P The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
November S, 2007 - 3B
Second-half 'D' keys win for 'M'
By ANTHONY OLIVEIRA
Daily Sports Writer
For more than a dozen minutes,
the Michigan women's basketball
team went on lockdown.
After halftime, the Wolverines
didn't allow a point for more than
12 minutes in the 80-51 exhibition
rout over Lake Superior State at
Crisler Arena.
"That was really the difference,"
Michigan coach KevinBorseth said.
"That stretch was good. I thought
the crew we had in there did a great
job, particularly defensively (by)
tipping some passes, making some
steals."
During the span, Michigan's
pressure forced 17 of Lake Superior
State's 30 turnovers and limited the
Lakers to just nine shot attempts.
Michigan had 15 steals in the game.
On the other end, six Wolverines
combined for 26 points during the
run to build their biggest lead of the
game to 40.
But before the second half,
the majority of Saturday night's
play was typical of an exhibition
- adjusting to a new system, mesh-
ing on the court and getting used to
playinggames.
Despite a 13-point lead at half-
time, the first half mostly show-
cased Michigan's flaws on defense.
The Wolverines were often beat
by transition lay-ups, caught out
of position off screens and slow
switching off the ball. Lake Superi-
or State also got the Wolverines off
their feet on pump fakes, allowing
open drives for the Lakers.
To help cut down Lake Superior
State's fast breaks, the Wolverines
settled down their offense and
worked on their own perimeter
swings. Using size to its advantage,
Michigan easily got the hall in the
post to open up the court and pre-
vented the Lakers from getting
anything going.
"First half, we weren't making
shots," Borseth said. "They were
coming down in transition, and we
looked like we weren't even exis-
tent. Second half, we did a better
job getting around the basket, scor-
ing it and then on the other end,
playing (in) a set defense."
Much of the scoring came from
junior Carly Benson and senior
Janelle Cooper, who combined for
34 points. Benson was efficient
from the field, going 6-for-7 and 3-
for-4 from three-point land. Coo-
per showed off her athleticism by
splittingthrough two Lakers on the
left side of the key and flipping the
ball off the glass with her left hand
during the Michigan run.
For the first time in nearly 11
months, the Wolverines shot over
.500 from the field. Michigan also
out-rebounded Lake Superior State,
41 to 28. But towering over a Divi-
sion II team is different from Big
Ten competition.
Borseth is particularly concerned
with the center position. While
sophomore center Krista Phillips
could score over a short Lakers
squad, Borseth said she will need
more finesse to compete against
Big Ten foes. With Phillips getting
in foul trouble early, senior Ta'Shia
Walker filled in and impressed
Borseth on defense.
Michigan will also need to be
more efficient with the ball. While
Borseth's former team, Wisconsin-
Green Bay, recorded a 1.30 assist-
turnover ratio last season, the
Wolverines recorded a paltry .45.
Michigan can't afford these mis-
takes if it wants to compete with
the likes of Ohio State, the media's
choice to win the Big Ten.
But after three weeks of prac-
tice, the team is satisfied with Sat-
urday's performance. Borseth was
much happier with his squad's ball
movement than a few days ago in
a scrimmage with Cleveland State.
If anything, the Wolverines gained
confidence out of the matchup.
"It's atypical first game," Benson
said. "Overall, we played hard and
did most of the things that coach
wanted us to do. You can't ask
for much more than that in a first
game."
BIG TENS
From page 1lB
hattie. All three Michigan
goals came from penalty corner
plays.
In the sixth minute of over-
time, junior Stephanie Hoyer
scored off of a penalty corner
rebound to propel Michigan
into the tournament final, giv-
ing Michigan its sixth straight
overtime victory.
Even though the team was
disappointed with the final
result of the tournament, Michi-
gan learned a fewlastinglessons
heading into the final stretch of
its season.
"We have some positive things
that we did," Lennington said.
"But we also have some things
we have to work on this week at
practice - finishing and working
hard day in and day out."
Michigan already looks
ahead to the NCAA Tourna-
ment, selections for which will
be announced Tuesday.
"We had a lot of adversity
in this match," Cox said. "Our
team responded to it beauti-
fully, which helps going into the
NCAA Tournament.
"Whatever doesn't kill you
makes you stronger. We'll be
ready to go, wherever they send
us."
U
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Cooper's hot shooting ignites Blue in exhibition game
By CHRIS MESZAROS
Daily Sports Writer
It's a new season for the Michi-
gan women's basketball team, and
that means Michi-
gan senior Janelle NOTEBOOK
Cooper wants to
make the most of it.
Cooper paced a steady Wolverine
offense for the Michigan women's
basketball team Saturday. She fin-
ished with 19 points to lead Michi-
gan in its exhibition game against
Lake Superior State.
Her effort was the reason for
much of Michigan's offensive tear,
in which the Wolverines scored
31 points to Lake Superior State's
three in the first 13 minutes of the
second half.
But it was Cooper's range from
behind the arc, along with her ath-
letic ability down low, that made
her presence felt.
"(Janelle is) a worker and a kid
who probably is going to do a whole
lot for us this year based on what I
see," Michigan coach Kevin Bors-
eth said. "She's going to be one of
our go-to type kids"
Cooper shot 7-of-12 from the field
and 3-of-5 from 3-point range. She
used her skills in the post to make
some easy lay-ups against anunder-
sized Lake Superior State team.
Cooper went on a tear from 3-
point range at the end of the first
half, making three consecutive
shots from the baseline.
"I was pretty comfortable out
there," Cooper said. "We've been
workinga lot in practice on rotating
the ball. We've been putting in extra
time in the gym with our shooting."
STARK CONTRAST: Michigan
may have been practicing its shoot-
ing, but its free-throw percentage
was abysmal.
Despite shooting better than 50
percent from the floor, the Wolver-
ines were just 46.7 percent from the
charity stripe. Michigan got numer-
ous free-throw opportunities dur-
ing its 31-3 run through the first 13
minutes of the second half but con-
verted justnine oftheir20 attempts
in the second frame.
Last year, Borseth coached the
best free-throw-shooting team in
the country at Wisconsin GreenBay,
where his team shot better than 80
percent from the line. He realizes
free-throw shooting like Saturday's
performance will not bode well for
Michigan when it starts the regular
season next week.
"You can emphasize them, prac-
tice them, that's all you can do,"
Borseth said. "We just need make
them. We're capable of making
them."
REUNION: Saturday's game
against Lake Superior State meant
something special for Borseth. He
was a member of its men's basket-
ball team in 1975-76 that went 27-4.
"I enjoyed my time up there,"
Borseth said. "Ironically, it is kind of
neat to come back here to Michigan
and playthem in my first game."
Senior Janelle Cooper led Michigan with 19 points in the exhibition win over Lake Superior State Saturday.
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