8 — Tuesday, January 27, 2015 Sports The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com BY THE NUMBERS Michigan Women’s Basketball 4 Michigan players with double-digit scoring: Cyesha Goree, Nicole Elmblad, Katelynn Flaherty and Shannon Smith 12 Double-doubles this season for Cyesha Goree 6 Consecutive home wins for the Wol- verines 19 Largest lead for Michigan, with 2:05 left in the first half 25 Michigan turnovers in the game, a season high For exclusive women’s basketball coverage Check MichiganDaily.com Michigan extends home win streak By JACOB GASE Daily Sports Writer The Michigan women’s basketball team entered Crisler Center on Monday night having won five straight home games, including its first three against Big Ten opponents. For a struggling Illinois squad to have any chance of securing a streak-snapping upset, it needed to both outshoot the Wolverines and contain senior forward Cyesha Goree. The Fighting Illini (2-6 Big Ten, 11-9 overall) weren’t able to do either. Michigan (5-3, 13-6) jumped out to a quick lead by making nine of its first 12 field goals. Goree also picked up her now- customary double-double (19 points, 14 rebounds), allowing the Wolverines drop Illinois handedly, 70-57. The Illinois post players gave it their best effort, but they simply had no answer for Goree on either side of the ball. On offense, senior guard Shannon Smith and Michigan’s other passers frequently pushed the tempo in transition, looking for Goree in the paint early and often. Even on transition plays when she was triple-covered, the Wolverines had little trouble forcing passes into the paint for Goree, who scored eight of Michigan’s first ten points. “We really did a great job of sharing the basketball, having a ton of assists and finding Cyesha,” said Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico. “We found her a ton early, and then we kind of got greedy.” On the other end, Goree’s tough post defense left very few offensive opportunities for the Fighting Illini. Matched up against two different 6-foot-3 forwards, Goree still managed to pick up three blocks and help her team win the rebounding battle, 41-28. While Goree’s presence down low was invaluable, Michigan truly separated itself with its long-range game. Facing a significant height disadvantage and a tough zone defense, the Wolverines were forced to look for open shots around the perimeter, and they delivered. Sophomore guard Siera Thompson, whose shooting percentage has fluctuated throughout the season, made four of her eight shots, including two 3-pointers and a long-range 2-pointer. Freshman guard Katelynn Flaherty, whose 3-point shooting prowess is a key in most opposing scouting reports, found numerous wide-open shots from beyond the arc and knocked down five of them. “My team creates (those shots) for me,” Flaherty said. “They find me in great positions. As you can see, a lot of my shots I really don’t have to put the ball on the floor for. They look over the top of the zone, or the guards attack into the middle of the zone and see me spotting up, so it creates shots that are easy for me to hit.” Conversely, the Fighting Illini struggled mightily when Michigan’s defense forced them to the outside. Illinois shot just 21 percent (4-for-19) from beyond the arc, with three shots missing the rim by several feet. Even on one memorable first- half play where both Thompson and senior forward Nicole Elmblad tripped and fell to the ground in a heap, the Fighting Illini failed to convert an uncontested triple. But Illinois still managed to stay within 10-15 points of the Wolverines for much of the game because of a several mistakes in transition. Michigan lost 25 turnovers, including several errant passes in the first half that sailed out of bounds. “(Illinois) played kind of crazy, which forced us to turn the ball over,” Flaherty said. “We need to be more patient, more confident at times.” But thanks largely to a sharp improvement from Smith, who scored all 13 of her points in the second half, the Wolverines finished strong to seal a 13-point win. “You can make a couple bad plays in a game, or you can have a bad half, or you can have a bad 39 minutes, and maybe make one play to help your team win the game,” Barnes Arico said. “But if you let all that stuff bother you, mentally, you’re not in a good place to make that play. “(Smith) is good enough to make a play that’s going to be a difference maker for us.” ROBERT DUNNE/Daily Junior forward Cyesha Goree finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds as Michigan moved to 5-3 in the Big Ten. “We need to be more patient, more confident at times.” Inside-out game leads Michigan to victory Post presence opens perimeter for hot 3-point shooting night at home By BRAD WHIPPLE Daily Sports Writer Cyesha Goree had three players hovering over her, and with barely any room to maneuver, she made a layup anyway. Monday night at Crisler Center, the senior forward faced multiple triple teams, but she nonetheless managed to fight through most of them. In every other instance, she was double-teamed, and that was even easier. When it wasn’t Goree, it was senior forward Nicole Elmblad, who in the opening minutes salvaged a missed triple by senior guard Shannon Smith to set up the offense for another basket. And when the Fighting Illini prevented the duo from wreaking havoc down low, sophomore guard Siera Thompson, freshman guard Katelynn Flaherty and junior guard Madison Ristovski cleaned up nicely from the 3-point line. With a strong and physical game in the paint that opened up the floor for other shooters to step in, the Michigan women’s basketball team easily pulled away with a 70-57 victory over Illinois. “It makes it hard for teams to defend you,” said Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico. “When we go through preparing for opponents, we try to say, ‘What can we take away?’ … If you have people like Cyesha inside and people that can shoot it from the outside, then who’s gonna help? I think that really opens up the game for us.” Though the Fighting Illini scored 10 more points in the paint than Michigan, it was the Wolverines who dominated on the glass, outrebounding Illinois, 41-28. The game came down to defensive rebounding, where Goree and Elmblad — who collected 14 and 12 total rebounds, respectively — led the charge. With 7:52 left in the second half, Illinois was looking to make a comeback when center Chatrice White drove inside the paint. Goree and Elmblad covered the Illini’s leading scorer almost instantly, forcing a lane violation. Meanwhile, on offense, Michigan continued to find Goree under the basket in transition, allowing her to pick up quick baskets. When Illinois began to pack the paint to stop the inside threat, Goree started to find herself trapped on the baseline. The outside game willed the Wolverines to victory. Finding themselves open on the outside, Flaherty (five), Thompson (two) and Ristovski (one) played a threatening 3-point shooting game, going a combined 8-for-18. As for Flaherty, she was always open. “We’re great when we go inside and back out,” Flaherty said. “It opens up the floor a lot, especially when (Cyesha) is down inside because she can make shots and is a good passer. … She knows how to get me in good positions to score.” Added Goree: “If I’m doubling in the paint, then I know I have Katelynn outside for sure. I’m confident she’s going to make nine out of 10 of those shots. … (You gotta) know (defenders are) gonna collapse and you gotta get it out quick.” Both Barnes Arico and Goree refer to their team as a selfless one, always willing to share the basketball. That’s why four Michigan players scored in double digits, and it’s why the Wolverines set a goal to average 20-plus assists a game. Against the Illini, it worked in Michigan’s favor, and if the Wolverines can keep things consistent, it will continue to work in the games to come. “I’m confident she’s going to make nine out of 10 of those shots.” COME FOR THE EUCHRE GAMES, STAY TO MAKE A NEWSPAPER! Check out one of our open houses at 420 Maynard Street at 8:00 p.m.: WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28 MONDAY, FEBRUARY 2 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL ILLINOIS MICHIGAN 57 70