8 — Friday, February 10, 2017
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Wolverines set for matchup with Big Ten bottom dweller Wisconsin

For the second time this season, 
the Wolverines are hoping to scare 
off some Badgers. 
The No. 21 Michigan women’s 
basketball team 
will be hosting 
Wisconsin 
in 
its 
annual 
Pink Game for 
breast 
cancer 
awareness 
Sunday. 
The 
Wolverines 
(9-2 
Big 
Ten, 
20-5 
overall) 
are coming off 
their 20th win 
of 
the 
season 
after dominating 
Purdue, 
72-61, 
and have yet to lose at Crisler 
Center. 
“It’s just another game,” said 
freshman guard Kysre Gondrezick 
after a win against Iowa on Feb. 
5. “But, ultimately, we talk about 
protecting the ‘M’ and protecting 
our own court.” 
The team motto, according to 

Gondrezick, has been to “just find a 
way to win.” For the Wolverines, the 
crux of that has been Gondrezick, 
who scored a career-high 25 points 
to notch her fourth 20-plus scoring 
performance of the year. Gondrezick 
went 9-for-13 from the field and 
4-for-7 from the 3-point range. 
The 
success 
against 
the 
Boilermakers was rounded out 
with contributions from sophomore 
Hallie 
Thome, 
junior 
guards 
Katelynn 
Flaherty 
and 
Jillian 
Dunston and senior guard Siera 
Thompson. Remarkably, Thompson 
played all 40 minutes of the contest. 
The defense, led by Dunston, has 
proven to be the backbone of this 
team. Michigan coach Kim Barnes 
Arico has worked to improve both 
press and zone defense on her squad, 
which was evident in the come-
from-behind victory against Iowa in 
the final minute. 
“I think what happens sometimes, 
and it’s happened to us in the past, is 
when you change defenses and then 
come back to an old defense it shakes 
it up a little bit,” Barnes Arico said. 
“So when we went zone and then we 
save the press kind of until the end … 
it was more effective than just doing 

it all the time.” 
But, it’s hard to fathom Michigan 
needing that much strategy in its 
upcoming contest. 
The impending matchup with 
the Badgers (1-10, 6-18) won’t be 
too threatening for the Wolverines. 
They are ranked for the first time 
since 2013 and have won 20 of its 
first 25 games for the first time in 
program history, while Wisconsin 
has only won one game against a 
conference team. 
The Badgers most recent game 
was that first win on Thursday 
against Nebraska. Wisconsin is 
sporting top players in junior guard 
Cayla McMorris and fifth-year 
senior forward Avyanna Young. 
The two lead the team, averaging 
12.9 and 10.2 points per game, 
respectively. 
Yet, the Badgers poor shooting 
has hindered the team. They 
rank last overall in the Big Ten 
conference, and 13th — in front of 
only Rutgers — in scoring and field 
goal percentage. Wisconsin has 
managed to shoot just 46 percent 
from the field, compared to its 
opponents, who have averaged 45. 
In the last meeting between 

the Wolverines and the Badgers, 
Michigan swept the court, 73-56. 
Thome led the charge with 37 points 
and 14 rebounds, while going 13-for-
15 from the floor and 11-for-13 from 
the free throw line. 
The Wolverines trailed by a point 
after the first quarter but managed 
to hold a seven-point lead at halftime 
to head a breakaway for the win. 
Wisconsin tends to lead strong, but 
Michigan matches that with its 
reputation of breaking away during 
the third quarter and suppressing its 
opponents on the defensive end. 
Michigan hopes to continue 
its home-court success while also 
notching another win against the 
Badgers. Its win streak at Crisler 
brings confidence, but no Michigan 
player wants to sit comfortably and 
assume a win. 
“Definitely looking at other 
team’s records (helps),” Thome 
said. “You have the (other team’s 
numbers) to prove that you can beat 
them. But, I think that in the Big 
Ten, any day, it’s like any team can 
step up and beat you. The Big Ten, 
knowing what kind of conference 
it is, you just got to bring your best 
game every day.” 

SYLVANNA GROSS
Daily Sports Editor

MAX KUANG/Daily
Senior guard Siera Thompson played a full 40 minutes against Purdue.

Wisconsin 
at Michigan

Matchup: 
Michigan 
9-2 Big Ten, 
20-5 overall; 
Wisconsin 
1-10, 6-18

When: Sunday 
2 P.M. ET

Where: Crisler 
Center

