Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Tuesday, December 13, 2016 — 7
Michigan to face Central Arkansas
Unfortunately for the Michigan
men’s basketball team, a reprieve
from Ann Arbor weather was one
of few positives
that came from
their voyage to
Los Angeles, as
the Wolverines
fell,
102-84,
against
UCLA
at
Pauley
Pavillion
on
Saturday.
The
first
half
was
an
encouraging
sign
for
the
Wolverines,
as
they
shot
65.5 percent from the field and
buried 12 of their 16 3-pointers
to keep pace with the Bruins’
potent offense despite entering the
matchup averaging just 70 points
per game.
Specifically, senior wing Zak
Irvin returned to form — leading
Michigan with 18 points on 7-for-
14 shooting after scoring just four
points against Texas.
But after starting the second
half with the game tied at 50,
nearly everything that could have
gone wrong for the Wolverines
did. Michigan followed up its
eye-popping first-half shooting
performance by going 10-for-29
from the field, and its defense had
no answer for a UCLA offense
spearheaded by freshmen Lonzo
Ball and TJ Leaf. As sophomore
forward Moritz Wagner described
it, “Every time I turned around,
the ball was in the net.”
“Against the Power Five teams
that we’ve played — we’ve played
six of them right now — at the end
of halves and the end of games …
where we were pretty good end
of half, end of games in the first
two, it has not been good,” said
Michigan coach John Beilein. “…
We’ve been coming out of a media
timeout sometimes, or you were
just put in the game, and you’re
standing there watching.
“We’ve got to do something to
increase our processing speed.
With everybody, it’s a little bit
different, so we’ve got to rep it
out better, we’ve got to talk about
it better, we’ve got to coach it
better and then they’ve got to do
it better.”
Now, the Wolverines are set to
kick off a three-game home stand
Tuesday against Central Arkansas
(1-8) before they begin conference
play with a trip to Iowa on Jan. 1.
The matchup against the Bears
is part of a familiar trend for
Michigan this year.
After losing to South Carolina
and Virginia Tech this season, the
Wolverines had the opportunity
to prevent two-game skids with
contests against less prestigious
opponents in Mount St. Mary’s
and Kennesaw State, respectively.
Michigan delivered victories
in both games, and now it has the
opportunity to notch its eighth
win against Central Arkansas.
Realistically, there is no reason
it shouldn’t.
Though the Bears have an
experienced backcourt led by
junior guard Jordan Howard and
senior guard Derreck Brooks,
they have registered only one
win this season — a 81-76 victory
against Army.
Central
Arkansas
opened
its season with a 32-point
loss to Wisconsin, in which it
allowed forward Nigel Hayes
and guards Bronson Koenig and
Zak Showalter to combine for
40 points.
With that in mind, it appears
the stage is set for the Wolverines’
three-headed attack of Irvin,
Wagner and senior guard Derrick
Walton Jr. to have a field day. The
trio is averaging 14, 11.8 and 10.5
points per game, respectively, and
its unlikely the Bears will be able
to limit that production for a full
40 minutes.
That’s not to say Central
Arkansas doesn’t have some
talent of its own. Howard is
leading the Bears in scoring
with 17.2 points per game, while
Brooks is averaging 15.8 points
himself and cleaning up the glass
to the tune of a team-high 6.5
rebounds per game.
Still, assuming that Walton
and Irvin can handle Central
Arkansas’
backcourt
on
the
defensive end, the Bears won’t
have many places to look for
scoring — Mathieu Kamba, their
third-highest scorer, is barely
averaging 11 points per game.
And given redshirt sophomore DJ
Wilson’s emergence this season,
it’s hard to imagine Brooks’
rebounding presence will alter the
dynamic of a should-be blowout.
But in a young season that
has been full of highs and
lows, replicating the offensive
performance that the Wolverines
displayed against UCLA would
certainly be a welcome sign of
progress.
“We scored 50 points in one
half, we scored 53 against Texas
in a game,” said Michigan coach
John Beilein. “I think what’s really
key for us going forward is, where
is our consistency?
“We’d rather have guys go
2-for-5 every day … than go for
1-for-6 and then 5-for-6 and then
1-for-6 and then 4-for-6. We want
some consistency there, and that’s
what we’re trying to establish. We
really haven’t had it, and we need
that right now.”
KEVIN SANTO
Daily Sports Editor
GRANT HARDY/Daily
Sophomore forward Moritz Wagner will look to continue his strong offensive performances against Central Arkansas.
Central
Arkansas at
Michigan
Matchup:
Central
Arkansas 1-8;
Michigan 7-3
When:
Tuesday 9 P.M.
Where: Crisler
Center
TV: BTN
Lavigne earns praise
For most of this season, the
Michigan hockey team has used
a rotation of three goaltenders:
senior Zach Nagelvoort and
freshmen Jack LaFontaine and
Hayden Lavigne. But on Nov.
11, after Lavigne shut out then-
No. 4 Boston University, 4-0, it
seemed that he was making a
case as the frontrunner for more
playing time.
Unfortunately for Lavigne, his
rise to the top of the depth chart
was delayed. After coming down
with an illness, Lavigne was
forced to miss four games and
one exhibition, and during that
stretch, the Wolverines went 1-3.
Friday, the freshman came
back to the ice against Wisconsin.
And while the return of its top
statistical goalie was a welcome
sight for Michigan (1-3-0 Big
Ten, 7-8-1 overall), Lavigne’s
return was a rocky one.
When all was said and done,
he lasted just two periods, giving
up six goals on 27 shots.
“I just definitely started to
get frustrated in the second
(period),”
Lavigne
said.
“Obviously we got some bad
bounces, which didn’t help aid
that at all. And then with the
net-front presence that they
were giving, I just kind of got
frustrated, and I got in my own
head a little bit.”
Despite Lavigne’s rough start
Friday, Michigan coach Red
Berenson decided to stick with
the freshman for the team’s
game against Wisconsin on
Saturday. The call came as a bit
of a surprise, given the team’s
tendency to rotate its goalies this
season, but it ultimately paid off.
Lavigne faced 35 shots on the
night, allowing only one goal that
came off an odd-man rush on a
power play. And though the strong
performance was a confidence
booster in itself, the decision from
Berenson to give him another shot
had Lavigne feeling good coming
into the matchup.
“That meant a lot,” Lavigne
said. “It really shows that they
have confidence in us. And
obviously we’ve been rotating
throughout the year, and we’ve
all done pretty well. So it meant a
lot to get that nod again to get in
Saturday night. It just shows that
they have trust in you, and that
they believe that the team has
trust in you as well.”
Part of Berenson’s decision
was to give the freshman ample
opportunity to prove himself after
sitting out. But beyond that, he felt
Lavigne gave the Wolverines the
best chance to win.
“Let’s face it, on paper, he’s
got our best record,” Berenson
said after Saturday’s game. “And
he needed a chance to play, to
come back and show what he
can do. I thought he was a little
rusty last night. He didn’t play a
poor game, but his team didn’t
give him a good game. Tonight,
the team was better, and Hayden
was better, too.”
Lavigne’s
strongest
performance came during the
second period of Saturday’s
game.
Michigan
took
five
penalties in the period, placing
extra pressure on the freshman
to be stout in net. While the
constant action would make
it hard for some goaltenders
to stay calm, Lavigne says
the constant action helps him
maintain focus.
That
effort
is
especially
pertinent for all the Wolverines
right now — the team has a two
week break for the holidays before
it returns to action at the Great
Lakes Invitational on Dec. 29. But
with its best goaltender healthy
and seemingly confident as ever,
Michigan is more equipped to
rebound from the tough stretch it
suffered without Lavigne.
ICE HOCKEY
MIKE PERSAK
Daily Sports Writer
WOMEN’S GYMNASTICS
Marinez, McLean
try out new events
One year ago, the Michigan
women’s
gymnastics
team
hosted
Eastern
Michigan
for an exhibition meet. The
Wolverines
dropped
that
contest to the Eagles, 194.050-
183.350, thanks in part due to
gymnasts being absent with
injuries and illness.
Sunday, with junior Paige
Zaziski and sophomore Olivia
Karas out, Michigan seemed in
danger of a similar result.
But no such issues plagued
the Wolverines in this year’s
event. Led by
junior
Lauren
Marinez
and
sophomore
Emma McLean,
who each took
on
two
new
events,
the
Wolverines
edged
Eastern
Michigan,
196.200-
194.750.
“You
see
people practice and practice
and practice, but competition is
different,” said Michigan coach
Bev Plocki. “Sometimes they’re
a little better on competition,
sometimes
they’re
more
nervous and they make silly
mistakes. It’s like anything else,
you want to try and practice
competing, and I think we’ll be
a lot better when we come out in
January against Utah.”
Marinez spent 2015 competing
mostly on the beam. While she
found success on the beam,
scoring better than 9.750 five
times, she spent fall workouts
putting herself in position to
participate in more events. Her
efforts showed Sunday as she
entered the bars and vault events
and posted respective scores of
9.875 and 9.825.
As
for
McLean,
she
participated in the floor and
vault events last season. Like
Marinez,
McLean
produced
strong performances in her
events. Her best scores were
9.875 on the floor against
Nebraska on Jan. 29 and 9.850 in
the vault at the NCAA Regional
on Apr. 2, but she was consistent
throughout the year.
Against the Eagles, McLean
became an all-around performer
for Michigan. She had a solid
debut on the bars, tallying a
score of 9.825, and continued her
vault prowess, as she scored an
impressive 9.925 in that event.
Still, McLean insists that
there is more for her to do.
“Personally, I just need to
work
on
my
confidence and
compete like I
train,” McLean
said. “As a team,
we need to work
on
just
being
ourselves.”
While Zaziski
and Karas were
only
held
out
against Eastern
Michigan
for
precautionary
reasons and will return soon,
the depth that Marinez and
McLean provide with their
new events will undoubtedly be
appreciated by the Wolverines.
But Michigan will have to
wait a while to put its increased
depth
into
practice.
The
Wolverines are not scheduled
to compete again until Jan. 7 at
Utah. Plocki insisted, though,
that the time off will not be a
bad thing.
“The fall tends to be a long
semester, a lot of hard work,
a lot of training.” Plocki said.
“Their bodies need to recover
a little bit, so having a week
break at home I think will help
physically and mentally. And
I think when they come back
they’ll be excited and revved up
and ready to go. I think coming
back with a fresh body and a
good, energized attitude will be
a good thing.”
“As a team, we
need to work
on just being
ourselves.”
Wolverines return home to play
Ohio after extensive road swing
The
Michigan
women’s
basketball team is finally coming
home.
The Wolverines (8-3) haven’t
been back to Crisler Center since
their 66-41 win
over
Western
Michigan
on
Nov.
21,
spending
seven
games
on
the
road
since
then.
The team will
face off against
Ohio (7-0) on
Tuesday in the
first of a four-
game
home
stretch.
Michigan
racked up 95.8 points per game
on 53.8 percent shooting in its
first four games of the season at
home. The Wolverines broke the
century mark in three of them.
“I haven’t really had to talk
about our scoring much this
year, when you have three games
over 100 points,” said Michigan
coach Kim Barnes Arico after
Michigan’s third straight 100-
point game on Nov. 18 against
Howard. “So I think my emphasis
is on us becoming a better
defensive team.”
And since then, Michigan has
definitely risen to the occasion.
Notably, the Wolverine’s defense
at home is nothing to scoff at — the
team has held opponents to 44.8
points per game on 29.8 percent
shooting. That effort is led by
the charge of junior guard Jillian
Dunston, who has racked up 51
rebounds in total, and sophomore
center Hallie Thome, who has 41.
Michigan is coming off a loss
to No. 10 UCLA, 84-64, after
dominating San Diego State,
92-57. As a highlight, senior
guard Siera Thompson jostled
her way to her first career double-
double in the Wolverines contest
with the Aztecs. It was the first
time since Feb. 14, 2015, that a
Michigan player has done so.
“I think this was great for us
to come out here and experience
a top-level team,” Barnes Arico
said. “I think we had to learn to
battle through adversity. I think
we had to learn to be on the
road for an extended period of
time. We talked about it a little
bit in the huddle, things haven’t
gone our way. But we got a long
season ahead of us. And we gotta
regroup, and we gotta continue to
battle and continue to fight.”
The fighting might not only
extend to opposing teams, but to
family members as well.
This will be the second straight
game where a Wolverine will face
her twin. At UCLA, senior guard
Danielle Williams faced her
sister, Dominique. Tomorrow,
Thome will do the same against
her sister, Hannah.
Though it might be easy to
pit the fraternal twins together,
Thome, a starter, might see more
playing time than Hannah, who
has just played in two games this
season for the Bobcats for a total
of seven minutes.
In
addition
to
Dunston,
Thome
and
Thompson,
freshman
guard
Kysre
Gondrezick will be a player to
watch against Ohio. In the past
11 games, Gondrezick has scored
in double digits and currently
leads the team in free-throw
attempts with 36, is second in
scoring with an average of 13.1
points per game and trails only
junior guard Katelynn Flaherty
in 3-pointers made with 25.
“She really gets to the basket,”
Barnes Arico said. “She gives us
a different dimension from that
guard spot, and getting to the
free throw line 10 times tonight is
incredible. That’s something that
we’re definitely going to need
going forward.”
Michigan
will
need
Gondrezick’s power to end the
Bobcats’ undefeated season. Ohio
is averaging 70.4 points per game
with two athletes, guard Quiera
Lampkins and forward Jasmine
Weatherspoon,
leading
the
charge by averaging 19.3 and 10.7,
respectively.
An Ohio win would boost the
Bobcats to just their second win
against the Wolverines in six
meetings throughout program
history, and their fourth against
the current Big Ten.
The
last
time
Michigan
and Ohio met, the Wolverines
escaped with a 69-64 win on Dec.
21, 2007.
This time, Michigan will be
happy to be back home and eager
to defend its undefeated record
on the floor of Crisler Center.
AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily
Senior guard Siera Thompson and Michigan play Tuesday against Ohio for a chance to rebound from Sunday’s loss.
SYLVANNA GROSS
Daily Sports Writer
Ohio at
Michigan
Matchup:
Ohio 7-0;
Michigan 8-3
When: Tuesday
6:30 P.M.
Where: Crisler
Center
TV/Radio:
BTN Plus
NATHANIEL CLARK
Daily Sports Writer