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The Michigan Daily | michigandaily.com | February 16, 2015
SportsMonday
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fter Northwestern took its first lead of the game with 4.3
seconds remaining, senior guard Shannon Smith raced down
the court to get close enough for one last
heave. She stopped five feet behind the 3-point
line and put up a wild shot.
The ball hit the front of the rim before dropping
to the floor, game over, 63-62, Northwestern.
The Wildcats’ first lead of the game was the most
important one, the last one.
On the sideline, all Michigan women’s
basketball coach Kim Barnes Arico could do was
cross her arms and stand there, stunned, just like
all 2,129 people in attendance at Crisler Center.
Sophomore guard Madison Ristovski and
senior forward Cyesha Goree each missed a pair of free throws before
Northwestern forward Nia Coffey took the ball from coast to coast for
the go-ahead layup.
And that’s all it took. Just a few made free throws, and the game
could’ve been so much different.
But this wasn’t the first time just a few missed free throws or
layups made the difference. That’s all it has taken for almost all of
Michigan’s losses in the conference.
On Jan. 7 at No. 18 Rutgers, after being down by as many as 19
points, the Wolverines climbed their way back into the game to tie it
at 51 with 10 minutes left in the game.
But Michigan couldn’t punch through and take the lead. It missed
a few shots, and Rutgers dominated the rest of the way. Maybe if the
Wolverines took the lead, they could’ve held on for the win.
On Jan. 22 at No. 14 Iowa, Michigan used a late run to get back to
within four points of the Hawkeyes after being down for a majority of
the game. But once again, a missed few shots and turnovers later, and
the Wolverines walked off the court with a loss.
On Feb. 1 at No. 22 Nebraska, Michigan led by six at halftime before
shooting 35.6 percent in the second half, as Nebraska went on a 25-6
run to walk away with the victory.
On Feb. 8 against Rutgers at home, the Wolverines put on another
late run to draw within two with four minutes remaining in the
game. But once again, sophomore guard Siera Thompson and junior
guard Madison Ristovski each missed 3-pointers that would have
put Michigan ahead, and the Scarlet Knights pulled away to win the
game, 57-50.
On Feb. 10 at Ohio State, the Wolverines went up by 12 with less
than 10 minutes left in the game. But as their defensive intensity
faded due to foul trouble, so did Michigan’s offensive efficiency. The
Buckeyes used a 10-0 run to get the game within one before taking
over with two minutes left in the game to pull out the victory.
And Saturday in Ann Arbor, maybe it was the missed free throws
or maybe it was a missed
DATE WITH
DISASTER
T
he Michigan hockey team
has finally fallen back
down to earth.
Searching for a series split
Saturday at Minnesota, the
Wolverines conceded the game’s
first goal within four minutes
of the opening whistle. Junior
goaltender Steve Racine watched
the puck whiz over his left
shoulder, prompting him to slam
his fists on his
knees.
In a grinding,
defensive battle,
it would stand
as the eventual
game-winner
and a moment
of frustration
crammed into
a weekend of
uncertainty.
The loss was
Michigan’s third
in four games,
all of which
came after a
seven-game
winning streak.
But after the game, Racine said it isn’t was time to
go back to the drawing board just yet.
“I don’t think so,” Racine said. “This is probably
one of the top-three hardest buildings to play in in
the country. Just to come away with points would
have been nice, but we know what kind of team
we have going forward, and I think we just have to
keep doing what we’re doing.”
Optimism is nice and fluffy and comfortable,
but this isn’t the time for Michigan to celebrate
moral victories. This weekend provided a valuable
opportunity to separate from the rest of the Big
Ten. Instead, two points now separate four teams.
Junior forward Boo Nieves had different
sentiments from
Racine before
Saturday’s
game — you
know, the night
the Wolverines
almost beat an
unranked team
that entered the
weekend six
points behind
them in the
conference
standings.
“One of the
biggest things
is to not get
complacent,”
Nieves said.
“We swept this team at our place, and now we’re
kind of in the same position they were Friday night
at Yost. So I think we need to regroup and get back
to basics and do the things that are helping us win.”
Those things that were helping Michigan win
involved limiting turnovers and driving pucks and
bodies to the net. At times, the defensive effort was
enough to get by. But this weekend, all those things
were moot. Minnesota was the better team, and it
showed.
More than anything, though, an unsustainable
offense that scored 52 goals in its first eight
conference games has been grounded. It’s that
offense that helped hide a suspect defense and keep
the Wolverines’
inconsistent
goaltending
somewhere safe.
It was like
when Mom asks
you to clean your
room and you
shove everything
under the bed
hoping she’ll
never notice. In
Michigan’s case,
Minnesota took
note and threw
everything
into the open
for the entire
neighborhood
to see.
The Wolverines were sloppy in their own
zone Friday, and the goaltending was poor. The
defensive concerns they started the season with
surfaced yet again, prompting an inevitable change.
“The goals went in too easy,” said Michigan
coach Red Berenson.
Following an embarrassing 6-2 loss on Friday, he
went back to the drawing board. He had to.
Racine started in net after sophomore Zach
Nagelvoort’s performance on Friday was well
below Berenson’s standards. In doing so, Berenson
restarted the seemingly endless goaltending
carousel he’s been riding this season.
It almost
worked. Racine
made 31 saves
Saturday, many
of them as he
was sprawled
out, and lying
on his back, and
in any position
but upright. It
was arguably
his best
performance of
the season, but
all he received
in return was a
2-0 loss and a
pat on the back.
Moving
forward, Michigan has to make changes. It’s left
with no other choice as a result of injuries and
WAKE UP AND SMELL THE ROSES
STEEL BLUE
n Carol Hutchins’
program is as
strong as ever.
SportsMonday
Column, Page 2B
ONE FOR THREE
n Michigan prevented a
series sweep on Sunday.
Page 4B
MINH
DOAN
JEREMY
SUMMITT
See MICHIGAN, Page 4B
See ROSES, Page 2B
RITA MORRIS/Daily
PAUL SHERMAN/Daily
SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily
JAMES COLLER/Daily