Sports
6A — Thursday, April 2, 2015
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
WNIT run ends for ‘M’
By MINH DOAN
Daily Sports Writer
As the door closed on the
Michigan women’s basketball
team’s season, the three seniors
— forwards Cyesha Goree and
Nicole
Elmblad
and guard
Shannon
Smith — all broke down into
tears.
Not only was the Wolverines’
69-65 loss to UCLA in the WNIT
semifinal their last game at
Crisler Center, but their last game
in a Michigan uniform.
The tears flowed from the trio,
especially considering how close
they came to winning the game.
“The emotions were running
because we were so close,”
Elmblad said.
After back-and-forth scoring
for most of the second half, Bruin
guard Nirra Fields sank a jumper
to put UCLA up by two.
Michigan coach Kim Barnes
Arico called a timeout to set up
a play, “Purple Three,” which
would
put
freshman
guard
Katelynn Flaherty wide-open at
the top of the arc with a chance to
put the Wolverines (8-10 Big Ten,
20-15 overall) up one with less
than a minute in the game.
The play worked to perfection,
as UCLA left Flaherty open at the
top of the arc and she let the ball
fly.
The
ball
hit
iron
before
UCLA
(8-10
Pac-12,
18-18
overall) gobbled up the rebound,
seemingly shutting the door on
the Wolverines’ season.
Even then, there was a glimmer
of hope less than 30 seconds later
when Bruin forward Lajahna
Drummer missed the front end of
her one-and-one.
But UCLA came up with
a crucial offensive rebound,
and Michigan was forced to
foul Bruins sharpshooter Kari
Korver, the cousin of NBA player
Kyle Korver.
Korver,
who
killed
the
Wolverines all game, shooting
5-for-7 from beyond the arc
and 7-for-9 overall, sank both
free throws to give UCLA an
insurmountable four-point lead
with 21 seconds left in the game.
Much of Korver’s success was
attributed to her lanky 5-foot-9
frame, which gave her a height
advantage
over
Michigan’s
guards. Korver would finish
with a game-high 19 points, 13 of
which came in the first half.
“Early in the game, she killed
us,” Barnes Arico said. “We knew
she was a great shooter, and I
don’t think we contested her shot
enough.”
On the other side of the court,
Michigan’s sharpshooting duo of
Flaherty and sophomore guard
Siera Thompson couldn’t get it
going, shooting a combined 5-for-
25, as Thompson missed all 11
shots she took.
But the seniors picked up the
slack, as Smith led the team with
20 points, Elmblad finished with
16 points and seven rebounds
and Goree totaled 11 points and
10 rebounds for her 18th double-
double of the season, a fitting
ending to their Michigan careers.
“Everyone needs to give a
hand to these seniors,” Barnes
Arico said. “They’ve taken us.
This has been their journey. This
past month, we’ve been on their
shoulders. They’ve carried us.”
The first half saw much of the
same back-and-forth action as
the Bruins led the Wolverines by
one at the break.
For the game, Michigan shot 38
percent, a huge difference from
the Bruins, who shot 52 percent.
As the Crisler Center lights
turn off for the last time this
season, the Michigan careers of
Goree, Elmblad and Smith end.
And after the record-setting
season the three put together, in
which the Wolverines played in
its first April contest in program
history, they will be sorely
missed.
UCLA
MICHIGAN
69
65
DELANEY RYAN/Daily
Senior forward Cyesha Goree closed her career with another double-double.
Closer than ever before
T
he Michigan women’s
basketball team’s season
ended when the buzzer
sounded.
Senior for-
ward Nicole
Elmblad
bit into her
jersey and
rested her
hands on
her hips as
she watched
UCLA cel-
ebrate a
WNIT championship berth,
something she has never expe-
rienced. The senior’s decorated
career was over, and all she
could do was stare at the ground
as her teammates lined up to
congratulate the victors. Along
with her teammates, she waved
to the crowd for their support
before hustling into the tunnel
one last time.
After a 69-65 loss to
the Bruins that ended the
Wolverines’ season in the WNIT
semifinals, they left behind
a crowd that filled Crisler
Center with more noise than
ever before. More importantly,
though, they left behind an
empty space above the team’s
bench — one that will have to
wait a little longer to be filled by
a banner.
During postgame interviews,
Elmblad was red-eyed as she
rested her hands on her cheeks.
Emotionally overwhelmed by
both the loss and the effort her
team had put in until the end,
she knew it was her last time
donning the maize and blue.
But Elmblad and her team
didn’t go out without a fight.
Michigan refused to turn down
the high-tempo game that led the
Wolverines to a WNIT semifinal
for the first time in five years.
Even after a season filled with
over-the-top victories coupled
with heart-wrenching losses,
the spirit was still alive and the
confidence continued to grow.
A few weeks ago, it was no
different when the reality sunk
in that Michigan would miss
another NCAA Tournament.
Elmblad and fellow seniors
Cyesha Goree and Shannon
Smith got together for dinner
before the WNIT and vowed
that they would maintain the
winning mentality, even if it
wasn’t for the national title.
“We want to do something
— make a name for ourselves,”
Smith said. “I feel like we put it
all out there.”
Michigan did put it all on the
floor. The Wolverines could have
packed it in after a blowout loss
to Michigan State in the Big Ten
Tournament, but they stuck with
it and ended up being one of the
final eight teams in the country
still playing basketball.
And they were so close to
being one of the final four.
They were so close when
sophomore guard Danielle
Williams hustled back on
defense with UCLA guard on a
breakaway, eventually planting
her feet and drawing a charge.
They were so close with 52
seconds left, when the team put
the “Purple Three” play into
motion, designed to get Flaherty
open. It worked in getting
Flaherty open at the top of the
key, and she let loose a 3-pointer
that could have given Michigan
the lead.
Goree thought they were close
in that moment. Eagerly waiting
under the basket for the rebound,
she remembered Flaherty
sinking the exact same shot from
the exact same spot months
earlier against Ohio State, a shot
that ultimately paved the way
for a win. But this was different.
Instead, Flaherty’s 3-pointer
rimmed out before dropping
into the hands of a Bruin. Goree
thought that maybe Flaherty was
“just too open.”
Michigan was so close
each time
sophomore
guard Siera
Thompson
planted her
foot and
launched the
ball, putting
fans on the
edge of their seats as they hoped
she could finally make one.
Instead, Thompson was held
scoreless for the first time in
her career. A California native,
Thompson’s nerves got the best
of her as she played against
players she grew up with.
“She’s been having a hell of
a career,” Barnes Arico said.
“And then tonight, she’s playing
against her best friends she grew
up with. That killed her. … That
one’s gonna bother (Thompson)
for a long time.”
And it was so close when the
Wolverines were down by three
and UCLA missed the first of
a 1-and-1 opportunity. But the
Bruins grabbed the rebound,
forcing Michigan to foul
once more and make it a two-
possession game.
“We’ve had a lot of games that
have went down to the wire like
this, we’ve kinda been through
this before,” Goree said. “We
thought we had it and knew what
to do at the end.”
When the day comes for a
banner to fill the only gap left
inside Crisler, Barnes Arico said
she is going to give this year’s
senior class the net that she cuts
down. They not only allowed the
team to get this far by embodying
the grit and passion Barnes Arico
wants to instill in every player,
but also by setting the example
that playing hard is mandatory,
even if it’s the WNIT.
Because Michigan still wanted
to rewrite history, and it will.
Elmblad, Goree and Smith
represent Barnes Arico’s most
successful experiment.
During Barnes Arico’s second
year, Elmblad became a more
efficient player, ultimately
finding a new niche at the
forward position and improving
in nearly every statistical
category. In her final two
seasons, she was the unanimous
choice for the team captain.
Smith was a latecomer, joining
the squad in Barnes Arico’s
second year, but still scored 920
points during her two years at
Michigan, eclipsing 1,000 career
points. Barnes Arico took a
5-foot-7 point guard and turned
her into a versatile and speedy
guard-turned-rebounder that
was ruthless in transition.
Then there’s Goree, who tore
her anterior cruciate ligament
twice and played just 32 total
minutes before Barnes Arico’s
arrival, but ended her career
as the only
Michigan
player to post
back-to-back
seasons with
300-plus
rebounds.
Even in
their absence,
Smith, Goree and Elmblad will
leave around a legacy that will
live with the program for years
to come.
For the returners,
Wednesday’s loss means one
thing.
“It’s, ‘Hey, if I’m ever in this
position again, I’m gonna make
this play,’ ” Barnes Arico said.
“I hope they come back super
motivated that this is never
going to happen to (them)
again.”
No matter how close the
Wolverines came to reaching the
WNIT championship, getting
this far has meant enough.
Elmblad, Smith and Goree defied
the odds even after they had
switched coaches or switched
schools.
They showed anything is
attainable. And next year, when
— not if — Michigan reaches
the NCAA Tournament, the
Wolverines will continue to inch
even closer toward banner.
Wednesday night, the record
book didn’t close. In fact, it has
turned to a blank page, because
Michigan is closer than ever
before.
Brad Whipple can be reached
by email at bmwhip@umich.edu
and on Twitter @brad_whipple.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Wolverines keep rolling
By ISAIAH ZEAVIN-MOSS
Daily Sports Writer
Coming
into
Wednesday’s
game against Central Michigan,
the Michigan baseball team’s
offense was
simmering.
Over
the
previous
three games, the Wolverines had
averaged more than seven runs
per game. In Tuesday’s win over
Toledo, Michigan blasted nine
hits — two of them going over the
wall.
The
offensive
production
continued Wednesday, as the
Wolverines welcomed in April
with a 5-3 win over Central
Michigan. On what felt like the
first day of spring, Michigan (2-4
Big Ten, 16-12 overall) won its
fourth game in a row to cap a six-
game homestand.
After neither team recorded
a hit in the first three innings,
the Wolverines broke it open
in the fourth inning. Senior
outfielder Jackson Glines began
the frame with a leadoff walk
before the Chippewas (5-1 MAC,
18-11 overall) brought in Braxton
Markle in relief. But Michigan
gave the new pitcher no time to
get comfortable.
Sophomore outfielder Carmen
Benedetti, the first batter Markle
faced, knocked a first-pitch single
and advanced to second on a
sacrifice bunt by junior outfielder
Cody Bruder. Finally, junior
infielder Travis Maezes put the
Wolverines on the board with
a two-run single. Wednesday’s
game was Maezes’ first time
playing since March 13, when he
suffered a strained oblique.
“It feels great to get back
there,”
Maezes
said.
“No
problems, no pain, no setbacks.
It’s a good feeling to be in the
lineup.”
And the damage wasn’t done
there. Freshman catcher Drew
Lugbauer drove Maezes in with a
single of his own, giving Michigan
a 3-0 lead to end the inning.
The
Wolverines
continued
to pour it on in the fifth inning,
as
junior
infielder
Jacob
Cronenworth blasted a solo home
run to open the frame. It was
Cronenworth’s third home run in
as many games.
In the seventh, Benedetti,
one of the most feared hitters
in Michigan’s vaunted lineup,
drew an intentional walk as he
came up to bat with a runner on
third base. But even from the
base paths, Benedetti did his due
damage: He stole second base
and forced a throw from Central
Michigan catcher Tyler Huntey.
The runner on third, freshman
shortstop Jake Bivens, stole home
to give the Wolverines a 5-0 lead.
“We knew we were up against
a tough opponent,” Michigan
coach Erik Bakich said. “And
we knew we were going to have
to call on a bunch of people, but
we trust those guys and we can
count on those guys.”
In the eighth inning, Benedetti
came
on
in
relief.
Central
Michigan had runners on first
and second with nobody out.
This time, the Chippewas did
slice
Michigan’s
lead.
After
Benedetti forced his first batter
to pop out and struck out the
next, designated hitter Daniel
Jipping drove in both runs with
a two-out single. After eight, the
Wolverines led 5-2.
Freshman
pitcher
Bryan
Pall came in to close out the
ninth inning. Central Michigan
shortstop Zach McKinstry scored
on infielder Cody Leichman’s RBI
groundout, but no further damage
was done. After chipping into the
lead, the Chippewas ultimately
could not break the dam.
Michigan went 5-1 on its first
homestand of the season. After
being swept by Nebraska last
weekend, the Wolverines look to
be hitting their stride.
“After Nebraska, our backs
were up against the ropes,”
Bakich said. “But we’re not going
to back down. We’re going to
keep throwing punches and keep
fighting.”
CMU
MICHIGAN
3
5
BRAD
WHIPPLE
“I feel like we put
it all out there.”