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

B1G Breakdown: Terps on top

Once again, Michigan will see

red on its road to the top of the
Big Ten — the top two teams the
Wolverines will be attempting
to box out will be Maryland and
Ohio State. But if the season
plays out in their favor, they
won’t experience deja vu and
once again be passed over for an
NCAA Tournament bid.

The
Michigan
women’s

basketball team hasn’t been
selected to compete in the NCAA
Tournament since the 2012-13
season — coinciding with the
first year coach Kim Barnes
Arico headed the program.

In the past three years, the

Wolverines have been outplayed,
barely, in outlier games and
have instead been sent to the
Women’s National Invitational
Tournament, where they have
not been able to advance past the
semifinals.

This year, though, could be

different. A rising “superstar”
freshman class, according to
Barnes Arico, mixed with key
players
like
junior
forward

Katelynn
Flaherty
and

sophomore guard Hallie Thome,
could possess the ingredients
needed to break into the NCAA
Tournament.

The Daily breaks down who

Michigan’s
top
conference

competition will be on the
path to its first potential NCAA
appearance in five years.

No. 6 Maryland:
Ranked fifth in the Associated

Press poll, the Terrapins are the
strongest team in the conference
and are entering their third season
in the Big Ten. Though Michigan
dominated Wayne State in its
final preseason exhibition match,
93-41, Maryland upped the ante
by demolishing Mary Baldwin,
153-27. The triple digits came from
a strong freshman class, including
Jenna Staiti, who contributed
25 points and eight rebounds.
Returning player Shatori Walker-

Kimbrough will be hard to defend,
too, as the senior guard set the Big
Ten record in 3-point field-goal
percentage and was the Big Ten
Tournament Most Outstanding
Player last year.

The Terrapins were picked

to win the Big Ten title by both
league coaches and the media
panels for the second year in a
row, which makes it an uphill
battle for the Wolverines to pick
off their new competition.

No. 7 Ohio State:
The next biggest threat to the

Wolverines is the Buckeyes, who
have junior Kelsey Mitchell, the
Big Ten’s Preseason Player of the
Year. Ohio State was chosen to
finish second in the conference,
and the effort will no doubt be
led by Mitchell. Other players to
focus on will be senior Ameryst
Alston, who has finished with
first team All-Big Ten honors
in each year of her collegiate
career. The Buckeyes went 26-8
last year with a 16-1 home record
— something to look out for
considering it is the only time the
Wolverines and Buckeyes will
meet in Columbus this year.

Michigan State:
The Spartans received the

22nd spot in the USA TODAY
Coaches Poll, but slid out of
the AP Poll rankings. Under
the nine-year tutelage of Suzy
Merchant, the Spartans have
finished in the top three in the
Big Ten in seven of the last eight
seasons. Their only hiccup was
their 2014-15 year, in which the
Spartans had multiple players
suffer injuries and finished 16-15.

Indiana:
The Hoosiers were picked

to finish third in the Big Ten,
but find themselves left out of
all preseason rankings, despite
finishing last season with a 14-0
home record. With the recent
hire of a new assistant coach,
Glenn Box, Indiana is looking
to jumpstart its defense and
perimeter play.

Purdue:
The Boilermakers have a

senior duo who are each aiming
for the 1,000-point club, Ashley
Morrissette and Bridget Perry.
The pair were the only two in
their recruiting class and are
both in position to achieve a
feat that just 30 players have
accomplished in 42 years of
program history. Purdue is
also returning five of its top-
six scorers, including three
starters.

Iowa :
Hawkeyes coach Lisa Bluder

is entering her 17th year at the
helm of the program. She has
been named Big Ten Coach of
the Year three times and has led
her team to nine consecutive
postseason
appearances.
The

Hawkeyes will be looking to
repeat the success of their 2014-
15 season and head to the Sweet
Sixteen. The charge will be led
by senior Ally Disterhoft, who
was named a Preseason All-Big
Ten selection.

Michigan loaded with scorers

The
Michigan
women’s

basketball team didn’t lose much
star power with the departure
of last season’s seniors. And
with a top-20 recruiting class to
fill the void the seniors left, the
Wolverines are primed for their
first NCAA Tournament run since
the 2012-13 season.

Michigan finished 21-14 last

season and is coming off its
second consecutive year of being
eliminated
from
the
WNIT

semifinals after suffering a 71-62
defeat to Florida Gulf Coast.

While
the
team
is
still

young, the coaching staff, led
by Michigan coach Kim Barnes
Arico, is in its third straight year
together and is built around a big
three of Katelynn Flaherty, Siera
Thompson and Hallie Thome.

Guards:
If last year is any indication, the

Wolverines will want to make use
of their depth at the guard position
by keeping three on the court as
often as possible.

As the only Wolverine to gain

national attention, junior Katelynn
Flaherty spearheads the team
from the point. With an average
of 22.1 points per game and a 40
percent average from behind the
arc last season, Michigan will rely
on her as its main offensive threat.

Senior Siera Thompson started

all 35 games last year, and unless
something
drastic
happens,

Barnes Arico is expected to keep
her on the court for at least half of
each game. Thompson is known
for her consistency, putting up an
average of 9.4 points per game.
But her real contribution to the
frontcourt is her playmaking
ability — Thompson averages more
assists than any other Wolverine.

Senior Danielle Williams will

be fighting for a starting position
once again this year. While she
didn’t average many minutes —
just 12.7 last season — she brings
experience to the group of guards.
Williams is also one of Michigan’s
best rebounders, which could
prove to be essential to this year’s
team.

The first guard off the bench

will likely be native Michigander
and freshman Kysre Gondrezick.
Gondrezick was Ms. Basketball
her senior year, averaging 40.5
points per game and posting a high
school women’s basketball record
of 72 points in a playoff game. If
she can continue sinking shots at
the collegiate level, she could be
a real difference-maker once she
grows acclimated to the faster
pace of the game.

Sophomores Nicole Munger

and Boogie Brozoski will provide
a shooting threat off the bench for
the Wolverines. Munger received
sparse playing time in her first
season, but still maintained a .368
3-point percentage, while Brozoski
mustered a .426 percentage from
beyond the arc.

Forwards:
With
such
a
guard-heavy

lineup, Michigan will have to rely
on the durability of its forwards to
maintain a solid rebounding and
low-post presence.

The Wolverines lost two solid

rebounders with the graduations
of Kelsey Mitchell and Madison
Ristovski, but they should be
more than capable of making up
for it with a more experienced
frontcourt.

Junior Jillian Dunston leads the

forwards, coming off a sophomore
campaign in which she averaged
4.4 points and a team-high 5.6
boards per game. Dunston should
see an expanded role this year, as
the Wolverines will rely on her
more often on the defensive end.

Besides
Dunston,
the
rest

of the forwards haven’t seen
much playing time. Sophomore
Sam Trammel and junior Maria
Backman have both played on
the court at the collegiate level,
but neither of them have received
regular playing time. Freshmen
KeAsja Peace and Kayla Robbins
stand at 6-foot-3 and 6-foot-1,
respectively, but may not be able to
see much playing time.

Center:
Six-foot-five sophomore Hallie

Thome is Michigan’s only true
center.
The
frontcourt
talent

finished last season scoring in
the double digits for 25 out of the
35 games. Thome is an important
returning starter who became just
the second freshman in program
history to record 500 points and
and set a school single-season
record in field-goal percentage
(63.1). The All-Big Ten honorable
mention is the tallest athlete on
the team — for now.

Redshirt junior Abby Cole is

also 6-foot-5 and will be joining
the Wolverines after her volleyball
season ends in December. Her
transition to basketball is highly
anticipated, as her physical stature
will literally push Michigan to
new heights. Though Cole hasn’t
touched a basketball since high
school — four years ago — Barnes
Arico is confident that she will
complement Thome at center.

SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily

Junior guard Katelynn Flaherty leads a potent Wolverine offense this season.

SYLVANNA GROSS

Daily Sports Writer

DAILY STAFF

Women’s basketball beat