The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Thursday, January 16, 2014 - 7A
West Lafayette Story: Wolverines
upset Purdue in key Big Ten win
By SHANNON LYNCH
Daily Sports Writer
On Wednesday night at Purdue,
with 14:25 left in the second half,
fans of the Michigan women's
basketball team held their breath.
Junior for-
ward Cye- MICHIGAN 65
sha Goree PURDUE 49
had been
charged with her fourth foul of
the game, forcing Michigan coach
Kim Barnes Arico to take the
strong playmaker out for almost
seven minutes.
The Wolverines stormed the
court at Mackey Arena early,
scoring eight unanswered points
in the first three minutes of the
game, due much in part to the
rebounding effort of Goree.
Without her height and hustle
on the court, Michigan could've
crumhled under pressure and
relinquished their lead.
But for a teamthat continuously
overcomes adverse situations in
critical games, crumbling would
have been out of character.
For a full 40 minutes, the Wol-
verines (3-1 Big Ten, 12-5 overall)
forced Purdue to play catch-up.
The Boilermakers (1-3,11-5) failed
to close the gap, giving Michi-
gan its first victory over a top-25
ranked team this season, 65-49.
The win marked a historic night
for the program - the Wolverines
have never beat Purdue in back-
to-back years in West Lafayette.
Despite never relinquishing
its lead, Michigan felt increased
pressure from the Boilermakers
throughout the second half, and
the Wolverines' substantial point
margin sunk to single digits. As
a result of 17 Michigan turnovers
throughout the game, Purdue
hung around, threatening the
Wolverines' upset.
"That's kind of been the
common theme," Barnes Arico
said. "If we don't get better at it,
we are going to be in trouble."
Michigan held a 39-37
TRACY KO
Freshman guard Siera Thompson's 12 points were tied for a tearn high in Michigan's four th Big Ten win in five games.
PAUL SHERMAN7Dily
Sophomore forward Glenn Robinson I11 has found success in the second half
this season after slow first-half starts. Something he didn't do last year.
Robinson finds
reason to smile
rebounding advantage and had
10 steals along with seven blocks
in the contest. Goree filled up
her box score with eight points,
14 rebounds and two assists, and
junior forward Nicole Elmblad
grabbed six defensive and three
offensive boards, helping her
team dominate the glass in the
first half.
The Wolverines held Purdue
to 30 percent shooting from the
field and shut down its leading
scorers - guards Courtney
Moses and KK Houser. The pair
averages 31 points per game, but
combined for just 11on the night.
Moses, who has scored in double
digits in her last eight games, put
up eight and added two rebounds
Wednesday night.
"We started in a diamond-
and-one (defense) on Moses and
I think that kind of set the tone,"
Barnes Arico said. "We went back
to it later in the second half and
I think it really was a difference-
maker for us."
Freshman guard Siera Thomp-
son and junior forward Shannon
Smith made strong offensive con-
tributions, each scoring 12 points.
Thompson went 3-for-6 from
deep while Smith came through
at the free-throw line, going
4-for-4. Michigan shot 45 per-
cent from the field, and 61 percent
from the free-
throw line, AHot Start
showing offen-
sive authority Big Ten Women's
on the road. Basketball Rankings
With just 1. MSU
over three 2. Nebraska
minutes left Penn State
in the game, Michigan
it looked as Ohio State
though Michi- 6. Indiana
gan might fall Iowa
behind. But a 8. Purdue
timely corner Minnesota
3-pointer from Northwesten
sophomore
guard Madi-
son Ristovski
nudged the
Wolverines back into action, out-
scoring Purdue, 11-2, until the
final buzzer sounded.
"That was definitely the big-
gest shot of the game," Barnes
Arico said. "She hit a couple big
shots tonight. She hit her free
throws which was tremendous,
but that shot right there was
really key."
Ristovski stepped up and
continuously attacked the basket,
keeping the Wolverines out of
trouble on the scoreboard for
most of the second half. She led
the team in scoring with 17 points
- 12 of which came in the second
half - going 4-for-4 on free
throws and 3-for-5 from beyond
the arc.
Michigan's scoring runs
allowed them to overcome peri-
ods of offensive lapses. It finished
the game as Purdue fans quietly
drudged out of Mackey, dismayed
that their team now holds a mea-
sly 1-3 record in the Big Ten. For
the Wolverines, who just accrued
their third conference win and
third consecutive road win, the
good times continue to roll.
Once a "worst-case scenario," Kevin
Lohan finds way back onto the ice
By ALEJANDRO ZUNIGA
Daily Sports Editor
Kevin Lohan wants to play.
And he wants to play now.
Sidelined since Nov. 1 with a
torn lateral meniscus, the fresh-
man defenseman has watched
from the bench as the Michigan
hockey team climbed the nation-
al rankings and then struggled
through a four-game losing
streak that will span nearly a
month before the 13th-ranked
Wolverines compete again.
But he won't play next week
when Michigan (2-2 Big Ten,
10-6-2 overall) continues its
conference slate with a series
against Michigan State. He may
not even see the ice the week
after that, when the Wolver-
ines welcome No. 9 Wisconsin
to Yost Ice Arena. According to
Michigan coach Red Berenson,
there's no guarantee Lohan will
ever regain the spot he held at
the beginning of the season,
which has since been supplant-
ed to various degrees of success.
If Lohan had his way instead
of Berenson or the team doctor,
he'd dress for next Thursday's
game against the Spartans.
"I've gotta wait for the
doctor," Lohan said. "It's not up
to me at this point."
Right now, Lohan says he's
at about 90 percent - while the
recovery process has been long
and arduous, he's progressing
well ahead of schedule. On Nov.
5, Berenson said the injury was
a "worst-case scenario" and
that it would take at least three
months until the defenseman
had a chance to play again.
"He's doing really well,"
Berenson said. "He's pretty
close to going all-out."
And for a while, it was as dif-
ficult as Berenson predicted.
Lohan watched practices from
the bleachers behind the north
end of the rink at Yost Ice Arena, injury did have a bright spot.
his right leg immobilized. Nov. Because the meniscus tore
15-16, the Wolverines struggled completely and cleanly, the
defensively and split a series at doctors were able to repair it in
Nebraska-Omaha. The follow- a way that will provide better
ing week, he couldn't participate long-term stability.
in Michigan's Fortunately
first-ever offi- for Lohan, the
cial Big Ten Wolverines
game. "He's pretty were kept
"'She hard- off the ice
est thing is close to going all with a hbye
watching," , week in early
Lohan said. OUt. December and
"Especially on time off for
game day." finals and the
When he holiday break.
By SIMON KAUF
Daily Sports Wri
Two weeks ago, so
forward Glenn Robi
talked with his forn
school coach. Dave M
who coached Robi
Lake Central High I
St. John, Ind., hadc
of unconventionala
smile more.
Tuesday night
Michigan men's b
game against Pen
Robinson caught a
from sophomore gui
LeVert midway thr
second half and turn
a highlight-reel
dunk. The crowd
and erupted. Robin
onto the rim for a spl
landed back on the g
out a roar and smiled.
Basketball was fu
and after
the dunk,
the Wolver-
ines (4-0 Big "N
Ten, 12-4
overall) led t
the Nittany
Lions by 12 wh
on their way
to a win and
their best b
start in Big b
Ten play
since 2003.
In a
long season that ha
included a challeng
conference schedu
repetitive grind of
and games can take its
in the scrutiny that su
Robinson early in th
- questions about wl
should've left for the N
if he would continu
the '4' position despit
more natural fit at th
what his role would
Trey Burke and Tim I
Jr. gone - and it berr
to understand howt
of basketball could
a cherished opportu
tedious obligation.
Robinson's Lake
coach saw that andv
make sure his forn
school standoutu
playing because he en
"(He) remindedn
the shots that we too
school, all the hardA
I put in early in the
and just continuing t'
confidence grow,"
said of the advicel
gave him. "One thin
was just to smile mo
MAN think I've been doing a great
ter job of that."
And Robinson's had reason
iphomore to smile.
nson III Against Penn State, the
ner high- 6-foot-6 forward got off to a
lilausnic, slow start - he missed his first
inson at five field-goal attempts - but
School in he kept shooting and finished
one piece 5-for-13 from the field with 15
advice - points on the night.
"Last year, I probably
in the would've scored five points in
basketball that situation," Robinson said.
n State, "I probably would've been a
lob pass little more tentative to shoot.
ard Caris That's another thing about
ough the being a sophomore - learn-
ed it into ing the system, doing the right
alley-oop things to get myself involved."
stood up Without Burke and
son hung Hardaway leading the show,
it second, Robinson has become more
round, let comfortable getting involved
in the offense - one that is
in again, now his to lead. Robinson is
averaging
nearly 14
points per
ow he's going game tse
season after
o get shots averaging 11
last season.
ere he knows He's had more
.r obiggames, too.
we're going A season ago
a t hm he had nine
ack to him" games with
14 points or
more. In just
16 games this
s already year, he's already matched that.
ing non- Robinson could've been a
le, the top-15 NBA draft pick had he
practices left after last season. Instead,
toll. Add he came back to compete for
rrounded another trip to the Final Four
he season and to prove there's more to
hether he his game than what he showed
qBA draft, last year.
e to play And after playing in the
te being a shadows of Burke and Hard-
e 3' spot, away last year, Robinson has
be with emerged on his own, showing
Hardaway he's still first-round material.
omes easy "He wasn't going to get the
the game ball (lastyear) because Tim and
go from Trey were so good," Michigan
nity to a coach John Beilein said. "So
now he's going to get shots
Central where he knows we're going
wanted to back to him. ... So he's just got
ner high- to be selective when he finds
was still the right people. I'm happy he's
joyed it. evolving every day as knowing
ne of all where he is offensively, whathe
k in high can do."
work that Robinson's soaring dunk
mornings Tuesday night was good
o help my enough for the "Delta Flight of
Robinson the Game," and he might want
Milausnic to hold on to those frequent-
g he said flyer miles - NBA teams have
ire, and I busy travel schedules.
went home in the evenings,
roommate and freshman for-
ward Tyler Motte cooked for
him and helped him hobble
around the dorm. When Lohan
struggled with the stairs up to
his West Quad room, upper-
classman teammates let him
sleep at their off-campus house.
Though devastating, the
am
Before they face Michigan State
next week, they'll have played
just four games in 41 days.
Lohan hopes to return for the
series against Wisconsin on
Jan. 31, and if he does, he'll be
able to participate in the bulk
of the Big Ten schedule and
postseason play.
"I guess you could say I got
lucky in when I got hurt," he
said. "If you were to get hurt,
that was the time."
On Dec. 25, Lohan finally
made his return to the ice,
participating in Michigan's two
practices that day for the Great
Lakes Invitational. Though the
team spent the day practicing,
it felt like a Christmas present
to him.
At 6-foot-5 and 200-plus
pounds, Lohan is far from an
agile skater, making his return
to game form more difficult.
Even though Lohan feels ready
to compete, doctors are still
keeping him from participating
in some full-contact drills.
Wearing a white jersey in
practice Wednesday, Lohan
joined his teammates in board-
to-board sprints. On one skate
down the ice, the freshman fin-
ished last among a group of four
teammates. Holding his stick
behind his neck, he hunched
over for breath, all with a smile.
"It feels really good to get
back out there," he said. "I've
slowly been working my way up
to the more intense activities."
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PAUL SHERMAN/Daily
Freshman defenseman Kevin Lohan is eager to return to the ice after missing time since the beginning of November.
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kr