Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Friday, February 26, 2016 — 7
Bench gives ‘M’ a boost
By SIMON KAUFMAN
Daily Sports Editor
When
sophomore
forward
Kameron Chatman jumped up
for an offensive rebound midway
through the second half in the
Michigan men’s basketball team’s
game against Northwestern on
Wednesday, Caris LeVert and Zak
Irvin rose, too, from their spots on
the bench.
The junior and senior guards
popped
out
of
their
seats,
fired up and animated, yelling
encouragement at their younger
teammate as he grabbed the
offensive board and then drew a
foul in the paint. Chatman sank
both of his free throws to give
the Wolverines (10-6 Big Ten,
20-9 overall) their first lead of the
game en route to a comeback win
over the Wildcats.
With Irvin having an off night
shooting and LeVert missing his
14th game of the season due to a
lower-left-leg injury, Chatman
bodying in for a rebound and
coming through from the charity
stripe was a welcome sight for the
elder players.
Chatman’s two free throws
were part of a 19-point effort from
Michigan’s bench Wednesday,
taking some of the pressure off
of Irvin and junior guard Derrick
Walton Jr., who have sometimes
been the Wolverines’ only reliable
options with LeVert out.
“We
play
team
basketball
regardless of what’s going on,”
Walton said. “I don’t think it’s
really reliant on me or Zak,
it just so happens that we’ve
been playing well. Guys like
(sophomore
guards
Aubrey
Dawkins
and
Muhammad-Ali
Abdur-Rahkman), they’re doing
smaller things that are really
starting to help.”
Dawkins tallied 11 points after
coming off the bench for Irvin.
He sank four field goals and was a
perfect 3-for-3 from deep. He also
did work on the boards, grabbing a
game-high seven rebounds.
Sophomore
forward
Ricky
Doyle also added to the bench’s
production. Doyle came in for
junior forward Mark Donnal late
in the second half after Donnal
picked up his fourth foul, and he
sank two late free throws down
the stretch to help Michigan ice
the game. Doyle finished with six
points and two boards.
“The bench was huge today,”
Beilein
said
after
the
win.
“Everything
from
Kam
just
getting in there and getting the
rebound and making the foul
shots, Ricky making those foul
shots at the end, obviously Aubrey
was a catalyst again for us.”
On defense, Michigan held
Northwestern’s bench to just 12
points, marking the first time
since the Wolverines’ loss to
Michigan State three weeks ago
that they’ve had better bench
production against an opponent.
Coming into Wednesday’s game,
Michigan’s
bench
had
been
outscored, 80-41, in its previous
four games.
Unheralded starters such as
Abdur-Rahkman
and
Donnal
have had major contributions, too.
Abdur-Rahkman led Michigan
with 19 points Wednesday, and
Donnal had 17 and 25 points
against Ohio State and Maryland,
respectively.
But
with
the
Wolverines’ lack of depth due to
injuries, it’s more important now
that they get production outside of
their starting five.
Last season, when Michigan was
plagued by injuries, the bench was
also a huge factor. The Wolverines’
non-starters played 38 percent of
the team’s minutes last year and
have played 33 percent of their
minutes this year. In comparison,
during Michigan’s Final Four run
in the 2012-13 season, it was more
reliant on its starting five, with
the bench accounting for just 20
percent of its minutes.
“You see all of our good teams
over the years, we had a bench
that could come off and just get
us some baskets,” Beilein said.
“(Senior guard Spike Albrecht)
would find somebody open, he
would do something. (Former
Michigan players) Jordan Morgan
or Jon Horford would come off
the bench and get something
done, so that’s key for us. They’re
earning the trust every day. We
continue to work with them, and
they’re doing it.”
With just two regular-season
games left and then the potential
of playing multiple games on
consecutive days in the Big Ten
Tournament, Michigan’s bench
could be the difference between
staying on the bubble for the
NCAA Tournament and locking
in a spot on Selection Sunday.
ALLISON FARRAND/Daily
Sophomore forward Kameron Chatman has played sparingly this season but grabbed a crucial rebound Wednesday.
SOFTBALL
Michigan heads
out to California
By AVI SHOLKOFF
Daily Sports Writer
In
its
opening
weekend
of play, the No. 2 Michigan
softball team lost, 8-0, to No. 1
Florida, the first ranked team
on its schedule.
Last weekend, the Wolverines
played No. 13 Florida State
twice, defeating the Seminoles,
6-2 and 10-3, respectively.
Friday, Michigan (8-1) heads
to Palm Springs, Calif., where
it will face two more ranked
teams — No. 9 Washington and
No. 12 Oklahoma — in addition
to North Carolina State, a team
that was ranked No. 23 just last
week. The Wolverines will also
face Oklahoma State and Long
Beach State in the Mary Nutter
Collegiate Classic.
Michigan has shown it can
compete with some of the top
teams in the nation, and the
upcoming tournament provides
another opportunity for the
Wolverines to match up against
more high-quality competition.
“We played some good teams
this past weekend, and we had
some close games,” said junior
right-handed
pitcher
Megan
Betsa on Wednesday. “That was
good for us. Tight games are good.
(They) help us learn, help us know
what we need to work on.”
Michigan will first compete
against the Sooners, who have
won seven straight games after
losing their first two. Oklahoma
is 19th in the NCAA in batting
average and 18th in runs per game.
The Sooners will trot out left-
handed pitcher Paige Parker
— the ace of their staff — who
is averaging 8.8 strikeouts per
seven innings.
For Michigan senior second
baseman Sierra Romero, the
game has some special meaning,
as her younger sister, Sydney,
starts at third base for Oklahoma.
“I’ve never really gotten to
play against my sister,” Romero
said. “I think it’s going to be
a lot of fun, to see how she’s
grown since she’s been training
at (Oklahoma). I’m excited to
play against her and have a little
sibling rivalry going on.”
In its third game, Michigan
will take on North Carolina State,
which is led by right-handed
pitcher Courtney Mirabella.
In the fourth game, the
Wolverines will try to contain
Washington’s bats. The Huskies
rank No. 9 in the country in
batting average and No. 4 in
scoring per game with a solid
nine runs.
Yet Michigan coach Carol
Hutchins remains undeterred.
“I
don’t
care
about
the
opponents,” Hutchins said. “We
just need to play good softball,
catch and throw. We’re trying to
work on staying in our process,
in our moment, one pitch at a
time, and I think we can get
better at that.”
Romero continues to anchor
the
Wolverines
offensively,
with a team-leading five home
runs, 13 RBI and a whopping
27
total
bases.
Meanwhile,
Betsa has maintained her solid
performance from last year,
averaging a nation-leading 12.9
strikeouts per seven innings.
For Betsa, however, despite
her success in the strikeout
column, the numbers do not
come easy.
“I’ve been struggling getting
behind in the count,” Betsa said.
“That’s what I’m definitely going
to work on this weekend, spinning
the ball through the zone and
getting ahead in the count.”
Abounader keeps tradition
alive as St. Edward product
By MIKE PERSAK
Daily Sports Writer
Junior 184-pounder Domenic
Abounader has been one of
the leaders for the Michigan
wrestling team this season. The
first-year captain is 20-1 on the
season, climbing all the way to
the No. 2 national ranking for his
weight class. But for those who
knew him in high school — when
he won three state championships
with St. Edward High School
outside Cleveland — Abounader’s
success comes as no surprise.
“The number one thing about
Dom (is that) he’s about the most
competitive kid I’ve ever been
around,” said Abounader’s high
school
assistant
coach,
John
Heffernan. “He wants to try to win
everything. That kind of set him
apart more than anything else.”
There was a time in the early
2000s when you would look at
the Wolverines’ roster and see
St. Edward High School well-
represented. The private school
in Lakewood, Ohio, produced
some impressive wrestlers for
Michigan, including two-time
national champion Ryan Bertin
and All-Americans Andy Hrovat
and Mike Kulczycki.
Though that recruiting pipeline
has started to die down recently,
the Wolverines’ ears perked up
when they heard Abounader’s
name thrown around.
“Over the years, we’ve had
a nice relationship with the St.
Edward High School program,”
said Michigan head coach Joe
McFarland. “When Dom was
in his early high school years,
people were telling me to keep
an eye on him. So we just started
following him, and it worked out
really well for us.”
Of course, a wrestler like
Abounader wasn’t easy to catch.
He had multiple offers from
Division I schools, so the “nice
relationship” the Wolverines have
with St. Edward gave them a hand
with Abounader’s recruitment.
“Mike Kulczycky actually …
came back and started helping
St. Edward’s,” Abounader said.
“He knew that Michigan was on
my radar, and if I had questions,
he would answer my questions.
But he ultimately let me make my
decision for me.
Since the commitment, there
have been a series of close calls
for Abounader that have kept
him from making it all the way
to the top of his division. In his
freshman year, he finished with a
16-11 record overall, losing a close
match in the first round of the
NCAA Championships.
In
his
sophomore
year,
Abounader finished 22-8 but was
eliminated in the second round of
the NCAA Championships after
another close match.
Even though his one loss this
year came to the only wrestler
ranked ahead of him in his
weight class — Cornell’s Gabe
Dean — the big junior believes he
has found himself since that loss,
and now has what it takes to win
the close matches that have felled
him in the past.
It was this hard work that
Abounader has been putting in
that earned him the distinction of
being named captain of the team.
“We like the way he approaches
everything,” McFarland said. “He
has a lot of grit and toughness to
him, and we like that.”
With
the
Big
Ten
Championships starting March
5 and the NCAA Championships
on March 17, Abounader looks to
put all of his hard work to good
use in his attempt to defend his
Big Ten title and add an national
championship to his resume. If he
does, just like all of his successes
up to this point, it will come as
no surprise to those who have
followed him.
Michigan riding late
wave of momentum
Wolverines have
won five of six
entering regular-
season finale
By BRAD WHIPPLE
Daily Sports Editor
When the Michigan women’s
basketball team lost to then-No.
17 Michigan State on Feb. 3, the
Wolverines’
postseason
path
became
fuzzier. Sitting
below .500 in
conference
play,
it
was
possible
Michigan could
finish as one
of the bottom
four teams in
the Big Ten and
would
need
compete in a
play-in
game
to qualify for the conference
tournament.
The Wolverines needed a
bounceback, and luckily for
them, they got it four days later
with a victory against Illinois at
Crisler Center.
It was the beginning of a
seven-game stretch to close
out Michigan’s regular season,
one that would give a glimpse
into what sort of damage the
Wolverines could deal in the
postseason. Every game in that
schedule was a must-win.
But even if Michigan couldn’t
entirely sweep the final stretch,
sophomore
guard
Katelynn
Flaherty knew the implications
of at least having a strong and
meaningful finish.
“I think we really could
win the Big Ten Tournament,”
Flaherty said after beating the
Fighting Illini, “and I think it’ll
come down to if we go in there
with momentum.”
Almost a month after that
statement, the Wolverines (9-8
Big Ten, 17-11 overall) are fifth in
the conference standings, have
won five out of their last six games
and have only one game left
against Rutgers before heading to
Indianapolis for the conference
tournament next week.
Michigan is certainly riding
a high wave of momentum with
its only loss in the last month
coming at No. 6 Maryland on
Feb. 17, but even that game was
a tight contest. The Wolverines’
hard-hitting defense put them
in the lead for most of the game
against a frantic Terrapin squad,
and it was just down the stretch
that the game slipped away.
As for Michigan’s top two
scorers, Flaherty and freshman
center
Hallie
Thome
have
been making huge strides this
season to get the Wolverines in
a position to win.
Flaherty has six 30-plus point
games, and Thome has continued
to be an effective rebounder
under the glass — most recently
helping Michigan to a 70-65
victory at Northwestern.
But when Flaherty and Thome
are on top of
their game, it
doesn’t always
guarantee
a
win
for
the
Wolverines.
Instead,
Michigan’s
ideal
output
is a balanced
attack.
The
other
big
impact players
have been junior guard Siera
Thompson
and
sophomore
forward Jillian Dunston, who
lead the team in assists and
rebounds, respectively.
For Michigan to continue the
momentum that could carry it
far into the Big Ten Tournament,
that balanced team effort is
going to need to be on display
Sunday to pull off a victory at
Rutgers, which would nicely
cap off the Wolverines’ regular
season going 6-for-7.
Though the Scarlet Knights,
led by C. Vivian Stringer in her
21st season in Piscataway, gave
Michigan a headache last season
by
sweeping
the
two-game
series, they are unranked this
time around and sit below the
Wolverines in the conference.
In
the
two
teams’
only
meeting this season, Rutgers
(7-10, 16-13) could pack quite
the punch for Michigan. Guard
Tyler
Scaife
and
forward
Kahleah Copper are averaging a
team-leading 17.2 and 17 points,
respectively.
Sunday’s game may ultimately
be decided by which team
rebounds the ball better. Copper
and center Rachel Hollivay have
combined for 14.3 rebounds per
game this year, compared to
Thome and Dunston’s 11.2. The
paint will be a war zone — a
battle that the Wolverines can’t
afford to lose.
With a win Sunday, Michigan
could rest easy knowing it
finished off the season in a
respectable
fashion.
Next
Thursday, the
Wolverines
will begin play
at the Big Ten
Tournament,
where a deep
run could put
Michigan
on
the bubble for
its first NCAA
Tournament
appearance in
three years.
If not the Big Dance, the
Wolverines would have another
chance at earning a WNIT title,
which they almost seized last
season.
Sunday represents a crossroads
for Michigan: lose and some of
the
Wolverines’
hard-earned
momentum could vanish; win
and they could see more than
only one game next weekend.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Michigan
at Rutgers
Matchup:
Michigan 17-11;
Rutgers 16-13
When: Sunday
2 P.M.
Where:
Rutgers
Athletic Center
TV/Radio:
BTN
“I think it’ll come
down to if we
go in there with
momentum.”
DAVID SONG/Daily
Junior Domenic Abounader has become the latest great Michigan wrestler to come out of St. Edward High School.