8 - Friday, March 28, 2014

The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

M' finishes season

Poor first half dooms
Wolverines in final game

By ALEXA DETTELBACH
Daily Sports Editor
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio
- It's safe to say the Michigan
women's basketball team will
want to beat Bowling Green next
year. Badly.
The Wolverines kicked off
their season with a loss to Bowl-
ing Green (17-1 MAC, 30-4 over-
all) in early November, and just
four-and-a-half months later, the
Falcons picked up where they left
off. Michigan's season ended just
like it started after the Wolver-
ines (8-8 Big Ten, 20-14) fell 63-53
in the third round of the WNIT.
In one of the loudest venues
Michigan has played in this
season, Bowling Green pushed
the Wolverines from both teams'
favorite spot - the 3-point arc.
The Falcons hit five of nine
from beyond the arc in the first
half and added four more in the
second, holding Michigan to
3-for-13 from three.
Sophomore guard Madison
Ristovski, who in recent weeks
has become the Wolverines'
most lethal long-range threat,
was unable to find a rhythm. And
freshman guard Siera Thompson,
who has hit athree in all 35 games
this season, went just 1-of-5.
"I think our team really grew
(between matchups with the
Falcons), really improved and
really found its identity," said
Michigan coach Kim Barnes
Arico. "Bowling Green is a
tough matchup, and they're
extremely tough at home. They
had a great atmosphere here
tonight, but I think they had the
edge playing here."
Despite getting out of reach
late, the game looked promising
early for the Wolverines who,
after trailing for the first few
minutes of the game, got a jumper
from the right side of the key from
junior forward Nicole Elmblad to
put them up 12-10 five minutes
in. The basket not only marked
Michigan's new program record
for points in a season but also the

Wolverines' last lead of the game.
From there, Michigan went tight
when its baskets weren't falling.
"I think this time that we
played them we definitely started
off a lot stronger," Elmblad said.
"This time we were more focused
and ready to lock up on defense,
but unfortunately we didn't hold
that the entire first half and they

17.5 turnovers, Michigan couldn't
overcome the turnovers in con-
junction with a 40-percent shoot-
ingnight.
"We got some good looks, but
we couldn't get shots to fall and
there were some calls we didn't
get to go our way," Barnes Arico
said. "I think that took the wind
out of our sails and they coun-

By LEV FACHER Bowling Green's two-year-old
Daily Sports Writer gem of an on-campus arena.
What did bother them was
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - the same thorn that has been
Several hundred orange-clad planted firmly in their side
Bowling Green students who throughout the year - the
occupied 15 rows behind an inability to close out the first
half. It's not a new narrative,
but one that made the difference
for the fourth time this year.
Tonight, it gave Bowling Green
a 63-53 win that knocked the
Wolverines out of the WNIT,
leaving them with an impressive
20-14 record in what was widely
identified before the season as a
transition year.
E With eight minutes
gr remaining, . Michigan was
deadlocked with the Falcons at
19. As junior forward Cyesha
Goree picked up a charge trying
to beat the buzzer on a half-
court prayer, the score stood
at 31-22 following a fast-paced,
back-and-forth first half that
escaped the Wolverines entirely
in the final five minutes.
"That took the wind out
of our sails a little bit," said
Michigan coach Kim Barnes
Arico. "We could never get back
over that hump."
JAMESCOLLER/Daily That hump gave Michigan
ir season in the WNIT on Thursday. State two wins over the Wol-
verines, both results that could
entire baseline began to sing as have easily gone the other way.
the first half wound to a close. On Jan. 12, the Spartans broke a
They sang a song familiar to tie with a nine-point run to close
Michigan fans, though per- the first half. In the Big Ten
haps not to Tournament
the Michigan quarterfinals
women's bas- on March
ketball team "This team 7, Michigan
- a tune about State put
how they really exceeded together an
didn't give a 11-2 in the
damn for the expectations." half's final
whole state of minutes to cut
Michigan. Michigan's
The Wol- lead to three.
verines didn't seem particularly It happened in the non-rival-
affected by the rowdy students, ry games, too - Iowa finished
or by the hostile environment at the first half with an 8-2 run on
the still-sparkling Stroh Center, Feb. 22, a game the Hawkeyes

eventually won, 74-70.
"It's definitely been a differ-
ence at times," said junior for-
ward Nicole Elmblad.
This time around, the
Wolverines' final eight minutes
were troubled in every phase
of play. The foul on Goree
was her second, a completely
unnecessary pickup for a
player plagued by foul trouble
all season.
Michigan's shots weren't
falling, not even a wide-open,
point-blank Elmblad jumper
with two minutes left. Bowling
Green forward Jill Stein's layup
on the next possession brought
the raucous crowd to its feet.
Though the halftime deficit
stood at just nine points, it
became clear early in the second
half that the night belonged to
the home team. The only true
glimmer of hope came when
freshman guard Paige Rakers
cut the lead to single digits on
a corner 3-pointer just seconds
after checking into the game.
There's no telling what might
have been, had the Wolverines
closed out the first half on a
stronger note - while frenetic
3-point shooting from the
Falcons kept the Wolverines
from getting any closer, the
eventual - 10-point margin
suggests that it could have been
kept competitive throughout.
On Nov. 1, Bowling Green
beat. the Wolverines, 63-52,
in both teams' season opener.
Tonight's nearly identical
scoreline, though, belies the
tremendous growth that Barnes
Arico witnessed throughout the
season.
"I think our team really
grew, really improved and
really found its identity,"
Barnes Arico said. "This team
really exceeded expectations,
and the kids really grew
throughout the year. They did
a tremendous job."

Junior guard Shannon Smith and the Michigan women's basketball team finished the

were able to make agood run."
With 5:02 left in the half and the
game still within reach, Elmblad
hit a fadeaway that put Michigan
within one, but the Falcons
countered with a 9-1 run to end
the half, putting the Wolverines
down nine going into the locker
room. Bowling Green used strong
3-point shooting, going 5-for-9 in
the first 20 minutes, to pad its lead.
Unfortunately for Michigan,
the second half wasn't any
prettier. The Wolverines were
once again plagued by turnovers,
committing 12.
After beating their last two
WNIT opponents by an average
of 38 points while committing

tered and scored. ... But overall
this season, we've shown tremen-
dous growth."
With a little more thansixmin-
utes left in their season, the Wol-
verines were able to get within
nine after freshman guard Paige
Rakers hit a triple off the bench
followed by a layup from Elmblad.
But Michigan was unable to make
the necessary stops on the defen-
sive end and halt the momentum
inside Stroh Center.
By the end of the night the
Bowling Green crowd was
deafening and the Wolverines
couldn't generate a last-minute
spark - ending their season just
like it began.

FOOTBALL
Early enrollees excelling

By MAX COHEN freshmen as an offensive line-
Daily Sports Editor man."
Hoke also said wide receiver
They shouldbe seniors in high Freddy Canteen was among a
school, but Michigan football's list of the team's wide receivers
seven early enrollees haven't who have stood out during
been act- competition for playing time.
ing their age. NOTEBOOK Canteen is expected to compete
While their for immediate playing time in
peers are preparing for prom, the slot position.
many of the early enrollees Defensive tackle Bryan Mone
have impressed during spring was also named a candidate for
practice, according to Michigan early playing time on an interior
coach Brady Hoke. defensive line looking for depth
Early enrollee Mason Cole with junior Ondre Pipkins out
has been mentioned multiple with a torn anterior cruciate
times as a standout among the ligament.
team's young offensive line. Early enrollee quarterback
There's no guarantee Cole will Wilton Speight likely won't see
see the field in the fall at a posi- the field this season, but Hoke
tion where freshmen usually said he is still involved in the
ride the bench, but Hoke men- team's quarterback competition.
tioned that he has played him- Hoke likes what he has seen
self into the mix. from Speight, but noted that if
"He's a pretty mature guy," the season started today, fifth-
Hoke said. "Physically, he's year senior Devin Gardner
probably a little ahead of a lot of would likely be the starter

over second-string sophomore
quarterback Shane Morris.
The only flaws Hoke men-
tioned about the early enrollees
were injury-related. Freshman
wide receiver Drake Harris has
been dinged up in practice and
Hoke expected him to be held
out Thursday afternoon. Har-
ris missed all of his senior sea-
son with a hamstring injury but
enrolled at Michigan healthy.
"We're probably being a little
bit more safe with it," Hoke said.
Harris participated fully in
the Wolverines' early practices,
and Hoke thought he was pro-
gressing nicely, learning how to
properly run Michigan's routes.
Young running backs
improve: Because of a combina-
tion of poor offensive line play
and personal underachieve-
ment, Michigan's running backs
endured a frustrating 2013 sea-
son. The Wolverines' top return-
ing running backs, sophomores
Derrick Green and De'Veon
Smith, combined for just 387
rushing yards last season on 109
attempts for an average of 3.55
yards per carry.
Hoke says he has seen
improvement in the pair through
the beginning spring practices
compared to their contributions
in the fall, particularly for
Green.
"(Green's in better) shape,
in experience, understanding
the expectations, maybe a little
more of a clarity, I think it's all
part of it," Hoke said.
Hoke also noted that he has
seen immense improvement
from the pair in pass protection.
Offensive line transfer:
Hoke also responded to rumors
that Michigan is interested in
Alabama guard Chad Lindsay,
a graduate transfer, to shore
up the offensive line. Lindsay
played for offensive coordinator
Doug Nussmeier and would be
eligible to play for the Wolver-
ines in the fall because of gradu-
ate transfer rules. He spoke in
vague terms, but didn't rule out
the possibility.
"We'll investigate all those
guys, just to see where we're at,"
Hoke said.

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