8 - Friday, February 22, 2013 Sports The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com _ 0 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL Shoddy shooting, dismal defense in a lopsided loss N IC HOL A S W IL L IAMS/Daily Senior guard Jenny Ryan followed up a career-high 24 points against Michigan State with just six points against a lockdown Cornhusker defense. 21-0 run leads todemise Two stretches total 36 unanswered points for Nebraska to topple Michigan By ALEXA DETTELBACH Daily Sports Writer In a clash of the Big Ten's hot- test teams, the Michigan wom- en's basketball team came out fast against No. 24 Nebraska. In the first half, at least. The Wolverines - riding a three-game win streak, includ- ing a huge win against NEBRASKA 57 Michigan MICHIGAN 39 State on Saturday - forced three Corn- husker turnovers in the opening two minutes and relied on the strong play of senior forward Nya Jordan, who had six of the team's first 10 points. But two extensive stretches without a basket - Nebraska had runs of 15 and 21 unanswered points - were too much for Michigan to overcome in a 57-39 loss to Nebraska on Thursday night. Michigan scored its lowest point total of the sea- son in its second-to-last home game. "It was just one of those nights where we couldn't get out of it," said Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico. "In the first half we really struggled offensively, but they struggled as well went back and for struggles. "Then in the continued with t hopefully it was can move on." The Wolverine 19-7 overall) kept ers' offense cold f minutes, but Neb scorers - senior Moore and junio dan Hooper - helped build a five-point lead after sparking a 15-0 run half- way through the first. Michi- gan's offense, which started out 5-for-9 from the field, missed its next 11 shots and wen minutes without ing the Cornhusk momentum. Afti timeout, senior Sheffer hit a lay Wolverines' sco The rest of the ha a back-and-forth Jordan's 10 poi rebounds helping take a 22-18 lead a "We ran a lotc the game to (Jo Arico said. "Early straight plays for: , so we kind of a tremendous job, (but) she got a rth through the little bit tired in the second half. "Overall, though, Nya is doing second half we everything for us, I'm really he struggle, so grateful that she turned iton." a fluke and we Nebraska (10-3, 20-6) opened the second half scoring 21 s (8-5 Big Ten, straight points to gain a com- the Cornhusk- manding 17-point lead. Michi- or the first eight gan's first points of the second raska's leading half didn't come until Sheffer hit guard Lindsey a 3-pointer with 11:26 remain- r forward Jor- ing in the game. A quick jumper by sophomore guard Brenae Harris cut the "It was one of deficit to 12, .forcing the those nmghts Cornhuskers to take a timeout. where we "They came y y, out way more COuldn't get out." aggrssiveo than we did, and we kind of got a little t more than six bit rattled because they scored," a point, allow- Jordan said. "They went on a run, lers to gain the and we weren't able to answer." er a Michigan After both teams traded bas- center Rachel kets, senior guard Kate Thomp- up to end the son hit her first 3-pointer of the ring drought. game with 6:54 remaining, chip- alf proved to be ping Nebraska's lead to 10 - the struggle with closest Michigan gotto the Corn- nts and eight huskers before eventually falling the Wolverines by 18 points. at halftime. After having back-to-back of stuff early in strong offensive games, Thomp- rdan)," Barnes son couldn't find her shot, going on we ran three 2-for-17 with five points, but she her and she did still added eight rebounds. Ryan, who won Big Ten Player of the Week on Monday, was also quiet compared to her 24-point effort against Michigan State but con- tributed just six points and only one assist. Jordan ended the game with 12 points and a career-high 16 rebounds. It was her fifthstraight game scoring in double figures, a career best. Sheffer added nine points and seven rebounds. The downfall for the Wolver- ines was their second-half per- formance - they were outscored 39-17 in the period. Michigan shot 27.7 percent on the game, including13 percent from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, Nebraska shot 39.6 percent on the game including 53.8 percent in the second half In addition, the Cornhuskers went 7-for-12 from downtown in the second half. "The second half we came out dead," Sheffer said. "We didn't have any energy. The biggest thing was that we weren't hitting shots, but we were going on the defensive shots and letting them hit shots. When we're not hit- ting shots we have to step up our defensive game especially." Added Barnes Arico: "In the second half I really thought that we looked fatigued, (and) they really beat us in transition. We lost our fire a little bit, and I think sometimes not being able to score takes the wind out of your sails, and (that's) what happened to us." By GLENN MILLER JR. Daily Sports Writer The game of basketball boils down to two fundamentals - making baskets and playing defense. On Thursday, the Mich- igan women's basketball team failed in both areas, leading to a 57-39 rout by No. 24 Nebraska. Both the Wolverines and Cornhuskers struggled to find a rhythm on offense, exchanging leads throughout the first half. Michigan started the game in a man-to-man defense, containing Nebraska's leading scorer, junior guard Jordan Hooper, to two points at the break. The Husk- ers allowed a 10-2 run out of the gates, but tightened up their defense to let only senior guard Nya Jordan score in double dig- its with 10 points in the first half. Nebraska shot a paltry 25.9 percent from the field in the first half, but Michigan wasn't much better at 32.4 percent. Still, the Wolverines took advantage of a struggling Husker team to take a slim lead at the break, 22-18. The second half was a differ- ent story. As Michigan sank into a 2-3 zone, Nebraska went on a 21-0 run while the Wolverines' offense seemed to vanish. With- in an instant, a game that Michi- gan seemed to control became too much to handle. "The second half we came out dead - we didn't have any ener- gy," said senior forward Rachel Sheffer. "The biggest thing was that we weren'thittingshots,but we were going on the defensive end and letting them hit shots. When we're not hitting shots, we have to step up our defensive game especially." The Wolverines couldn't find an answer for Huskers' senior guard Lindsey Moore, who fin- ished the game with 15 points and eight assists. Moore not only controlled her team's tempo on offense, but she also locked down Michigan senior guard Jenny Ryan on defense. Ryan, who earned this week's Big Ten Player of the Week Honors, fol- lowed up a career-high 24 points against Michigan State with just six points against Nebraska. "I thought tonight Nebraska did agreat job of wearing(Jenny) out and they guarded her," said Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico. "She played 39 minutes, so I mean they exhausted her and did a tremendous job on her defensively, and she seemed a little bit tired." The leading scorer for the Wolverines this season, senior guard Kate Thompson, shot an abysmal 2-for-17 from the field and finished with five points. Thompson was guarded tightly off of screens, and while she saw a fair share of opportunities, she was never able to find a rhythm, shooting a mere 10 percent from behind the arc. The Husk- ers effectively double-teamed Thompson to contain her dan- gerous 3-point shot, forcing Michigan's offense to find the open player. "They left the people coming off the bench wide open, and I think we were kind of shocked by that," Sheffer said. "We weren't really sure what to do. We had wide-open looks but we just didn't knock them down." While the Wolverines con- tinued to allow Nebraska to shoot through their zone, no one stepped up for Michigan on offense. Several times in the sec- ond half, the Huskers doubled Thompson and Sheffer, leaving sophomore guard Nicole Elm- blad wide open. Elmblad, who isn't known for her offensive abilities, missed all three of her attempts shooting. "For a lot of us, we were never wide open in the season," Jordan said. "I think for the most part we had to think what we wanted to do and that took us out of our routine and rhythm." Senior guard Sam Arnold came off the bench in an attempt- ed relief role, but the Wolverines couldn't handle the pressure. Michigan found itself constantly battling the shot clock as Ryan continued to force the ball to Thompson and Sheffer. "Obviously they did a great job of doubling our other kids and getting kids open," Barnes Arico said. "We need some other kids to come in and make some plays for us in order for us to be successful." This isn't the firstsighting of a stagnant Wolverines offense. In its first game against Michigan State in East Lansing, Michigan struggled to find a rhythm in the second half and settled for last- second shots. The Wolverines' panic on Thursday resembled the offensive production that contributed to their four-game conference skid. But if there is anything Michi- gan has learned fromits mid-sea- son slide, it's how to bounce back against tough teams. After losing four out of five games in the Big Ten, the Wolverines responded by defeating three consecutive top-tier Big Ten teams. Michi- gan now has the opportunity to make a monumental rebound on Sunday at No. 8 Penn State and prove that Thursday's game was simply a hiccup. "We've been in this position before - ina little slump," Sheffer said."Itwas just abadnighttoplay basketball for us. We just need to make sure tomorrow we come in and get ready for Penn State." After welcomed rest, 'M' faces streaking Illini 0 Struggling bigs should receive boost from a recovering Morgan By COLLEEN THOMAS Daily Sports Editor The last time the Michigan men's basketball team held an opponent's big man to Mlindsat less than 10 points was Michigan Jan. 27 when Matchup: the Wolver- Illinois 17-7; ines traveled to Michigan 22-4 Champaign. When: Sun- Then-No. 2 day 1 P.M. Michigan held Where: Crisier Illinois' 6-foot- Center 11 center Nnan- TV/Radio: na Egwu to ISPN just six points in a convinc- ing 74-60 road win, but ever since, the Wolverines haven't been able to stop the opponents' interior game, especially with the absence of redshirt junior forward Jordan Morgan due to a persistent ankle injury - their defensive rock. Thankfully for Michigan (9-4 Big Ten, 22-4 overall), it hosts the Fighting Illini (6-7, 19-8) on Sunday with Morgan's health improving. The redshirt junior started in the seventh-ranked Wolverines' latest contest against Penn State, and with him continuing to show improve- ment combined with Illinois' weak frontcourt coming to Ann Arbor, Michigan will be able to focus its defense on the perim- eter. But it won't be an easy task to defend one ofthe best backcourts in the Big Ten. Seniors Brandon Paul and D.J. Richardson and sophomore Tracy Abrams com- bine for 40 points per game - 56 percent of the Fighting Illini's offense - while Paul is fourth in the conference in scoring, aver- aging 16.4 points per game. Though Paul didn't have as explosive of a game against Northwestern on Feb. 17 as he's capable of - he scored just eight points - Illinois coach John Groce has seen immense improvement in the captain's all-around game and hopes he'll continue the trend. "I thought (Sunday's game) was as good a performance as he's had all year in all areas," said Groce in a teleconference on Monday. "He rebounded the ball well, I thought his shot selec- tion was excellent, he shared the ball, he made our team bet- ter. He (also) defended well, he made a couple of hustle, extra- effort plays. I thought he played as well-rounded a game as he has all year, I think his mind is in the right place." And Paul's improvement has contributed to the Fighting Illi- ni's five-game win streak. After struggling early in the confer- ence slate - going 2-7 in the first nine games of Big Ten play - Illinois responded with upsets over Indiana and Minnesota and thrashings of Purdue and North- western. But while Illinois has been on a late-season surge, Michigan has been faltering. After drop- ping three of their four games in a 10-day stretch, the Wolverines struggled to fend off Penn State last Sunday, which is winless in the Big Ten. Michigan has recently shown signs of the wear associated with the brutal conference sched- ule, and the tough stretch has exposed several weaknesses in the Wolverines' game, especial- ly on defense. Michigan coach John Beilein recognized his team's exhaustion and adjusted this week's practice schedule accordingly, though he's still adamant that the squad will con- tinue to improve with the right regiment. "It takes a long process (to adjust physically), and that's just being in the weight room," Beilein said in a teleconference on Monday. "We find that the more you're in the weight room, the more that you're work- ing out, the stronger you get. It doesn't hurt to be tough (and) it doesn't hurt to be physical. "(There's also) your whole attitude in practice, about what you're going to stand for. There's just all kind of motivating ways you'll do to make sure they understand it is urgent that you play at a higher level, you play really hard, and you play smart - that's the toughest thing to do. There's a lot of ways (of motiva- tion), whether it's extra running, raise your voice, (or) make prac- tice go longer." And while sophomore guard Trey Burke and junior guard Tim Hardaway Jr. have had no trouble handling the physicality of conference play, the freshmen - most notably guard Nik Staus- kas and forward Glenn Robinson III - have struggled greatly dur- ing the Big Ten slate. Though the offense was hot for Michigan with Robinson and Stauskas having breakout games against the Nittany Lions offen- sively, the whole team's defense lacked motivation. Beilein is hoping that the week off will allow the team to focus indi- vidually in auldition to the team's larger needs. "Instead of having 15 guys at practice, we may have several sessions with five guys for an hour ... and then have an hour practice," Beilein said. "There's some different things we can do to give individual attention to the strengths and weaknesses 6 PAUL SHERMAN/Daily Michigan coach Jon Beilein must address defensive play in the paint. we have individually." Even without a stellar defen- sive performance, chances are Michigan will be able to scrap a win against Illinois behind Burke and Hardaway's continu- ing tear. But if the Wolverines hope to compete against the Big Ten's best - they still have remaining games against Michi- gan State and Indiana - they will need a big difference on defense. i * n