By TED JANES

Daily Sports Writer

Katelynn Flaherty took one 

half to get rolling, but once 
the sophomore guard did, the 
Michigan 
women’s 
basketball 
team 
followed her lead.

The 
Wolverines 
(6-7 
Big 

Ten, 14-10 overall) rallied in 
the 
second 
half, 
outscoring 

Wisconsin by 18 in the final 20 
minutes, to win their second 
consecutive game, 82-65.

The 
Badgers 
(3-10, 
7-16) 

led for most of the first half, 
keeping 
Michigan’s 
star 

weapon, Flaherty, silent for 
20 
minutes. 
Flaherty 
was 

averaging 22.7 points entering 
Thursday, but she scored just 
three in the first half.

“I wasn’t hitting shots in the 

first half, and other people were 
playing better, so I wanted to get 
the ball in their hands,” Flaherty 
said. “I got a quick basket in the 
second half. Once I get going, it 
gives me a lot of confidence … 
(Wisconsin) switched up who 
guarded me a little bit, but they 
pretty much face-guarded me 
the whole game.”

In the game prior to Wisconsin, 

against Illinois, Flaherty put up a 
career-best 36 points to reach the 
1,000-point mark.

Thursday, she scored her first 

basket on a mid-range jumper 
about seven minutes into the 
game. And despite shooting 
1-for-7 in the first half, Flaherty 
picked herself up and scored 
23, including an acrobatic and-1 
finish in the third quarter.

On the fast break in the 

second 
half, 
Flaherty, 
in 

transition, drove at the lone 
Badger guard who had made it 
back on defense. Flaherty drew 
the foul and launched the ball 
from her hip, somehow getting 
the layup to fall.

“I was just trying to draw 

the foul, really,” Flaherty said. 
“And then once it went out of 
my hands, it felt pretty good. I 

turned around, and it went in. 
It was one of the turning points 
in the game, and I think there 
were a few plays that followed 
that that really put the game in 
our favor.”

Added Michigan coach Kim 

Barnes Arico: “I have confidence 
when 
Katelynn 
takes 
those 

because, you know, she’s one of 
the best scorers in the country. I 
think (that play) was part of the 
way she was able to get going in 
the second half.”

In the first half, the Badgers’ 

extended defense took away 
Flaherty’s shot, overplaying her 
to prevent Michigan’s 3-point 
game 
from 
getting 
going. 

In the second half, Flaherty 
began to drive more, which 
opened up other options for the 
Wolverines’ offense.

Michigan’s 
post 
players 

picked 
up 
the 
slack 
while 

Flaherty struggled in the first 

half. Senior forward Kelsey 
Mitchell and freshman center 
Hallie Thome combined for 
25 points in the game, and 
junior guard and captain Siera 
Thompson had a routine night 
as well, going for 15 points, two 
assists and seven rebounds.

Michigan 
freshman 
guard 

Boogie Brozoski earned her 
second 
consecutive 
start, 

scoring nine points and dishing 
out four assists.

The matchup marked the 

penultimate 
regular-season 

game at Crisler Center this 
season. Michigan’s three seniors 
— 
Mitchell, 
guard 
Madison 

Ristovski and fifth-year guard 
Halle Wangler — could play their 
final home game next Saturday 
against Penn State.

The win puts the Wolverines 

one step closer to the .500 mark 
as the Big Ten Tournament 
looms just around the corner.

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
8 — Friday, February 12, 2016

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
‘M’ stymies Kelsey, Badgers

By CHRIS CROWDER

Daily Sports Writer

Wisconsin coach Bobbie Kelsey 

has one of the funniest, say-what’s-
on-her-mind personalities in the 
Big Ten. At the conference’s media 
day in October, the Daily sat down 
with her to discuss the challenges of 
the preseason and how she wanted 
to direct her program. From telling 
7-year-olds to go play when they’re 
talking on recruiting visits to 
quipping that fans shouldn’t give 
commentary on Twitter about 
how to coach, conversations with 
Kelsey are intriguing.

She 
uses 
her 
knack 
for 

conversation in her coaching 
style 
as 
well, 
often 
asking 

her players what works best 
for them so that they can be 
understood and successful. The 
Badgers played Michigan on 
Thursday night, and during the 
game, the Daily reflected on 
how well Wisconsin played in 

comparison to Kelsey’s hopes at 
the beginning of the season.

“When we stay healthy, the 

sky is the limit for this team,” 
Kelsey said. “We can shock a lot 
of people. I know other coaches 
have personally told me that 
our team is hard to play because 
we play hard. … I’m excited to 
see what our team will be like 
when we have 
everybody 
on 

our court.”

The Badgers 

have not lived 
up to Kelsey’s 
hopes 
this 

season, coming 
into 
the 

matchup against Michigan with 
a 3-9 Big Ten record. Though 
Wisconsin was within striking 
distance until halfway through 
the fourth quarter, it ran out 
of gas. The Badgers fell, 82-65, 
and were unable to shock the 
Wolverines to pull off the upset.

“Sometimes, 
we 
can 
beat 

their mental confidence down,” 
Kelsey said. “We say that we’re 
just trying to get them to work 
hard, but you have to have some 
creativity with that sometimes. 
That’s what Joe Madden does 
with the Cubs. He’s going in 
there, and they have hats with 
hands on it, breakfast on the field. 

He’s 
doing 

things 
to 

energize them 
and to get them 
to play relaxed. 
There’s 
nothing worse 
than 
playing 

tense.”

Michigan began the contest 

with a three-quarter court press 
on defense, and Wisconsin had 
moments of both success and 
failure maneuvering through it 
all game. But in nearly every trip 
up the court, the Badgers looked 
tense. In the first half alone, 
the Badgers committed nine 
turnovers. As the Wolverine press 
continued on, Wisconsin finished 
with 13 turnovers, less tense 
in the second half. Though the 
Badgers took better care of the 
ball, they turned it over in crucial 
moments when they needed a run 
to climb back into the game.

“I don’t want them to be out 

there goofing around,” Kelsey 
said. “But certainly, I want a 
relaxed urgency. Your hair is not 
on fire.”

The Badgers came out of the 

gate firing on all cylinders, starting 
on a 12-4 run in the first five 
minutes of the game. The scoring 
slowed down after the Wolverines’ 
defensive pressure intensified, as 
Wisconsin managed to tally 37 
points going into halftime leading 
by one. Down by double digits in 
the fourth quarter, the Badgers 
kept fighting to cut the deficit to 
as little as five when the contest 
was coming to a close and were 
outscored 23-14 in the final stanza.

“If they know what they’re 

doing, you don’t have to stress,” 
Kelsey said. “You know what 
you’re supposed to be doing, 
everybody 
knows 
their 
role, 

getting the ball in the post, sharing 
the ball, things of that nature.”

“I want a relaxed 

urgency.”

WISCONSIN
MICHIGAN 

65
82

Michigan tops Wisconsin

RYAN MCLOUGHLIN/Daily

Freshman center Hallie Thome finished with 18 points against Wisconsin.

