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Michigan ousted from WNIT
By CHRIS CROWDER
Daily Sports Writer
Throughout
the
Women’s
National
Invitational
Tournament, Madison Ristovski
has told her
teammates,
“This
isn’t
going
to
be my last game,” while still
playing like it will be. With every
performance Ristovski had in
the WNIT, she has played the
best basketball of her career to
delay the last time she dons the
maize and blue.
But in the Final Four against
Florida Gulf Coast on Thursday,
the senior guard could no longer
prolong the end. Ristovski scored
19 points, but it was in vain, as
the Wolverines fell, 71-62, to end
their season.
Since the Eagles’ inaugural
season in Division I in 2007,
they have won more than 90
percent of their home games
at their home Alico Center — a
win percentage second only to
Connecticut during that time
span. That figure alone was a
hint that Michigan would need
everything they had to pull out a
victory in its first time away from
Crisler Center in the WNIT.
“It definitely helps in this
tournament to play on your
home court, a place where you
shoot and practice every day,”
said Michigan coach Kim Barnes
Arico. “I think that definitely
played into their advantage, but
they still made shots and they
did what they needed to do to
seal the game down the stretch
when we made that run.”
The
Eagles
(33-5)
scored
the first basket of the game
with a 3-pointer, but soon after
they went into a four-minute
drought, shooting 0-for-8 while
the Wolverines went on a 9-0
run before a timeout at the 4:54
mark in the first quarter. Florida
Gulf Coast didn’t remain quiet
for much longer, though, as it
knocked down its next three
3-pointers to take the lead. The
Eagles used their hot shooting
from distance to cap off the first
quarter with a 13-2 run to take
the lead, 16-11.
Michigan (22-14) struggled to
take care of the ball in the first
frame, committing six turnovers
that turned into 11 points for the
Eagles. The Wolverines went on
an 8-0 run and took over the lead
twice for brief moments in the
beginning of the second quarter,
but Florida Gulf Coast regained
momentum at the end of the first
half with a blocked shot and a
coast-to-coast layup to go up
by six. The Wolverines had one
more opportunity to score before
the end of the half, but freshman
center Hallie Thome was denied
at the rim.
“I wish I had that first and
second quarter back to change
the tempo a little more like we
did in the second half,” Barnes
Arico said. “They exposed our
young defenders and they did a
great job of that.”
Florida Gulf Coast’s defense,
which allows 49.1 points per
game — second-fewest in the
nation behind Connecticut —
proved its legitimacy against
Michigan in the first half. The
Wolverines shot 10-for-28 from
the floor while giving up 10
turnovers to fall behind, 28-22,
by halftime. The Eagles made
only one more shot than the
Wolverines, but they made four
more 3-pointers and six fewer
turnovers, giving their senior-
laden squad confidence going
into the break. Zero Michigan
players scored in double digits
at the half, as sophomore guard
Katelynn
Flaherty
led
the
Wolverines with six points on 30
percent shooting.
“They scout the heck out of
you and I think that they know
their personnel and make other
people have to beat you,” Barnes
Arico said. “They take away your
top guys and they put everybody
else in the paint and they make
those other guys have to play to
beat you. They block out, they
give you one shot, and they get
back in defensive transition.”
Michigan didn’t score in the
first two minutes of the third
quarter, turning the ball over
two more times along the way
before Ristovski knocked down
a 3-pointer to get it going. But
Florida Gulf Coast matched the
shot with a triple of its own to
push the lead to seven. The Eagles
led by as much as 10 in the third
quarter, but finished it leading by
just two due to Ristovski’s play.
Putting the team on her back
while the cold-shooting Flaherty
was on the bench for the majority
of the half, Ristovski dropped 12
points and dished out two assists
in the third quarter to keep the
Wolverines close while the rest
of her team struggled.
The game stayed close deep
into the fourth and, with just
over three minutes left to go in
regulation, Flaherty sank two
free throws to cut the deficit
to two again, 59-57. After a
defensive stop, the Wolverines
took the lead after Flaherty made
her first 3-pointer of the game.
But again, the Eagles battled back
with another make from behind
the arc. Florida Gulf Coast’s next
possession ended with another
3-pointer that deflected off the
rim and went in at the shot-
clock buzzer to push the lead
to five with a minute left. Only
managing a pair of free throws
down the stretch, Michigan was
unable to climb back again.
The Wolverines saw their
season end at the exact same
point this year as they did last
year — in the Final Four of the
WNIT. And even with a desperate
effort from Ristovski, the team
once again fell short of hoisting
its first banner at Crisler Center.
RYAN MCLOUGHLIN/Daily
Madison Ristovski scored 19 points in a losing effort in the WNIT semifinals on Thursday to close out her career.
Michigan seeks to answer
questions against Indiana
By TYLER COADY
Daily Sports Writer
In
the
Michigan
softball
team’s loss to Northwestern last
Friday, Sierra Romero filled in at
shortstop. As a
routine ground
ball
made
its
way
to
the
senior, it slipped
through
her
legs,
allowing
two
Wildcats
to score. And
with the added
cushion
of
those two runs,
Northwestern
survived
the
Wolverines’
spirited seventh-
inning comeback and won, 13-12.
The next day, Romero moved
back to second base as junior
shortstop Abby Ramirez made
her return to the field, injecting a
sense of normalcy into Michigan’s
infield and exuding confidence in
the lineup.
“(Ramirez) is a player who
shows up to do her part,” said
Michigan coach Carol Hutchins.
“That is one of the things I love
about her the most.”
Though she usually hits second,
Ramirez hit ninth and notched
one hit in four at-bats, keeping her
batting average above .400.
“I thought she did as well as she
could do,” Hutchins said. “I don’t
think she is … 100 percent or her
speed is all there, but we just need
her to do the best with what she
has.”
In
Ramirez’s
three-game
absence, due to an ankle injury,
Hutchins
inserted
freshman
Faith Canfield at second base
for Romero. Canfield excelled,
hitting .333 with a home run and
three RBI.
“Faith is a role player, not a
bench player,” Hutchins said. “Her
role is to fill in where we need her
and … she is very capable of doing
anything we need her to do.”
As strength is restored to
the Wolverines’ middle infield,
questions surround the rest of
No. 2 Michigan (2-1 Big Ten, 24-3
overall) as it prepares for three
away
games
in
Bloomington
against Indiana (3-0, 20-10).
During
the
Wolverines’
collapse on Friday, catcher Alex
Sobczak’s inexperience showed
itself as the freshman struggled
to deal with low-thrown pitches,
allowing several to make their
way to the backstop.
Sobczak lost her place in the
lineup for the series’ final two
games, giving way to sophomore
catcher Aidan Falk.
Hutchins gave no hints as to
who will be catching against
the Hoosiers, stating only that,
“(Sobczak) is one of our catchers.”
Though
uncertainty
marks
the catcher position, there is
little doubt as to the improved
performances of junior pitcher
Megan Betsa on Saturday and
Sara Driesenga on Friday.
Coming into Friday’s game
in a relief role, Betsa struggled,
garnering zero outs, walking
three and allowing four earned
runs. Saturday, Betsa continued
to give up an inordinate amount
of walks — five in total — but
found a way to work through
jams, as 12 strikeouts proved to
be the difference between further
Northwestern
scoring
and
Michigan returning to bat.
As
the
public
relations
department touted the game as
“Sara Driesenga Day,” last Friday
turned out to be anything but
for the hard-throwing right-
hander. While Driesenga started
in commanding fashion, the top
of Northwestern’s lineup got to
her in the fifth inning, when she
put two early runners on base.
The Wildcats used that as a
springboard to construct a seven-
run scoring inning.
Returning to the mound for
the series finale, Driesenga tossed
four solid innings, allowing only
one earned run and restoring
confidence
to
Michigan’s
beleaguered pitching staff.
As Betsa and Driesenga return
to their confident selves, the
return
of
defensive
stalwart
Ramirez is sure to be a boon for
the defense. However, it won’t
solve all of the Wolverines’
problems, as more consistency
from the pitching staff holds the
key to Michigan’s success against
the Hoosiers.
AMANDA ALLEN/Daily
Junior infielder Abby Ramirez gives a sense of normalcy to the Michigan infield.
Michigan
at Indiana
Matchup:
Michigan 24-3,
Indiana 20-10
When: Friday
6 P.M.
Where: Andy
Mohr Field
TV/Radio:
BTN2Go
MICHIGAN
FGCU
62
71
8 — Friday, April 1, 2016
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com