8 — Friday, January 30, 2015
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Tough task ahead for ‘M’ 
against defending champs

By LELAND MITCHINSON

For the Daily

The No. 16 Michigan wrestling 

team will have a difficult time 
Friday night when it hosts No. 
5 Penn State 
at Cliff Keen 
Arena. 
The 

Wolverines are 
attempting 
to 

harness 
the 

momentum 
of 
back-to-

back Big Ten 
wins 
against 

Wisconsin and 
Indiana, while 
Penn 
State 

looks to bounce 
back from a tough one-point loss 
to No. 2 Minnesota Sunday.

The Wolverines are looking to 

come out and match the intensity 

of 
the 
four-time 
defending 

national 
champion 
Nittany 

Lions, who want to get back to 
their winning ways after last 
week’s loss.

“Penn State’s not gonna roll 

over for anybody.” said Michigan 
coach 
Joe 
McFarland. 
“You 

know they’re gonna be looking 
to rebound, they’re probably 
not happy about getting beat 
in a close one by Minnesota, so 
they’re gonna come in here and 
try to take it out on us. And our 
job is to squish that right away, 
win some of these early matches, 
get that momentum on our side 
and build off that.”

McFarland realizes that many 

of the wrestlers he’s relying on 
to get that momentum are also 
some of the younger wrestlers on 
the team.

“If you look at our core, 

most guys out of our 10 were 
underclassmen,” he said. “We’ve 
got a lot of underclassmen and 
it’s great to see. Those guys are 
getting great experience and 
getting out there and laying it on 
the line.”

One of those underclassmen 

is sophomore Brian Murphy, 
currently 
the 
13th-ranked 

wrestler in the nation at the 157-
pound weight class.

Murphy has strung together 

some impressive wins in Big 
Ten dual meets including a win 
over Ohio State’s Josh Demas, 
currently ranked ninth in the 
country. Murphy, however, likes 
to approach things one match at 
a time.

“You know, I just try to act 

the same with every match,” he 
said. “You know (Demas) was 
a pretty good kid, but I tried to 
wrestle the same against him as 
I do against everyone else, and I 
just try to really focus on what I 
need to do.”

Another young contributor for 

the Wolverines is freshman Alec 
Pantaleo, currently the nation’s 
ninth-ranked wrestler in the 149-
pound weight class. Neither he 
nor Murphy buys into the team’s 
underdog status against Penn 
State.

Pantaleo knows Penn State has 

been good in the past, and still is, 
but he believes Michigan has the 
talent and work ethic to take the 
momentum of the two previous 
Big Ten wins and be successful 
Friday.

No matter what Pantaleo 

thinks, the match will be tough. 
Penn State has top wrestlers 
in the 125, 133, 157, 174, 197 
and heavyweight classes, and 
Michigan can be sure Nittany 
Lions coach Cael Sanderson will 
have his team prepared after last 
week’s close loss.

If Pantaleo, Murphy and the 

rest of the Wolverines take their 
momentum and swing some of 
the individual matches, the team 
can do exactly what the Golden 
Gophers did last week: beat the 
reigning champs.

WRESTLING
Offense faces another test

By ZACH SHAW

Daily Sports Writer

Riding a seven-game win 

streak and scoring more goals 
per game than any team in the 
country has since 2004, the 
No. 13 Michigan hockey team 
will 
be 
the 

clear favorite 
in 
Friday’s 

matchup 
against 
Michigan 
State 
at 
Joe 

Louis Arena in 
Detroit.

But 
with 

rivalry 
bragging 
rights 
and 

conference 
positioning on 
the line, plus 
potentially 
more 
than 
20,000 
fans 

watching, the Spartans have 
one player who may be able to 
slow the Wolverines’ roll and 
allow Michigan State to come 
away with an upset win: Jake 
Hildebrand.

The 
junior 
netminder 
— 

who’s also the last goalie to 
hold the Wolverines to less 
than four goals — has a .924 
save percentage and a 2.40 
goals-against average in his 
career, and currently leads the 
Big Ten in minutes, saves, save 
percentage and goals-against 
average. And if last week was 
any indication, he’s only now 
hitting his stride.

Hildebrand stopped 55 of 

56 shots in a weekend sweep 
of Ohio State, earning him Big 
Ten First Star of the Week 
accolades. If he’s at his best, the 
Spartans have a fighting chance 
at slowing an offense that is 
averaging 4.36 goals per game.

“He’s a competitor, that’s 

what 
separates 
him,” 
said 

Michigan State coach 
Tom 

Anastos. “He goes out and 
competes 
consistently, 
and 

we’re reliant on him at times 
because of how consistent he 
is.”

Despite 
Hildebrand’s 
hot 

streak, 
Michigan 
(7-1 
Big 

Ten, 15-7 overall) heads into 
the matchup unfazed. That’s 

because it has made even the 
best netminders look foolish in 
recent weeks.

Whether it was eight goals in 

a game against 2013 New York 
Islanders draft pick and Penn 
State starter Eamon McAdam, 
13 goals in a weekend sweep 
of Wisconsin’s former NCAA 
top-10 goaltender Joel Rumpel, 
18 goals in two games against 
a pair of veteran Ohio State 
goaltenders or even 11 goals in 
two games over reigning Big Ten 
Player of the Year Adam Wilcox 
of Minnesota, the Wolverines 
know that, if given the chance, 
they’ll find the points.

“It’s pretty hard to prepare 

for a goalie,” said Michigan 
coach Red Berenson. “If we 
knew 
his 
weaknesses, 
he 

wouldn’t be so good and we’d 
have no problem. We prepare 
for their style of play, or some 
of their tendencies or their 
strengths or weaknesses.

“I think our team knows that 

if push comes to shove, if we can 
get a couple scoring chances, 
we’ll find a way to score.”

Though 
Hildebrand 
will 

prove to be Michigan’s toughest 
challenge since its 2-5 start 
to the season, the Spartans 
(3-3-2, 9-11-2) have had fits of 

inconsistency on both sides of 
the puck. Anastos knows that 
for his team to walk away with a 
win, he’s going to need a strong 
performance by his entire team, 
and maybe a little rivalry magic 
in the neutral-site game.

“They’re a different team 

than they were the last time 
we 
played 
them,” 
Anastos 

said. 
“They’re 
doing 
some 

incredible 
things, 
especially 

on the offensive side of the 
puck. They’re not just a one or 
two-line team that has holes or 
breaks, they can roll out any line 
and be a threat.”

The two teams have a rivalry 

dating back over 90 years, and 
they know that an added level of 
intensity is in the air when they 
face each other that can provide 
an x-factor in a tight game.

“It’s bigger than any of us,” 

Berenson said of the rivalry. 
“It was here before I came here 
as a player, and I didn’t fully 
understand it at first. I had no 
idea coming in, then I realized, 
‘Holy Jesus, this is a war when 
we played those guys.’

“It’s 
a 
rivalry 
that 
has 

endured, and we know there’s 
a lot of people watching this 
game, so we need to make sure 
we’re ready.”

LUNNA ANNA ARCHEY/Daily

Andrew Copp and his offense will try to beat MSU goaltender Jake Hildebrand.

Penn State 
at Michigan

Matchup: 
Penn State 
8-2; Michi-
gan 5-3

When: Fri-
day 8 P.M.

Where: Cliff 
Keen Arena

Michigan 
State vs. 
Michigan

Matchup: 
Michigan 
State 9-11-2; 
Michigan 15-7

When: Friday 
7:35 P.M.

Where: Joe 
Louis Arena

TV/Radio: 
FS Detroit

Terps too much for ‘M’

By KELLY HALL

Daily Sports Writer

After allowing No. 5 Maryland 

to jump out to an 11-0 lead in the 
first two minutes of the game, the 
Michigan women’s basketball 
team needed major heroics to 
overcome the deficit if it had any 
chance of coming out victorious 
over 
the 
only 

undefeated 
team left in 
the Big Ten.

Seeing that her team needed 

help, Michigan coach Kim Barnes 
Arico let Katelynn Flaherty check 
into the game a few minutes 
earlier than usual. Though the 
freshman guard didn’t make the 
immediate impact Barnes Arico 
was looking for, Michigan was 
still able to play catch-up.

Back-to-back 3-pointers from 

the hands of sophomore guard 
Siera 
Thompson 
and 
junior 

guard Madison Ristovski cut the 
Maryland lead to 17-16. Michigan 
had early hope, but ultimately 
was too overwhelmed by the 
Terrapins’ offense and was unable 
to fight back against a team 
shooting over 50 percent. Five 
Wolverines committed at least 
three fouls in the 91-65 Michigan 
loss.

“I think they were just a lot 

more physical than us,” said 
senior forward Nicole Elmblad. 
“They were more willing to go 
in and mix it up and grab those 
rebounds and those loose balls. 
They were definitely a big team, 
they’ve got a couple of really big 
posts down there, and so they 
just did a really good job of going 
for the rebounds, and especially 
on the defensive end, they did a 
really good job of boxing Cyesha 
(Goree) and myself out.”

Goree played an important 

early role as well, scoring 10 
points in the first half to cut the 
lead, and unsurprisingly, scoring 
the first points of the game for 
the Wolverines (5-4 Big Ten, 13-7 
overall).

But 
Maryland’s 
struggles 

were just a hiccup — Michigan 
continually 
made 
elementary 

mistakes 
and 
the 
Terrapins 

were able to capitalize on the 
Wolverines’ errors.

Three 
Wolverine 
traveling 

calls in the first half helped 
Maryland 
reemerge 
again. 

Coupled with 12 points scored off 
Michigan turnovers in the first 
frame, the Terrapins (9-0, 18-2) 
entered halftime leading the 
Wolverines, 48-36.

“They did a really good job of 

driving to the basket and drawing 
fouls on us, which kind of took us 
out of our game,” Elmblad said. 
“We were worried about drawing 
fouls, so they were able to get 
some easy ones down low.”

Though the Wolverines trailed 

the Terrapins by around 15 points 
for most of the second frame, 
Michigan still had life — most 
notably when Flaherty made a 
jumper, stole the ball and then hit 
a follow-up trey to cut the lead to 
57-48.

Elmblad 
grabbed 
nine 

rebounds to combat Maryland’s 
prowess on the glass, but it 

wasn’t enough to challenge a 
team coming off of a Final Four 
appearance in 2014.

“I thought (Elmblad) played 

tough,” Barnes Arico said. “She 
had a tough matchup. She had a 
6-foot-3 kid to defend the whole 
time, and she’s coming off a game 
where she had 12 rebounds. … 
Her experience showed.”

Goree grabbed just four boards 

— a season low. The Wolverines 
were outrebounded, 49-25.

On 
top 
of 
outrebounding 

Michigan, the Terrapins showed 
why they are fourth-ranked 
team in the country in field-
goal percentage. Guards Laurin 
Mincy 
and 
Shatori 
Walker-

Kimbrough dropped 24 and 20 
points, respectively.

“They were really physical,” 

Goree said. “Even though they 
had great rebounders, we had to 
find a way.”

After a quiet first half, Flaherty 

and senior guard Shannon Smith 
came back stronger in the second 
half, scoring nine and seven, 
respectively, but it wasn’t enough 
to make any real dent into the 
deficit.

Inability to find rhythm on 
offense dooms Wolverines

By MINH DOAN 

Daily Sports Writer

As the Michigan Pep Band 

counted down the seconds on 
the shot clock, Maryland center 
Malina Howard received the ball 
at the right elbow. As the band 
counted down to one, Howard 
put up the shot.

In reality, the shot clock 

wasn’t winding down, there 
were still 13 seconds left, but it 
didn’t matter. Whether Howard 
fell for the band’s trick or not, 
she sank the mid-range jumper 
giving the Terrapins a 16-point 
lead with 11:15 left in the second 
half.

That was the key Thursday 

night 
at 
Crisler 
Center 
in 

Michigan women’s basketball 
team’s 91-65 loss to Maryland. 
The Terrapins were able to 
make critical shots, while the 
Wolverines (5-4 Big Ten, 13-7 
overall) were unable to find any 
rhythm on the offensive front.

Maryland’s shooting prowess 

was on display in the first half 
when there were spurts — it 
seemed 
like 
the 
Terrapins 

(9-0, 18-2) couldn’t miss a shot, 
no matter the type of defense 
Michigan played. There was 
a point in the first half when 
Maryland was shooting almost 
70 percent from the field.

“We tried man, we tried zone, 

we played a number of different 
things,” said Michigan coach 
Kim Barnes Arico. “But when 
you play a top-five team in the 
country, they have kids who can 
make shots.”

Added senior forward Cyesha 

Goree: “We looked to press them, 
because no one really presses 
them. When we tried to press 
them full court, once they beat 
it, they were able to get layups 
which is a reason why their 
percentage was so high.”

And when Maryland wasn’t 

making shots, it was winning 
the battle on the offensive glass, 
where it grabbed 17 offensive 
rebounds to Michigan’s nine, in 

addition to scoring 19 second-
chance points. The Terrapins’ 
point total of 91 was their fourth-
highest scoring output of the 
season.

Maryland’s tenacity also got 

Michigan into foul trouble, as 
Elmblad, Goree and freshman 
guard 
Katelynn 
Flaherty 

all finished with four fouls, 
while sophomore guard Siera 
Thompson and senior guard 
Shannon Smith finished with 
three each.

“They were on the attack 

mode, really trying to be super 
aggressive, 
really 
trying 
to 

attack us and draw fouls,” Goree 
said. “They did a really good job 
of that.”

On the other side of the court, 

the Wolverines were unable to 
find any sort of rhythm. That was 
especially the case for Flaherty, 
who scored just seven points, 
well below her average of 14.9 
points.

“I think the biggest challenge 

for her is getting adjusted to 
the length of some of the more 
athletic teams,” Barnes Arico 
said. “Their guards tonight were 
(5-foot-9, 5-foot-11 and 6 feet), 
and when she has had to play 
against really long guards, it has 
been a challenge for her.”

Goree, who has averaged 20.5 

points in her last five games, 
also did not have her best game, 
putting up just 14 points.

“They started crowding the 

paint more, at times I felt like I 
was one-on-one as I was doing 
my move, but then I got doubled,” 
Goree said. “By then, it was too 
late to kick it out.”

In just three days, Michigan 

will travel to Lincoln to take 
on No. 15 Nebraska — another 
team with an efficient shooter 
in guard Rachel Theriot — for its 
third game in seven days.

And 
for 
the 
Wolverines, 

they’re just going to have make 
some shots.

MARYLAND
MICHIGAN 

91
65

RITA MORRIS/Daily

Kim Barnes Arico’s team had its share of struggles in a blowout loss to Maryland. The Wolverines were outrebounded, 49-25, in the defeat.

