The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Monday, March 3, 2008 - 3B
Senior Day ruined by Gophers in 15-point blowout
Michigan will head to
Big Ten Tournament
on two-game skid
By ANTHONY OLIVEIRA
Daily Sports Writer
Sunday was an emotional day for
the Michigan women's basketball
team.
For the
seniors, ,MINNESOTA 63
it was the LMICHIGAN 481
final time
they would compete in front of the
Crisler Arena crowd.
For Michigan coach Kevin Bors-
eth, it was the first time he roamed
the sidelines since his infamous
tirade last Thursday.
But despite all that, the Wol-
verines lost 63-48 to Minnesota in
their final regular season game.
Michigan didn't allow anoth-
er improbable comeback. It also
didn't have trouble creating shots
against a tight and physical Gopher
defense.
The Wolverines just didn't shoot
well.
"We had wide-open shots,"
Borseth said. "If we had made
those shots, it's an entirely differ-
ent game."
Coming ot1t of halftime with the
score knotted at 27, Michigan (9-9
Big Ten, 16-12 overall) immedi-
ately hit a five-minute cold streak
where it went 0-for-10 from the
floor and committed three turn-
overs. The Wolverines struggled to
find a rhythm, Minnesota (11-7, 20-
10) jumped to a double-digit lead it
wouldn't relinquish.
Minnesota guard Emily Fox
gave the Michigan defense trouble,
finishing with 17 points.
"She's a very good player and
we knew that going in," Michigan
senior Janelle Cooper said. "And it
wasn't like one person would have
to guard her, we would all have to
help out on her."
At times, Michigan seemed
dumbfounded.
Late in the first half, Fox
launched a three-pointer - off her
own steal. She missed the shot, but
grabbed the rebound from a step
inside the arc. With the Wolver-
ines standing still, Fox drove to the
rim uncontested. Fox finished 8-
for-15 from the field and had seven
assists.
Gopher forward Leslie Knight
supported Fox. Knight scored eight
of her 10 points in the second half.
Minnesota scored 36 points from
the interior, mostly with ease.
Michigan, on the other hand,
took as many second-half shots
from three-point territory as it did
from the paint. And while the Wol-
verines went .500 from the inside,
senior Janelle Cooper, who scored
a team-high 11 points, made the
lone Michigan triple in the half
Early in the game, the Wolver-
ines were in the driver's seat.
Off a Senior Day high, three of
the four outgoing seniors scored
Michigan's first three baskets. Min-
nesota narrowed the gap several
times, but Michigan had answers.
As the Wolverine offense settled
down, freshman Veronica Hicks
provided a spark. After the Wolver-
ines were stagnant for several min-
utes around the perimeter, Hicks
broke the drought with a drive
inside. On the ensuing possession,
Hicks deflected an in-bounds pass
off Knight, caught the ball and put
it in for an easy two.
For much of the first half, it
seemed that the Gophers were
merely keeping up with the Wol-
verines. But right before the half
ended, Fox stole the ball in the
Michigan backcourt. Fox gave the
ball to Korinne Campbell right
below the basket, who scored on
her second chance to tie the game
at the buzzer.
After the ball went in, Minne-
sota never looked back.
But this loss may be what the
Wolverines needed right before the
Big Ten Tournament on Thursday.
"To play Ohio State or Minneso-
ta before the Big Ten Tournament
is a good thing to see the physical
play," Borseth said. "Now we know
it. This you don't forget."
Senior slugs her way into the record book
SAID ALSALAH/Daily
Senior Janelle Cooper drives to the basket in Michigan's loss to Minnesota. The
senior finished her last game at Crisler Arena with11 points and seven rebounds.
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Grand slam makes Findlay
all-time 'M'home-run leader;
highlights perfect tourney
By RUTH LINCOLN
Daily Sports Writer
In 2005, then-freshman Samantha Findlay
crushed a three-run homer in the tenth inning to
seal the National Championship for Michigan.
And in No. 12 Michigan's five-win sweep of the
NFCA Classic in Columbus, Ga., this weekend,
she showed she isn't just a clutch hitter - she's
one of the best sluggers in Michigan history.
With a second-inning grand slam in yester-
day's 9-0 win over Louisiana-Lafayette, the
senior slid into first place on Michigan's all-time
career home run list with 47. Jessica Merchant
set the previous record of 46 home runs when
she graduated in 2005.
"It's a great accomplishment, knowing that
my name gets to be put up with all of the previ-
ous people who have been on that list," Findlay
said. "I think that it's a great honor, knowing
that I've accomplished something so great in
Michigan history."
The record-setting home run was Findlay's
second of the weekend and capped off a success-
ful weekend for the Wolverines. Michigan (17-2)
started Friday with a 2-1 win over No. 18 Mis-
sissippi State and a six-inning, 9-1 pounding of
UC-Santa Barbara.
Saturday was no different. The Wolverines
easily defeated North Carolina State (2-1) and
Winthrop (4-1). The next day, Michigan kept its
nomentum in the win over Louisiana-Lafayette.
"We had a game plan to attack their fresh-
man pitcher (Ashley Brignac) who is very well-
regarded," Michigan coach Carol Hutchins
said. "They executed it well, and they were very
focused."
Before yesterday's win, Michigan was win-
less in five tries against the Ragin' Cajuns since
1993.
The Wolverines.got to work early when fresh-
man Dorian Shaw hit a solo, two-out home run
off Brignac in the second inning.
After a pair of walks and a Ragin' Cajun error,
the bases were loaded with Findlay up.
Behind in the count, Findlay hamnered a
grand slam over the left-field fence to put the
Wolverines up, 5-0. The Michigan bench erupt-
ed in cheers as its senior co-captain rounded the
bases.
"The way she did it, too, with a grand slam
home run, it just adds an emphasis to just how
great a hitter she is - how she can stay relaxed
under pressure with bases loaded," sophomore
Molly Bausher said.
Sophomore Maggie Viefhaess followed suit in
the next at-bat and pounded another one out to
the same spot past the left-field fence.
Freshman pitcher Jordan Taylor (10-1) kept
the Ragin' Cajuns at bay, giving up just two hits.
Taylor struck out nine batters in the shutout, her
third of the season.
"Jordan continues to be very composed on
the mound," Hutchins said. "Most importantly,
she's really even-keel, (has a) great demeanor
and she's doing her part to help us win."
Sunday's win marked the Wolverines' 10th
consecutive victory. And with the Big Ten sea-
son just a month away, Michigan looks to carry
its momentum through its remaining weekend
tournaments.
"Everybody felt greatcoming off of this week-
end," Bausher said. "It's going to give us more
confidence and a boost for the next weekend to
come."
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