2B - January 24, 2011
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.con I
T A'M' rolls Boilermakers
for third-straight win
f
By EVERETT COOK
Daily Sports Writer
The last time the Michigan
women's basketball team played
Purdue, it_
lost by one PURDUE 45
after miss- MICHIGAN 57
ing a last-
second shot. That loss snapped
a three-game winning streak
and put the Wolverines in a bit
of a funk. That was a different
day, a different arena, and as
evidenced by Michigan's win
on Sunday, a different Michigan
team all together.
The Wolverines beat Purdue
57-45 on Sunday at Crisler Arena
in a resounding victory that
vaults them into a second-place
tie with Penn State in the Big
Ten. Michigan (5-2 Big Ten, 12-7
overall) harassed the Boilermak-
ers (4-4, 13-7) all night, leading
to 20 turnovers and countless
forced shots. The Wolverines
never let Purdue get comfort-
able - they controlled the game
in one of their best defensive
efforts of the year.
"They beat us, but it just didn't
seem right," senior guard Veron-
ica Hicks said after the game.
"We felt like we should have
won that game, but you have to
credit them, they did good on
their home court. We felt like we
needed to return that."
Hicks is the team's leading
scorer and rebounder, but she
had an off-night offensively,
scoring only seven points on
25-percent shooting. It didn't
matter though, as the Wolver-
ines found other ways to win.
Hicks played shutdown defense
and kept many possessions alive
with her hustle and offensive
rebounding. She grabbed seven
rebounds - four of them offen-
sive - and hounded the Boiler-
makers' post players all night.
"It's something I've been key-
ing on recently, just trying to
get to the boards," Hicks said.
"Coach says, 'You aren't going
to get the rebounds you don't go
for."'
Fortunately for Michigan,
other players stepped up on
offense, including Sam Arnold.
The sophomore forward
scored 13 points, including seven
straight to open up the second
half. Arnold had played a com-
bined 18 minutes in the Wolver-
ines' previous three games, but
Michigan coach Kevin Borseth
gave her an early opportunity
after Hicks quickly picked up
two fouls.
"The kid can obviously do
some things on the offensive end
of the court," Borseth said. "She
gets it."
Along with Arnold, Michigan
also got major offensive con-
tributions from its forwards.
Sophomore Rachel Sheffer and
junior Carmen Reynolds each
scored 11 points, to make the
Purdue defenders pay for leaving
them open from 3-point range.
They made two 3-pointers each,
which opened up the paint for
driving Wolverine guards, and
this space allowed junior guard
Courtney Boylan to tally si
assists.
But for the Wolverines,
defense was the key. Purdue
shot 38 percent from the floor,
including a paltry 15 percent
frombeyond the 3-point arc. The
Wolverine defenders, especially
sophomores Kate Thompson and
Jenny Ryan, consistently had a
hand in the face of Boilermaker
shooters. Michigan gave up very
few easy points and challenged
every Purdue shot, to the point
where the Boilermakers were
hesitant to shoot, even in the
rare event at an open shot. The
Boilermakers tried to pound the
ball inside almost every posses'
sion, but the Wolverines werd
having none of it.
"They were trying to throw
it inside at every imaginable
opportunity, just overload ant
try to throw it in," Borsetl1
said. "In the first half, they had
success with it, but I thoughi
defensively we made a good
adjustment."
Michigan has now reeled off
three straight wins, with contri
butions coming from all over the
court. The jury was out on how
the injury to starting sophomore
guard Nya Jordan would affect
the Wolverines, but so far, the
team has fared well. Many of
the team's unsung heroes have
stepped up, putting Michigan it
the driver's seat heading into the
heart of the Big Ten season.
0
Senior Shawn Hunwick has gone 8-1-0 since taking over the starting goalie position at The Big Chill at the Big House.
Hunwic not your
average underdog story
There's an awfully large
distinction that often
goes unnoticed when
it comes to underdog stories in
sports.
You know the general gist of
the story: An unlikely character
goes against the odds, whether it
be physically or mentally, works
extremely
hard and
makes the
best of his
or her one >
chance.
Last sea-
son, that guy d
was Shawn RYAN
Hunwick. A KARTJE
5-foot, 7-inch
goaltender on
the Michigan
hockey team who looked like be
had no business standing between
the pipes at Yost Ice Arena. At
times, I swore the net would just
envelop the pint-size goalie - a
hockey player who was on the
team simply because his brother
Matt had suggested he could fill
Michigan's final goalie spot.
Hunwick who barely reached
the height requirement for riding
all the roller coasters at Cedar
Point, had almost singlehandedly
jumpstarted a bottom-feeding
CCHA team all the way to the
NCAA regional finals. Michigan
coach Red Berenson, a man not
known to overstate anything,
called him "Rudy" on more than
one occasion.
The fact of the matter is that
after the charming, delightful
story ends, the tale of the under-
dog justisn't as cute anymore.
Underdogs tend to have a
limited shelf life. Take the bas-
ketball team a few years ago.
With Manny Harris playingthe
bestbasketball of his career and
DeShawn Sims doing nearly the
same, the Wolverines were a few
buckets away from the Sweet 16.
It was a feel-good story ... until
they stumbled the next season to
a sub.-500 record.
The NCAA is riddled with
underdogs-gone-wrongthe fol-
lowing season. Take everyone's
favorite college basketball story:
George Mason's 2005-2006 sea-
son. The Patriots made it all the
way to the NCAA Championship
game as a No.11 seed - the first
time that's ever happened. But the
Patriots faltered the next season,
barely finishing over .500 and
missing the tournament.
The story is not all thatuncom-
mon, and this year, I expected
nothing more than that same
underdog-turned-hero, second-
year slump from Hunwick.
But Hunwick has proved, ever
since his emergency start in The
Big Chill at the Big House, that he
is capable of breakingthatunder-
dog mold.
The senior goalie was the
unheralded hero of the event -
tallying his first shutout of the
season, on34 shots faced. It was
easily one of the most nerve-
wrackingstarts of his career,
and Hunwick's performance was
strikingly similar to his level of
play when Michigan caught fire
late last season.
Since then, Hunwick has been
the nation's hottestgoalie -
sounds familiar, eh? - winning
eight of his last nine starts, with
his only loss coming in overtime
to Michigan State.
And with Michigan's history
of backup goalies outperform-
ing starting goalies, it has to be a
breath of fresh air for Berenson
to see the guy performing up to
expectations.
When Billy Sauer couldn't per-
form in net two years ago, it was
Bryan Hogan who the Wolverines
rallied around. The next season,
Hogan faltered and Hunwick
came through in the clutch. It was
an anomalythat didn't even make
sense to Berenson himself.
Hunwick is breaking that mold
this year - albeit after starting
fairly slow - and it could mean
the difference between a regional
final loss like lastyear and a Fro-
zen Four berth in St. Paul.
You see, when your underdog
stories grow into full-on success
stories, then you know your team
is in good shape. Unearthing a
hidden success is one of the key
ingredients in many champion-
ship teams of the past.
After his 37-save effort against
Alaska-Fairbanks on Friday, a
game that he won on his own
merits, it's pretty clear that
Shawn Hunwick is no longer an
underdog or a cute story. He's a
hot goalie that teams will have to
startegameplanning for when they
play the Wolverines.
That's a dangerous weapon in
hockey, especially in the post-
season. And as Hunwick con-
tinues to play the best hockey of
his short career, his underdog
story is beginning to morph into
something a little different than
your run-of-the-mill, feel-good
tale.
That's whyI'm calling dibs on
the book deal right now. And if/
when Hunwick leads Michigan
to an NCAA Championship, his
story might be one of those you
tell your kids about 20 years from
now.
If that does happen, be sure to
pick up my book, slated for fall
2013.
- Kartje can be reached
at rkartje@umich.edu
0
0
Sophomore forward Sam Arnold scored a team-high 13 points off the bench in the Wovlerines' win over Purdue.
BIue finds a way to win,
despite poor shooting
GO TO MICHIGANDAILY.COM
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a I
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*LiveeConcerts
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" Spectacular Sunsets
By CAITLIN SMITH
Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan women's bas-
ketball team shot just 35 per-
cent from the field in its 57-45
win over Purdue on Sunday.
Outside shooting is generally
a significant part of Michigan's
offensive game, but the Wol-
verines (5-2 Big Ten, 12-7 over-
all) found other ways to secure
a win - focusing on strong
defensive pressure, rebound-
ing and out-right aggression to
avenge a one-point loss to the
Boilermakers earlier this sea-
son.
Senior guard Veronica Hicks
was a dominant presence on the
court, but not just according
to numbers. Hicks - coming
off of two consecutive double-
doubles - struggled offensively
in the first half, as Purdue (4-4,
13-7) held her scoreless.
"I think that to start the
game I was just really trying to
find a rhythm," Hicks said after
Sunday's game. "I was getting
into the paint pretty easily, but
I wasn't really looking to score.
"I saw my teammates fan-
ning out and they had some nice
looks so I figured I'd pass the job on the post defense, mak-
ball around a little bit." ing sure they didn't get as many
But Hicks still managed lobs," Hicks said. "And I think
to contribute in other ways, on the perimeter side, we made
snagging seven rebounds. She sure we were active and played
said that she has recently been half the distance between our
focused on her effort to get to man on the ball and were able
the boards, and it has shown in to get our hands on some stuff."
the past few games - she has Michigan also forced 20 Boil
snagged more than 10 rebounds ermaker turnovers, which cul-
in each of the Wolverines' last minated in 14 points.
three games. "That's a huge thing for
us," Hicks said of the turn-
overs. "It's a big deal, espe-
cially because we are a little bit
"Any way that smaller sometimes and we get
beat on the boards. So anyway
we can get the that we can get the ball fron
them on the defensive end is
ball from them big."
s b." Michigan displayed aggres-
... 1i lg." sive play in both halves against
Purdue - a feat it has occasion-
ally struggled to do this season
- and hustle play proved to be
But Hicks wasn't the only successful.
aggressive Wolverine against As the Wolverines, who are
the Boilermakers. Michigan currently tied for second in the
increased its defensive pressure Big Ten with Penn State, con-
as a team, tallying seven steals tinue to notch wins and work
and four blocks. their way to the top of the con-
"I think that (sophomore ference, Michigan proved it
forwards) Rachel Sheffer and could rely less on shooting to
Samantha Arnold did a great secure a win.
ThursdLj, Januarj c27th
8:00 - c3:50 PM
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