6A — Thursday, March 10, 2016
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Wildcats up first in Indy

Michigan takes on 
Northwestern in 

second round of Big 

Ten Tournament

By LEV FACHER 

Daily Sports Writer

It’s March — the magical 

month when every team entering 
a conference tournament has 
at 
least 
one 

conceptual 
path 
to 

the 
NCAA 

Tournament, 
even a national 
championship, 
if it can just 
keep winning.

If 
the 

Michigan 
men’s 
basketball 
team is going 
to 
reach 

the 
NCAA 

Tournament, however, it needs 
to create some madness of its 
own. When the Wolverines tip 
off their Big Ten Tournament 
slate 
against 
Northwestern 

in Indianapolis on Thursday, 
they’ll know a single win likely 
won’t be enough for a ticket to 
the Big Dance.

To secure an at-large bid, 

Michigan would also need to win 
the next day against top-seeded 
Indiana, creating an instant 
catch-22. To beat Northwestern, 
the 
Wolverines 
might 
need 

their starters to give everything 
left in the tank. To beat the 
Hoosiers, Michigan likely needs 
its starters to have fresh legs, 
especially since Indiana will 
have been off since Sunday.

“You can’t balance it,” said 

junior guard Derrick Walton Jr. 
“You give it your all every time. 
No matter who’s off and who’s 
having to play, guys are tired at 
this point, either way it goes. To 

make that excuse would just be 
a cop-out.”

The 
circumstances 
are 

different this time, but Michigan 
has won two or more Big Ten 
Tournament games only once 
in coach John Beilein’s eight 
attempts.

To even try for two, though, 

the Wolverines 
first 
need 

to 
quiet 
the 

Wildcats. 
Northwestern 
presents 
a 

sizable obstacle 
in its own right, 
especially 
center 
Alex 

Olah, who has 
developed 
a 

reputation as a Wolverine killer 
over the course of his career. In his 
last three games against Michigan 
dating back to the 2014-15 season, 
Olah is averaging 22 points and 
eight rebounds.

Much of the scoring has come 

from mid-range jump shots that 
most Big Ten centers wouldn’t 
even attempt, and has proved 
particularly tough to defend for 

the Wolverines in particular.

“The way we hedge ball 

screens — he’s been doing a 
good job taking advantage of 
that,” said junior forward Mark 
Donnal. “Most of his shots 
are coming from jump shots. 
There’s little coming from inside 
the paint his last few games. I 

think we need 
to 
adjust 

(our) 
help 

defensively so 
we can slow 
him down a 
little bit.”

Olah scored 

19 points in 
Michigan’s 
72-63 win on 
Feb. 
24, 
in 

which the Wolverines struggled 
to recover from an 11-0 deficit 
early on after missing their 
first eight field goals. A pair 
of 
second-half 
threes 
from 

sophomore 
guard 
Aubrey 

Dawkins, who combined with 
sophomore guard Muhammad-
Ali Abdur-Rahkman to score 30 
points, put the Wildcats away.

Michigan’s mentality entering 

this weekend is substantially 
different from that in its last two 
trips to the Big Ten Tournament. 
In 
2013-14, 
the 
Wolverines 

finished 
the 
regular 
season 

and secured in their NCAA 
Tournament 
bid, 
and 
had 

relatively little to gain through 
their 
conference 
tournament 

performance. 
Last 
season, 

Michigan entered knowing it 
needed to win the tournament 
with four victories in four days.

This year, the Wolverines’ 

must-do list is more realistic, 
though still unlikely. Needing 
just a pair of wins has Michigan 
playing 
with 
a 
sense 
of 

desperation it hasn’t needed at 
a Big Ten Tournament for years.

“We hope so,” Beilein said of 

the no-holds-barred mentality. 
“We’re trying to just go down 
there and win it all. If your 
team’s not very good and you’re 
down in the bottom half of the 
league, the chances are that 
you’re not making it to Saturday 
night. If your team is really 
good, they’re probably already in 
the NCAA Tournament. The real 
crown has been done.”

AMANDA ALLEN/Daily

Junior forward Mark Donnal will be tasked with stopping Northwestern 7-footer Alex Olah on Thursday in Indianapolis.

Northwestern 
vs. Michigan

Matchup: 
Northwestern 
20-11; Michigan 
20-11

When: 
Thursday 12 P.M.

Where: Bankers 
Life Fieldhouse

TV/Radio: 
BTN

“You can’t 

balance it. You 
give it your all 
every time.”

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Michigan working 
on preventing fouls

By CHRIS CROWDER 

Daily Sports Writer

In the Michigan women’s 

basketball 
team’s 
Big 
Ten 

Tournament matchup against 
Iowa, the Hawkeyes used a 
steady diet of hard cuts off 
of passes to draw fouls in the 
first quarter. Iowa kept doing 
it — rinse, lather, repeat — until 
junior guard Siera Thompson 
fell victim early, picking up her 
first foul and checking out of the 
game soon thereafter.

Fouls have plagued Michigan 

all season long, and in coach Kim 
Barnes Arico’s interview with 
Inside Michigan Basketball on 
Monday, that’s exactly what the 
discussion focused on — mainly 
keeping players from picking up 
fouls and when to take them out 
of games.

In the matchup against the 

Hawkeyes, it was especially 
unusual for Thompson to pick 
up a healthy dose of fouls. She 
averages just two per game and 
is touted as the Wolverines’ best 
defender, counted on to shut 
down her opponent without 
fouling. But as soon as she put her 
hands up to defend, the whistle 
blew. After the point guard and 
team captain headed to the 
bench, Michigan’s dynamic was 
never the same.

Sometimes, when players pick 

up fouls, they’ll tell their coach to 
keep them in and to trust them, 
wanting to continue playing for 
their team. Ultimately for Barnes 
Arico, it’s her decision, based on a 
player’s experience and prowess 
for evading foul trouble.

“I think it depends on the 

person,” 
Barnes 
Arico 
said. 

“With (freshman center) Hallie 
Thome, when she picks up her 
first foul, we take her right out of 
the way because we know they’re 
attacking her right away. She’s 
young, she’s a freshman.

“When we have (Thompson) 

who plays that many minutes for 
us, we’re a totally different team 
without her. She’s a junior, she’s 
averaged 36 minutes in her career 
since she stepped onto campus 
running the team for us. So when 
she’s not in the game, we’re a 
really different team.”

Barnes 
Arico 
was 
hoping 

Thompson would be able to avoid 
Iowa’s goal of drawing fouls on 
her and that her point guard 
would stay out of foul trouble like 
she has all season. Thompson’s 
defense 
has 
been 
invaluable 

all season, shutting down or 
slowing the progress of stars 
like Minnesota guard Rachel 
Banham, who set a Big Ten record 
with 60 points in another game 
this season. But Thompson, and 
therefore the rest of the team, did 
not recover Thursday.

“It’s really important that you 

know your team,” Barnes Arico 
said. “With Siera, I thought she 
was going to be OK. We switched 
her matchup, we took her off 
their best player, and they were 
experienced and went at her and 
that really hurt us.”

The outing was a fluke for 

Thompson. 
It’s 
usually 
the 

Michigan bigs like Thome and 
senior forward Kelsey Mitchell 
who find themselves in foul 
trouble, coming out of the game 
when their presence is needed 
the most. With the WNIT on the 
horizon, the Wolverines have 
been working on defense and 
breakdown drills to play more 
aggressively without the ball and 
without fouling.

For Michigan to make a deep 

run in the WNIT, it’ll need to be 
mentally tough to avoid picking 
up fouls that can be prevented. 
Michigan is determined to work 
on it, because even if it’s not 
where it would like to be at this 
point in the season, there is still 
more basketball to play.

SOFTBALL
Sobczak answers the call

By AVI SHOLKOFF 

Daily Sports Writer

Heading into the season, the 

No. 2 Michigan softball team had 
few question marks on its roster.

It knew which pitchers would 

be throwing fastballs from the 
circle. It knew who would be 
catching the ground balls and 
making double plays in the infield. 
And it knew the players in charge 
of manning the outfield grass.

It was not certain, however, 

who 
would 
replace 
the 

Wolverines’ 
departed 
starting 

catcher of the previous four years: 
Lauren Sweet.

Through 20 games, freshman 

catcher Alex Sobczak looks to 
have filled the void in Michigan’s 
veteran-heavy lineup.

In 37 at-bats, Sobczak has hit 

.270 with two home runs and 13 
RBI with just four strikeouts.

Before 
the 
season 
began, 

Sobczak expressed concern about 
her potential impact, but she soon 
realized that high school softball 
and college softball are similar in 
many ways.

“I was worried coming in 

because (we face) All-American 
pitchers and there’s going to be 
such a difference — and such 
a change — but it’s actually 
just the same,” Sobczak said 
on Wednesday. “The pitchers 
throw a little bit harder and the 
movement is a little bit greater, 
but (our team) has gotten so much 
better as hitters — just focusing on 
the ball — that I don’t really notice 
too big of a difference.”

Where 
there 
is 
a 
clear 

difference, though, is in the 
personalities of the bubbly Sweet 
compared to the quiet Sobczak.

While Sweet was often vocal 

in the dugout, junior right-hander 
Megan Betsa points out that 
Sobczak leads in other ways.

“Alex isn’t the verbal catcher 

that Lauren Sweet was,” Betsa 
said. “She’s more of a lead-by- 
example type of catcher, and I 
think that’s good because we have 
a lot of vocal leaders on the field, 
(and it gives us) a good balance.”

Sobczak 
has 
experience 

behind 
the 
plate 
for 
every 

Michigan starter this season and 

thus understands the importance 
of forging connections with the 
pitchers, each of whom have 
different needs, strengths and 
weaknesses.

“I think that’s been the coolest 

thing so far,” Sobczak said. “Being 
a freshman, they don’t know you 
coming in, and getting to have a 
different relationship with Tera 
(Blanco), Leah (Crockett), Sara 
(Driesenga) and Meg (Betsa). 
It’s 
weird 
catching 
pitchers 

for the first time, because you 
(personally) have to make that 
relationship.” 

While some players may shy 

away from comparisons to an 
esteemed 
player 
like 
Sweet, 

Sobczak embraces it. In the fall, 
she had the opportunity to speak 
with Sweet, whom she called her 
“role model.”

“Lauren Sweet is awesome,” 

Sobczak said. “I talked to her 
about controlling and leading 
the team because that’s what you 
do behind the plate. You’re in 
charge of everything, and that’s 
a very hard position to walk into 
as a freshman. You have to know 
every play and every person.

“She pretty much told me to 

relax, to own my position and 
embrace it … that it’s OK not to 
know everything at the start, just 
do what you know how to do.”

Another 
core 
aspect 
of 

Sobczak’s development involves 
visits 
to 
the 
circle. 
These 

conversations can be used to 
motivate, assist or calm down a 
struggling pitcher.

Sometimes, 
though, 
the 

pitchers themselves utilize the 
trips to the circle to mentor their 
young catcher.

While the talks usually initiate 

with the catcher coming to the 
mound on her own conviction, 
Michigan’s pitchers sometimes 
call the conference themselves. 
Betsa 
and 
Driesenga, 
now 

veterans 
compared 
to 
their 

catcher, call time and allow 
Sobczak to gather herself.

Sobczak now plays the catcher 

position 
regularly, 
which 
is 

a major difference from her 
experience in travel ball, where 
she also played third base.

That 
was 
not 
the 
only 

adjustment for the freshman, 
though. She also needed to get 
acquainted to more than just the 
speed and pace of the college game.

“You’re in front of a lot more 

people, and the pressure is 
definitely a lot more (because) 
you’re fighting for a national 
championship,” Sobczak said. “In 
high school and travel, you’re not 
playing for nearly as much.”

According to Michigan coach 

Carol Hutchins, Sobczak has the 
potential to impact the team, but 
she simply needs to continue to 
improve and grow.

While the current Wolverines 

are reminded of the outgoing and 
confident Sweet in the dugout, 
Hutchins remembers a drastically 
different Sweet as a freshman.

“None of the kids on this team 

knew Sweet as a freshman,” 
Hutchins said. “Lauren didn’t 
have nearly the presence that 
she had by the time she was a 
junior and a senior, and that 
comes from confidence and 
trusting your game. And right 
now it’s really typical, freshmen 
are just trying to keep their head 
above water.”

Hutchins also explained that, 

compared to other positions, 
catcher proves to be the most 
challenging to grasp for freshmen 
in particular.

“(Catcher 
is) 
the 
biggest 

learning curve on the field,” 
Hutchins said. “There’s a lot 
going on, the pace of our team 
is 
extremely 
fast, 
and 
that 

information can really get into 
kids’ heads. (Sobczak is) going 
through a lot of the things 
that (Sweet) went through as a 
freshman. She’s got to be able to 
see the play and do the play and 
not let her mind get in the way. 
She’ll be all right.”

After all, as a recently named 

Co-Big Ten Freshman of the 
Week, Sobczak remains confident 
in herself.

“I wouldn’t be here unless I 

wanted to compete,” Sobczak 
said. “I committed here knowing 
I wanted to compete for a 
position, and I think more than 
anything, the pressure is why we 
play. If it was easy, no one would 
want to play.”

Third line reunited, 
finally healthy again

By MINH DOAN 

Daily Sports Editor

With a minute gone in the third 

period Friday night, Michigan 
hockey team coach Red Berenson 
threw his third line out at Yost 
Ice Arena.

But this third line was different 

than the one that started the 
game. After trotting out a third 
line of senior Justin Selman and 
freshmen Cooper Marody and 
Brendan Warren, Selman was 
replaced by sophomore Tony 
Calderone, reuniting the third 
line that started off the season.

After leading the team in 

scoring through November with 
14 goals, the line of Marody, 
Calderone and Warren has tailed 
off since then, scoring just five 
goals in the subsequent months.

And in mid-January, when 

Marody 
came 
down 
with 

mononucleosis, the line that was 
so prolific early in the season was 
split up. With Marody out, Selman 
was brought in to center the line.

A month later, just as Marody 

was healthy again, Calderone 
came down with a lower-body 
injury, which, once again, pushed 
back the date for the trio’s return 
to the ice. 

But Friday, the third line that 

started the season was brought 
back together and rekindled its 
scoring spark.

On 
their 
first 
shift 
back 

together, 
Calderone 
retrieved 

the puck in the corner of the 
offensive zone and dished it off 
to Marody, who got tied up and 
lost it. Calderone gathered the 
loose puck, spun around and fired 
at the goal, beating Ohio State 
goaltender Christian Frey to cut 
the Wolverines’ deficit to three.

Later in the period, Marody 

found Calderone open inside the 
left circle and Calderone ripped 
the puck past Frey to cut the 
Buckeyes’ lead to two.

“(Berenson) just kind of put us 

out there, and our first shift (on 
the ice), we scored, and we stuck 
after that,” Calderone said. “We 

kind of just connected after that.”

Sunday, the line got on the 

board late in the second period 
on the power play. Once again, 
Marody found Calderone in the 
slot, and Calderone backhanded 
the puck past Buckeye goaltender 
Matt 
Tomkins. 
Marody 
also 

scored the game-tying tally to 
push the game into overtime.

With the first line of junior 

forwards Tyler Motte and JT 
Compher and freshman forward 
Kyle Connor leading the way 
offensively for Michigan, the 
three 
other 
lines 
are 
often 

forgotten.

But with so much attention 

given to the first Compher-
Connor-Motte line, it creates 
opportunities for the other lines, 
especially the third.

“We’re 
the 
depth 
guys,” 

Calderone 
said. 
“Everyone 

looks at the CCM line and 
saying, ‘We need to shut them 
down.’ But our line can produce 

every night, too, and it gives 
(the team) more depth on any 
given night. The opponent has 
to watch all of our lines.”

On the line, each of the three 

players has a role on the team, 
a trait similar to the CCM line: 
Warren is the grinder, Marody is 
the passer and Calderone is the 
shooter.

“Warren’s good in the corner,” 

Calderone said. “He’s a real good 
working guy. He wins all his 
battles, which is big. Cooper’s an 
unbelievable passer. He sees the 
ice very well. He’s got great hands. 
And then both of those guys try 
to give me the puck to shoot. I’m 
more of the shooter on that line. 
We really complement each other 
very well.”

With the third line back 

together and rolling, evident in its 
four-goal weekend against Ohio 
State, the depth might be exactly 
what Michigan needs to win the 
Big Ten Tournament next week.

JAMES COLLER/Daily

Cooper Marody was out with mononucleosis, but is back on a strong third line.

