8 — Friday, December 4, 2015 Sports The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com WOMEN’S BASKETBALL ‘M’ earns 7-0 start Wolverines roll past Pittsburgh to tie best season start in program history By BRAD WHIPPLE Daily Sports Writer The Michigan women’s basketball team’s undefeated start to the season hadn’t carried much weight headed into Thursday’s game. The Wolverines had outscored each of their six opponents by an average of 34 points, running the floor on both offense and defense. Every game was decided by halftime. Michigan needed to take on a more challenging test. It needed to face a better-known opponent, maybe even one with which the Wolverines had a history. What they got was Pittsburgh, which handed Michigan its first loss last season. This time around, the Wolverines (7-0) passed. Behind an explosive first half characterized by Michigan’s effective three-quarter-court press and 61-percent shooting, the Wolverines jumped out to a 22-point lead at halftime, and they never relinquished it in their 82-45 victory. “We knew that (Pittsburgh) was gonna be scrappy, gonna play hard, gonna give us a different look than we’ve faced all year with their size, length and athleticism,” said Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico. “I thought we handled it exceptionally well from the start.” Added senior guard Madison Ristovski: “We’re able to sub in and have fresh legs coming in all the time. That’s super important playing teams like Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh is a good team, but we were nine deep.” Michigan not only bested one of its demons from last season, but it also continued its perfect start to the season, reaching 7-0 for the first time since 2011 — equaling the best start in program history. Though Katelynn Flaherty missed her first four shots, the sophomore guard still led the team with 24 points. With 1:46 left in the first quarter, Flaherty jumped to tip a pass back toward Pittsburgh’s basket, and she took it down for an uncontested layup. That basket was the second of a 16-3 run, which lasted nearly five minutes and extended Michigan’s lead from five to 18. The Wolverines continued to make stops on defense by drawing several charges, diving for loose balls and double- teaming the Panthers’ point guards the instant they crossed the half-court line — limiting Pittsburgh (4-3) to 40.4-percent shooting. Michigan found even greater success on its offensive end. The Wolverines shot 51.5 percent from the field and yielded the best results from their 3-point shooters. Freshman guards Boogie Brozoski and Nicole Munger each knocked down three baskets from beyond the arc and proved why they are two of the deadliest shooters on the team aside from Flaherty and junior guard Siera Thompson. With 7:49 left in the game, Brozoski, who totaled 13 points, drained her third trey to give Michigan a 32-point lead, its largest of the night at that point. The offense showed how balanced it could be once again, with 10 players scoring and seven others lending an assist. “We have Katelynn Flaherty, who’s one of the best shooters in the country, on our team, and we’re not running every play for her,” Barnes Arico said. “We’re trying to find the best look — not only Katelynn. … Katelynn herself is making extra passes and not feeling the pressure of ‘I have to score’ every time.” Where the Wolverines seemed to be lacking, though, was their rebounding game. Both freshman center Hallie Thome and sophomore forward Jillian Dunston had an unusually poor showing, combining for just seven rebounds. Stepping into the rebounding role was junior guard Danielle Williams, who grabbed a team- high 10 boards as Michigan still outrebounded Pittsburgh, 39-25. As usual, Williams wasn’t looked to as a scorer and instead dominated under the glass while playing scrappy. “She does the dirty work for us,” Ristovski said. “When you’re out there, you always want to be out there with Danielle, because she’s always doing the little things to help the team get better.” The next two Sundays, Michigan will face two more teams that handed it demoralizing losses last season: Princeton and UCLA. It’s “revenge week,” as the team is calling it, so the Wolverines can’t soak in Thursday’s victory for too long. They still have two tests left. PITTSBURGH MICHIGAN 45 82 Wolverines’ pressure ‘D’ makes difference By BRANDON CARNEY Daily Sports Writer It’s not often that a player shoots 7-for-7 in the first half and the opposing coach goes into the locker room happy. But even though Pittsburgh forward Yacine Diop did just that, Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico was pleased with the way the Wolverines defended her on Thursday. Diop may have scored 15 points at the break, but Michigan’s suffocating three-quarter court press forced the Panther forward into committing five turnovers in that time. By the end of the night, the Wolverines had pressured Pittsburgh into making 24 turnovers, as defense powered Michigan to the 82-45 win. Knowing Pittburgh’s height was going to be an issue, Barnes Arico set up a press scheme to prevent the Panthers’ post players from getting the ball early in possessions. The Wolverines had two defenders on Pittburgh’s ball handlers in the backcourt, trying to force half-court traps in the corner or risky cross-court passes. Senior guard Madison Ristovski was at the head of the press early in the contest. She was constantly sliding between the Panthers’ guards, trying to stop them from getting any open passing lanes or outside shots. “(Ristovski) started the game focused and locked in,” Barnes Arico said. “She scored for us early. She defended for us early. She’s playing at another level, and we need her to because of her experience. I thought Madison was absolutely terrific for us tonight.” Ristovski played a huge role setting up the defense in the first quarter, but it’s junior guard Siera Thompson who will haunt the memory of Pittsburgh ball handlers. Thompson picked up a team-high five steals and pressured the Panthers into making countless errors throughout the contest. The Wolverine defense really got up to speed when freshman guards Boogie Brozoski and Nicole Munger entered the game after the under-five timeout in the first quarter. The Wolverines earned 11 steals in total and forced Pittsburgh to commit turnovers on 34 percent of its possessions. But whenever the Panthers got through the Michigan backcourt, the Wolverines were ready to slide in and make an aggressive move in front of the basket. Michigan drew five charges, with sophomore forward Jillian Dunston acting as the roadblock between Pittsburgh players and the basket. While Dunston has led the Wolverines in rebounding for most of the season, junior guard Danielle Williams worked her way inside and grabbed a team high 10 rebounds Thursday. The guard made up for her lack of height by outhustling and out- jumping Pitt’s big lineup. Williams has come off the bench to spark the Michigan defense throughout her career, and she did it again against the Panthers. “Out of anyone, (Williams is) not a scorer,” Barnes Arico said. “But the charges that she took tonight, and the tips and deflections that she took, and to be a 5-(foot)-8 kid and get 10 rebounds against a big team just shows you her toughness and her unselfishness.” The Wolverines baffled Pittsburgh all night on the defensive end, and will hope whatever scheme they throw at Princeton on Sunday will be similarly effective. The Tigers’ offense, which averages 79 points per game, may finally be an even match for a Michigan defense that answered the challenge Thursday. RITA MORRIS/Daily Junior guard Siera Thompson led the Wolverines with five steals Thursday.