4B — January 25, 2016
SportsMonday
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

‘M’ falls to Cornhuskers

By BRAD WHIPPLE

Daily Sports Editor

The 
Michigan 
women’s 

basketball team has had its fair 
share of surprises this season, 
especially 
its 17-point 
comeback 
against 
Iowa two weeks ago.

But 
this 
time 
around, 
a 

comeback appeared to be out of 
the question no matter how hard 
the Wolverines played.

In Sunday’s game against 

Nebraska, Michigan led for just 
22 seconds after the opening 
basket 
by 
freshman 
center 

Hallie Thome. But within five 
minutes, the Wolverines trailed 
by 15. The Cornhuskers’ offense 
was unstoppable in the opening 
stanza, and Michigan did very 
little to stop it.

Midway through the second 

quarter, the Wolverines (3-5 Big 
Ten, 11-8 overall) brought the 
game to within three points but 
couldn’t finish down the stretch 
as the Cornhuskers (5-3, 14-5) 
escaped with a 93-81 victory in 
Ann Arbor.

“We can’t be giving up 93 

points a game,” said Michigan 
coach Kim Barnes Arico. “That’s 
like the NBA here. … Twenty-
eight points in one quarter is 
just way too much. We gotta get 
better.”

After 
just 
three 
minutes 

in the second half, Michigan 
never cut the deficit to single 
digits. Against forward Jessica 
Shepard 
and 
center 
Allie 

Havers, the Wolverines were 
outscored and outrebounded. 
Though Havers only flirted 
with a double-double, Shepard 
finished with 35 points and 
collected 20 boards.

Meanwhile, Thome — who 

scored 24 points alongside just 
six rebounds — fouled out of 
the game in the fourth quarter 
as Nebraska continued to pack 
the paint. In fact, three other 
Michigan players reached three 

fouls and just junior guard Siera 
Thompson and sophomore guard 
Katelynn Flaherty hit double-
digit scoring otherwise, with 12 
and 14, respectively.

Without 
their 
ability 
to 

drive in the paint, guarded by 
the 
Cornhuskers’ 
best 
bigs, 

Thompson — who reached 1,000 
career points — and Flaherty had 
to shoot from the outside and 
rely on guard-to-guard screens.

“They 
double-teamed 
at 

times, which is an area where 
(Katelynn’s) gonna get better at 
being able to pass out of those 
situations,” Barnes Arico said. 
“But she pretty much, from an 
offensive standpoint, handled 
their pressure and did a decent 
job against them. But we gotta 
get multiple people that are able 
to do that.”

The difference between a 

win and a loss was the opening 
minutes of the game, which 
spelled disaster for Michigan 
right from the start. Smart ball 
movement and crisp passing 
gave Thome the ball inside the 
paint on the first possession 

for a layup. But soon enough, 
Nebraska showed its offense 
was untamable.

In the opening four and a half 

minutes, the Cornhuskers didn’t 
miss a shot from anywhere on 
the court. En route to a 15-point 
lead, they went 8-for-8 from 
the field and 5-for-5 beyond the 
arc. Nebraska quickly jumped 
to 21 points, while Michigan 
added a pair of free throws by 
Thome and just one basket from 
Flaherty — prompting Barnes 
Arico to call a timeout.

The 
Wolverines’ 
original 

plan was to lock down Shepard, 
but guard Kyndal Clark quickly 
emerged as the Cornhuskers’ 
star. She scored all five of her 
team’s 3-pointers in the first 
half and finished the game with 
15 points.

She was the crucial element 

for the Cornhuskers’ huge start, 
forcing Michigan’s defense to 
instead limit Clark’s chances — 
she didn’t score in the second 
half. 
That 
change, 
though, 

opened up Shepard.

“It’s kind of like we’re at the 

point now, it’s ‘pick your poison,’” 
Barnes Arico said. “Totally, our 
whole defensive responsibilities 
and being able to get a stop, being 
able to get multiple stops, we gotta 
become better as a unit on the 
defensive end.”

Michigan strung together two 

scoring runs — a 30-second 8-0 
run in the first quarter and a 7-0 
run in the second — to bring to 
the game within 10 points by the 
break, but the defense couldn’t 
hold the Cornhuskers.

Nebraska had made a large 

enough statement at the start of 
the game to prove they wouldn’t 
give this one up. The damage had 
already been dealt.

“At spurts, we play hard, 

and sometimes it’s too late,” 
Thompson said. “I think that’s 
been the case the last few games. 
We come out, dig ourselves a hole 
and try to fight back, so we just 
have to start playing hard from 
the beginning of the game.

“We always say, ‘We’re never 

out of it,’ but I think we’re at the 
point where we don’t wanna fight 
back anymore.”

MATT VAILLIENCOURT/Daily

Freshman center Hallie Thome did not have an answer for Nebraska center Jessica Shepard on Sunday.

Nebraska’s Shepard 
dominant in victory

Cornhusker star 
wins post battle 

with Thome

By TED JANES

Daily Sports Writer

The 
Michigan’s 
women 

basketball team’s 93-81 loss to 
Nebraska on Sunday featured 
a notable one-on-one matchup 
down in the paint, where two 
freshman centers duked it out for 
post dominance.

Michigan’s Hallie Thome and 

Nebraska’s Jessica Shepard met 
for the first time in their careers, 
and the latter came out on top.

The Wolverines (3-5 Big Ten, 

11-8 overall) needed Thome to 
be at her best against Nebraska 
(5-3, 14-5), and even though she 
has been a reliable source of 
points and rebounds this season, 
Shepard dominated her in every 
facet of the game.

At first glance, the similarities 

between the two are striking. 
Thome is 6-foot-5, and Shepard 
is 6-foot-4. Both were Gatorade 
High School Player of the Year 
recipients in their home states, 
and both are on pace to have the 
best freshman seasons in their 
schools’ histories.

Thome won the opening tipoff, 

but she didn’t win anything else.

Shepard 
decisively 

outrebounded 
Thome, 
20-6, 

outscored her, 35-24, and also 
managed to stay out of foul 
trouble. The Cornhuskers’ center, 
who has scored over 25 points in 
three other Big Ten games this 
season, put up a performance 
impressive even for someone of 
her caliber.

Shepard’s 20 rebounds were a 

career high, and she is the first 
freshman in Nebraska history to 
have been named to the Naismith 
Player of the Year watch list.

Just six Nebraska freshmen 

have ever scored 400 points in 
one season, and Shepard is just 
two points away from that mark 
— not even midway through the 
Big Ten season.

“Today, 
you 
had 
the 

opportunity to see one of the 
best players in the country,” said 
Michigan coach Kim Barnes 
Arico, 
referencing 
Shepard. 

“Hallie (Thome) might be a top 
freshman in the country. This 
young lady (Shepard) happens to 
be a freshman and is one of the 
best players in the country.”

The Wolverines did a decent 

job defending Shepard in the first 
quarter — she still scored seven 
points in the first 10 minutes, 
but she went for 23 in the second 
half, and Michigan could not 
slow her down.

Eleven 
of 
Shepard’s 
20 

rebounds came on the offensive 
glass, leading the Cornhuskers to 
23 second-chance points, while 
Michigan had just 13.

“We gave up a lot of offensive 

rebounds for them,” said senior 
guard Madison Ristovksi. “They 
missed shots, but (Shepard) was 
able to just put them back up.”

Once Thome chalked up her 

fourth foul, the Cornhuskers 
found it easier to exploit the 
mismatch in the post. Barnes 
Arico subbed her out, and 
Michigan 
senior 
forward 

Kelsey 
Mitchell 
replaced 

Thome down low. 

Even Ristovski made an effort 

in the paint, but neither found 
success.

Thome eventually fouled out 

of the game in the fourth quarter, 
but by then Nebraska had sealed 
the win.

Barnes Arico couldn’t hold 

back with how impressed she 
was by Shepard.

“She 
is 
an 
unbelievable 

player. We didn’t have an 
answer for her. Shepard is just … 
she’s a monster.”

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

NEBRASKA 
MICHIGAN 

93
81

Oklahoma routs Michigan

By COLE ZINGAS

Daily Sports Writer

Heading into the final event, 

the 
No. 
1 
Oklahoma 
men’s 

gymnastics team had done almost 
everything right. The defending 
national champions had scored 
higher than No. 10 Michigan 
in every event, asserting their 
ranking in every way to the crowd 
at Cliff Keen Arena. 

The Wolverines were already 

out of contention for the match 
when 
senior 
Nolan 
Novak 

approached the high bar to 
attempt the event for the second 
time in his career. Yet behind 
him, the team yelled and chanted 
“Let’s Go Blue” in unison with 
the crowd. Novak hit his routine, 
as did his teammates redshirt 
freshman 
Marty 
Strech 
and 

junior Jonathan Chin, earning 
ecstatic cheers from the crowd.

The crowd recognized a solid 

effort by the Wolverines — the 
team improved its season-high 
parallel bar score by 6.05 points 

and its high bar score by 4.8 — at 
the end of a blowout loss.

Michigan (0-4 Big Ten, 1-5 

overall) fell by a score of 444.400-
428.350 to the Sooners (5-0 
overall) on Saturday, but after the 
meet, the attitudes of the players 
and Michigan coach Kurt Golder 
were more positive than negative. 
 

“Overall, I was pretty pleased,” 

Golder said. “As long as we’re 
getting better with every meet, 
we can keep climbing the ladder 
and see how high we can get by 
the end of the year.” 

But 
many 
improved 

performances were overshadowed 
by Oklahoma’s dominance. 

Junior Anthony Stefanelli hit 

both of his routines, including 
an impressive 15.150 on the floor, 
good for third place. Stefanelli, 
however, was the only Wolverine 
in the top seven in that event. 
All-American sophomore Dmitri 
Belanovski scored a career high 
on the pommel horse with a 
14.750, but didn’t even place in the 
top three in the event. 

Oklahoma took first place in 

all six events, as well as in the all-
around. Belanovski had a chance 
to compete for the all-around 
title going into the final event, the 
high bars, which he calls his “best 
event,” but he fell and scored a 
13.800. 

“I’ve got to learn to finish,” 

Belanovski said. “I hit the first 
five, but you’ve got to go out there 
and hit the sixth event. I can’t 
make a mistake like that.”

Meanwhile, Yul Moldauer from 

Oklahoma scored an incredible 
16.000 in his final routine to take 
the meet by more than a point. 
Belanovski finished tied for third 
in the all-around.

Michigan is pleased with its 

improvement of 15 points from its 
performance at the Windy City 
Invitational on Jan. 17, but after 
facing Oklahoma, it knows how 
much work is left to do.

Saturday, the Wolverines hit 

75 percent of their routines, up 
from 50 percent the previous 
weekend. Golder wants to get 

that number up to between 80 
and 85 percent, which he says is 
championship form. Golder is 
looking for Michigan to increase 
the degree of difficulty in its 
routines as well.

“The routines these guys are 

doing may not look easy, but by our 
championship standards, some of 
them are easy,” Golder said.

For the athletes, the key 

to 
achieving 
Golder’s 
goals 

will be keeping energy high 
and 
maintaining 
confidence 

throughout meets. When the 
Wolverines rallied behind Novak 
on the high bars, that mindset was 
on full display.

“It’s all about keeping the 

energy up,” Belanovski said. “If 
the team’s not behind you, you’re 
going to go out there and you 
know you’re going to flop, you’re 
gonna fall.”

“I truly believe that this team, 

when it’s six up six count, can go 
36 for 36. And I think this year 
especially, that’s what it’s going to 
take. This team can do it.”

ZACH MOORE/Daily

Junior Anthony Stefanelli opened Saturday’s meet, a loss against No. 1 Oklahoma at Cliff Keen Arena, by hitting both of his routines on the floor for a score of 15.150.

MEN’S TENNIS
Wolverines drop 
first dual match

By KATIE CONKLIN

Daily Sports Writer

Alex Knight was a comeback 

kid this Sunday at the Boone 
Indoor Tennis Center, where 
Michigan 
faced 
Kentucky.

After 

dropping 
the 
first 
doubles 

match of the day, 6-2, alongside 
freshman Myles Schalet, the 
redshirt sophomore entered his 
single match ready for revenge.

Down in the first set, Knight 

eventually 
brought 
it 
to 
a 

tiebreaker, pulling out a 9-7 
win. Taking advantage of this 
momentum, he wrapped up the 
second set with a 6-4 victory to 
take the match. 

Knight’s 
matchup 
against 

Trey Yates was the seventh 
match of the day for Michigan 
and acted as the turning point 
for the Wolverines, leading 
to their three-match winning 
streak.

The streak, though, only 

brought the Wolverines within 
one, resulting in a 4-3 loss in 
their first dual-match play of the 
2016 season.

Michigan junior Kevin Wong 

added to the streak, coming 
out on top against Kentucky’s 
Charles Minc in two consecutive 
7-6 tiebreakers.

“(Kevin) 
played 
really 

aggressively 
today,” 
said 

Michigan men’s tennis coach 
Adam Steinberg. “I really liked 
the way he struck the ball.”

The third and final point 

for the Wolverines came from 
Schalet in his first official 
season match in the maize and 
blue. Playing in the No. 6 singles 
position, Schalet captured a 
narrow victory against Enzo 
Wallart in the only three-set 
match of the day.

Winning the first set, 7-5, 

Schalet went into the second 
unscathed. 
Wallart, 
though, 

pulled out a win in a 9-7 
tiebreaker, evening the match.

Because 
the 
team 
match 

was 
already 
decided, 
as 

Michigan was down, 4-2, it was 
determined that Schalet and 
Wallart would play a 10-point 
superbreaker rather than a third 
and final set.

Though there was no team win 

in sight for Michigan, Schalet 
made 
sure 
the 
Wolverines 

traveled back to Ann Arbor with 
one final point, winning the 
deciding tiebreaker, 13-11.

“There were a lot of positives, 

but overall, we’re all competitors 
and we want to win,” Steinberg 
said. “We came here for one 
reason, to be successful. We 
wanted to get a win to start the 
year.”

Michigan 
was 
down 
1-0 

from the start, losing both of its 
doubles matches — 6-2 at the No. 
3 spot and 6-4 at the No. 1 spot. 
The third match was stopped 
after Kentucky had won two 
of the three doubles matches, 
clinching the doubles point.

Steinberg’s 
solution 
for 

disjointed doubles play was 
simple: “Our intensity at the 
beginning needs to be much 
better, and we need to play as a 
team more.

“I didn’t think we played 

with that fight and passion 
that we do in practice. We’re 
disappointed.”

Such 
disappointment 

continued 
into 
the 
first 

three singles matches, as the 
Wolverines dropped matches 
in the first, second and third 
singles positions.

But Michigan is taking its 

final three-game stretch as a 
positive, despite the debacle 
against the Wildcats.

“The guys showed a lot of 

character by fighting like that 
until the end,” Steinberg said. 
“It gives us good momentum 
going into next week.”

And it is this momentum 

that the Wolverines are going 
to need, as this past weekend 
marked the start of what they 
hope will be a successful season.

MICHIGAN
KENTUCKY

3
4