will not be with the team next fall. The characteristically tight- lipped Carr didn't give specifics as to why they were leaving the team. "Normally, when somebody leaves the program, whether it be a player, whether it be a coach, I leave that announcement up to him," Carr said. He did go on to verify that all four were no longer with the pro- gram, though. Mundy and Paul will both grad- uate this spring, but neither will use his fourth year of eligibility next fall. Mundy was a two-time starter at safety for the team (parts of 2004 and 2006), but battled both incon- sistency and a nerve injury that kept him out for most of the 2005 season. Paul joined the team as a high- ly touted tight end and defensive tackle, but could never settle in at a position. He later made the switch to fullback, but lost the starting job battle with senior Obi Oluigbo last season. Walton appeared in four games during his two years of eligibility at defensive tackle. Lee joined the staff last season as thenewcornerbackscoach.Though the defense shined in Michigan's first 11 games, major lapses in the secondary in the Wolverines' final two games against Ohio State and Southern Cal may have put a dent in Lee's job security. Carr said no replacement for Lee has been found. TWELFTH-GAME BLUES: Michigan has still not found a suitor for its 12th game next season. Carr hopes that will change soon. "We're working on it," Carr said. "It's an issue because there just aren't many schools out there. I can just tell you that we're hoping it will be resolved here in the not- too-distant future." Last season, Michigan added Vanderbilt to its nonconference slate to fill its schedule. Carr expressed his displeasure with the new 12-game schedule throughout the year, saying the elimination of the bye week made the season even more of a grind than normal. One thingholdingup scheduling is the dilemma that the'Michigan- Ohio State game presents. Tradi- tionally, the two teams play in each others' final game of the regular season. Carr also doesn't want the game pushed back one week, because it runs into Thanksgiving - a holiday the coaches have tried to give their players in recent years because the team already has to miss Christmas because of bowl practice. With no easy fix in sight, Carr hopes some compromise can be made to maintain the traditions and still keep things bearable for the players. "I think the Big Ten athletic directors are trying to address that issue," Carr said. "But I think regardless of if they don't do some- thing in the Big Ten conference, then each school would be free to make some changes that would allow them to play the 12th game after Thanksgiving." a *1 Michigan center Krista Phillips's early foul troubles stymied the Wolverines in their road game against Iowa. The Hawkeyes held court in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, coming away with a 66-49 victory. fill Phillips's void quickly iet the same fate. Freshman LeQuisha Whitfield and sophomore Steph- any Skrba fell victim to Iowa's aggressive driving into the post and picked up two easy fouls each. Sophomore Carly Benson tallied three first-half fouls as well. With most of its post players in early foul trouble, Michigan lost one of its biggest advantages coming into the contest. Iowa was playing without sophomore stand- out Megan Skouby - its leading scorer. The 6-foot-6 center was nursing a hand injury last night. The Wolverines also started crumbling offensively, losing all rhythm they had prior to Phillips's early departure. Michigan (3-9 Big Ten, 10-15 overall) sat on top of the key and settled for working the ball around the perimeter. With all of Michigan's post players on the bench, the team had a hard time finding any open shots, often waiting until the shot clock ticked down to drive to the basket. The offensive struggles led to a scoring drought that lasted nearly five-and-a-half minutes. Even though the Wolverines struggled mightily in the last 10 minutes of the first frame, they found themselves down just eight points heading into halftime. And the 15-minute break was just enough time to reset the dom- inoes. Coming out of the gates, Michi- gan surprised Iowa (4-7, 12-12) with a tenacious start to the sec- ond half, led by Phillips's return to the game. The Wolverines cut the deficit to one before the Hawkeyes reverted back to their earlier mentality of attacking Phillips, who picked up two more fouls. With four fouls, the center stayed on the bench until the game was out of reach. "You know, she only plays elev- en minutes and has eight points," Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said. "So, it was a key situation to get her out of the game. When she got her fourth foul, I think that was really key for our momentum." Iowa used that momentum to coast through the game's final minutes en route to its firstvictory in its last six tries. With No. 13 Purdue - a team which beat Michigan by 44 points in West Lafayette - heading to Ann Arbor this Sunday, the Wol- verines don't have a lot of time to pick up its scattered pieces and try to fit back together. CAN'T WAIT FOR SPORTSMONDAY COVERAGE? CHECK OUT MICHIGANDAILY.COM THIS WEEKEND FOR LIVE BASKETBALL AND HOCKEY UPDATES. To play: Complete the grid so that every row, column and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 to 9. There is no guessing or math involved, Stopped at first, Iowa's Smith breaks press, 'M' in victory By DAN FELDMAN Daily Sports Writer IOWA CITY - Michigan sophomore Jessica Minnfield and freshman Kalyn McPher- son made life miserable NOTEBOOK for Iowa point guard Kristi Smith during last night's game's eighth minute. The duo caused Smith to waste 18 seconds to cross half court (there is no limit for getting the ball over the center stripe in wom- en's college basketball), and when she finally made it to the other end, Minnfield and McPherson forced her out of bounds on the sideline. After a basket by Michigan's Krista Phillips, Minnfield and McPherson were wreaking havoc again. This time Smith had a little eas- ier time getting past mid-court. But the Michigan guards forced another Hawkeye turnover - this time a backcourt violation. "I thought (the press) gave our team a lot of confidence going into the second half," Michigan coach Cheryl Burnett said. But Smith had the last laugh. After a Minnfield 3-pointer cut Iowa's eight-point halftime lead to one three minutes into the second frame, Smith decided enough was enough. The Hawkeye point guard took the inbound pass, raced upcourt and drove right through the lane for an open lay-up. After a quick miss by freshman forward LeQuisha Whitfield, Smith grabbed the rebound and raced upcourt again. This time she dropped a pass off to Hawk- eye forward Wendy Ausdemore, who converted the easy deuce. The Wolverines never serious- ly threatened again. "They had their little run," said Smith, who led Iowa with 16 points and five assists. "We came back and put a stop to it, and there was no looking back from there." SLOW START OFFENSIVELY: The game began very methodically for both offenses. Michigan and Iowa combined for just 33 points in the game's first 17 minutes. Both teams worked in the half- court, and neither team scored on the fast break in the first half. The moderate pace hurt the Wolver- ines, who had another one of their infamous slow starts. A key component to the Mich- igan's new offense they unveiled last Sunday against Northwestern is ball control. Although the Wol- verines committed nine first-half turnovers, it wasn't because they were forcing their offense. Michigan consistently passed the ball around the perimeter, forcing shots only when the shot clock was low. "We'd like to ... be able to break some people down and get some shots when we're not getting any," Burnett said. The offense eventually picked up, and 82 points were scored in the game's final 23 minutes. INJURY UPDATE:Phillips returned to the lineup last night after miss- ing Sunday's game against North- western. But she didn't start. It was just the sixth time in her 24 career games that she wasn't on the court to begin the game. The freshman center was wear- ing a brace on her left knee last night. Junior forward Katie Dierdorf once again didn't travel with the team last night. She's suffering from an undisclosed injury. The St. Louis native has missed substantial time in each of her three seasons. She returned Nov. 13 against Ball State and worked up her play- ing time before eventually start- ing Dec. 9 at Nebraska. But the loss to the Cornhuskers was the last time Dierdorf played this season.