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February 24, 2017 - Image 7

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The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Friday, February 24, 2017 — 7

Michigan routs Nebraska on Senior Night

Back on Jan. 22, the No. 25

Michigan women’s basketball
team traveled to Lincoln and
defeated
Nebraska,
84-51.
It
was

the Wolverines’ most lopsided
victory in Big Ten play.

Michigan was just five points

away from tying that margin
Thursday night at Crisler Center,
as the Wolverines routed the
Cornhuskers, 88-60. The win
snapped a two-game skid for
Michigan.

Though it was Senior Night,

it was the younger players who
took charge for the Wolverines
(11-5 Big Ten, 22-7 overall). While
junior guard Katelynn Flaherty
led with 25 points, freshman
guard Kysre Gondrezick was
only one rebound away from a
double-double, nabbing 21 points
and nine boards. Sophomore
center Hallie Thome notched 21
points and seven rebounds of her
own.

“It was definitely a bounce-

back game,” said Michigan coach
Kim Barnes Arico. “I thought
we shared the ball really well.
I thought we were able to make
shots. Also to honor (senior
guards Siera Thompson and
Danielle Williams) in their last
home contest.”

Michigan wasted little time

gaining a lead in the first quarter,
hitting 10 of its first 12 shots to
take a 28-11 lead at the end of the
frame. Flaherty led the charge
by sinking three 3-point shots,
which was three more than
she made in the last two games
combined. Gondrezick made two
long-range baskets of her own
in the frame, matching her total
from the previous two contests.

“Katelynn is such an incredible

scorer,” Barnes Arico said. “I
think the other day Michigan
State really keyed in on her and
limited her touches. And that
made it difficult for her. Anytime

she gets a good look, you feel like
she can score the basketball.”

But it was the Wolverines’

defense that really stood out in
the first quarter. Michigan held
Nebraska (2-13, 6-21) to just 26.7
percent shooting and allowed
only one basket from behind the
arc.

The Wolverines’ momentum

continued in the second quarter
as Gondrezick and Flaherty
opened the frame with back-to-
back 3-pointers. That allowed
Michigan
to
take
a
44-26

advantage into halftime despite
a 9-0 Cornhusker run to end
the frame. Nebraska helped
Michigan’s cause by turning the
ball over five times.

The third quarter belonged

to Thome, though, who drew
four fouls in the first seven
minutes, including one after a
made basket. Her ability to get
to the free-throw line added
nine points to the Wolverines,
allowing them to take a 62-41
edge into the final quarter.
Thome’s production made up for

the fact that Michigan sank just
five of its 14 shots in the frame.

“I was so happy with how

many times she was able to get
to the free-throw line,” Barnes
Arico said. “That was incredible
for us. I hope she can continue to
do that moving forward.”

Thome,
Flaherty
and

Gondrezick continued to carry
the team in the fourth quarter,
as Flaherty grabbed six more
points, Gondrezick nabbed five
and Thome scored two. The trio’s
contributions, as has been the
case for much of the year, carried
the Wolverines to victory.

But the seniors weren’t about

to let the underclassmen soak
up all of the glory. With three
minutes
remaining,
Williams

sank a 3-point shot, instantly
quadrupling her point total for
the game. Thompson added a
3-pointer of her own a little over
a minute later, bringing her point
total to eight.

“I don’t really think about

scoring and stuff like that,”
Thompson said. “I’m just trying

to get a win. And yeah, it’s about
me because it’s Senior Night, but
you want to get a win first.”

With Thursday’s victory, the

Wolverines accomplished two
notable feats. Michigan earned
its 22nd win of the season, which
is tied for the most in program
history, and clinched third place
in the Big Ten for just the fourth
time in school history. A lot of
attention will now be paid to the
Big Ten Tournament and a likely
berth in the NCAA Tournament.

With all of that in mind, it’s

easy to forget that the Wolverines
still have another regular-season
contest. Michigan will travel to
State College on Sunday to take
on Penn State (8-7, 18-9), who
led Michigan State by 18 points
on Wednesday before ultimately
falling, 73-64.

“They’re a good team, and

they’re a really good team
at home,” Barnes Arico said.
“They’re led by one of the best
guards in the country in Teniya
Paige. They’ll be ready to go, it’s
the last home game for them.”

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Seniors shine in finale

Up 25 points with five minutes

to go against Nebraska, the
Michigan
women’s
basketball

team had all but won the game.
On any other day, the Wolverines
would be content. But tonight was
Senior Night, and senior guards
Siera Thompson and Danielle
Williams weren’t finished with
their last regular-season home
game yet — so they put on a show.

Williams, who only had one

point in the first three quarters,
sunk a 3-pointer with three
minutes left. Thompson followed
suit at the 1:38 mark, and both
earned appreciative applause from
the crowd. Tonight, that crowd
included their families who made
the trip to be in the stands. But the
co-captains focused on staying
humble.

“I didn’t really think about

that (shot) during the game,” said
Williams. “But it was cool.”

When Michigan coach Kim

Barnes Arico took Thompson and
Williams out with only one tick
left on the clock, the fans erupted,
showing their gratitude for the
Wolverine seniors.

Thompson and Williams are

the first Michigan players to spend
their entire careers under Barnes
Arico, as the duo were part of her
first recruiting class. They stepped
out of their comfort zones to
come to Michigan, with Williams
committing from Phoenix and
Thompson hailing from Gardena,
Calif.
Thompson
had
never

even visited the campus before
committing.

“They packed their bags and

flew across the country because
they believed in a vision that
Michigan
women’s
basketball

could have,” Barnes Arico said.
“For them to leave as seniors,
potentially being the winningest
players in program history as well
as a top 20 ranking, doing things
that have never been done before
— they are so deserving.”

Neither senior leads the team in

points, but they have found other
ways to guide the team. Thompson
had 140 assists going into the
game — the most of any current
Michigan player. She stayed true
to form against the Cornhuskers,
tallying five more and adding eight
points and three rebounds.

And Williams, who has started

in 16 of 29 games this season,
shines particularly on defense. She
earned four defensive boards — the
second-most of all the Wolverines
— despite playing just 19 minutes.

“Siera is the G.O.A.T. (Greatest

Of All Time),” Williams said. “She’s
so consistent, so calm, and I almost
don’t have any words to describe
her impact on the program. Every
day she is someone to look to who
is always cool, calm and collected,
but just gets it done.”

Added Thompson: “(Williams)

will do anything for you. She puts
others before herself, and I think
that’s one of the best qualities
about her. And that’s why our
team is so great. Without Danielle,
we wouldn’t be the team we are
today.”

The two seniors are part of an

undoubtedly
successful
team.

They earned their 22nd win of the
season against the Cornhuskers,
tying the program record for most
wins in a season.

“It’s great to come in and

make history and do something
that’s never been done before,”
Thompson said. “Because that’s
what Coach told us. She told us
if you follow my vision, you will
make history.”

With one game left in the

regular
season
on
Saturday

against Penn State, Michigan has a
chance to become the first team in
program history to win 23 games.
So, despite the praise, the seniors
are not letting themselves get
swept up in celebrations just yet.

“I feel like there is a lot of the

season left to be played,” Williams
said.

Even though their careers are

coming to an end, with program
history right around the corner,
there’s a lot to look forward to.

ICE HOCKEY
‘M’ hits road to take
on No. 11 Ohio State

A week ago, the Michigan

hockey team was swept in
Madison by No. 19 Wisconsin,
losing 5-2 and 6-4. And after a
week of practice, the Wolverines
will be back on the road when
they travel to Columbus for their
final regular-season road trip.

Michigan (2-10-2 Big Ten,

9-16-3 overall) will face No.
12 Ohio State on Friday and
Saturday for the second time
this season. After the two-game
series, the Wolverines will return
to Yost the following week to
close the regular season with
a home series
against No. 11
Penn State.

Michigan

split
its
first

series matchup
with
Ohio

State
(7-6-1,

16-8-6)
the

first
weekend

of
February,

winning
the

first game, 5-4,
and falling in the second, 6-5.
While the first game proved
that the Wolverines could top a
ranked opponent, they struggled
with the Buckeyes’ offense and
were unable to record what
would have been their first sweep
of the season.

“They’re
a
really
good

offensive team, we know that,”
said sophomore forward Cooper
Marody. “They have a ton of
guys with great skill. They have
an unbelievable power play, so
definitely a key for the weekend
is staying out of the box and
really competing. If it’s in front
of the net to box out a guy or just
battling in the corner, it’s going to
be really important.”

In each game of the first

series, four different players
from the Buckeyes’ roster scored,
highlighting the depth in their
lineup.

But possibly the biggest factor

in Ohio State’s success stemmed

from its power play, which proved
to be instrumental in both games.
The Buckeyes capitalized on
man-up advantages throughout
the series, scoring seven power-
play goals on the weekend.

“It is a concern, and I think we

learned from it,” said Michigan
coach Red Berenson. “I thought
we were a lot better last week, we
worked on it last week and we’ll
work on it a little bit tomorrow.
But an important thing is to stay
out of the penalty box.

“We ended up taking 14

penalties that weekend. This
past weekend, we gave up one
power-play goal on Friday and
then a shorthanded goal, but we

only had to kill
six penalties the
whole weekend.
We’ve got to stay
out of the box.”

This
past

weekend against
the
Badgers,

Michigan
showed signs of
improvement
despite the losses.
The penalty kill

limited Wisconsin to a single
power-play goal, and time in
the
penalty
box
drastically

decreased.

In addition to the penalty kill,

other improvements were made
throughout the game to give the
Wolverines an edge.

“I thought we had a lot of

improvement
in
our
game,”

Berenson said. “Whether it was
our forecheck, coming out on the
ice, managing the puck better,
getting shots on the net, creating
scoring chances, giving up fewer
chances. We were a better team
than the score gave us credit for
at the end of the game. We didn’t
finish the game as strong as we
needed to, and that’s going to be
another challenge for us.”

In one of its last few chances

this season to notch a Big Ten
win, Michigan will have to
display all of these improvements
together — and it’ll be necessary
facing a team like Ohio State.

Wolverines set for tough contest
with No. 14 Purdue in home finale

Since upsetting then-No. 11

Wisconsin at Crisler Center last
Thursday
night,
the

Michigan
men’s
basketball
team (8-7 Big
Ten,
18-10

overall) has hit
a bit of a rocky
road.

In
two

away contests
against
Minnesota and
Rutgers
over

the past week,
the Wolverines
were pushed to their limit, facing
deficits late and needing swift
responses.

On Sunday in Minneapolis, the

Golden Gophers took their largest
lead of the game at 68-60 with
just 2:54 remaining in regulation.
Though Michigan battled back
and sent the game to overtime off
an NBA-range three from redshirt
sophomore forward DJ Wilson
with two ticks left on the clock,
Minnesota regained the lead with
2:03 left in the extra period and
held on for an 83-78 win.

Three days later in Piscataway,

the
Scarlet
Knights
took
a

56-52 lead with 6:46 remaining
following a five-minute, 15-4
run. This time, the Wolverines
responded with a 10-0 run of their
own — bookended by baskets
from sophomore forward Moritz
Wagner — to regain the lead and
escape with a 68-64 victory.

The Golden Gophers were

projected to be a tough matchup
for Michigan — both teams sat at

6-6 in the Big Ten — while last-
place Rutgers proved to be a more
challenging foe than expected.
But in both cases, the Wolverines
had only themselves to blame for
allowing the outcome of the game
to be decided in the final stretch.

Though the outcome ended up

in their favor in Piscataway, it went
the other way in Minneapolis.
It seems likely that the outcome
should be decided much earlier on
Saturday in Michigan’s upcoming
matchup against No. 14 Purdue
(12-3, 23-5).

The Wolverines will return

to Ann Arbor to take on the
conference-leading Boilermakers,
who are in the midst of a six-
game win streak, in their final
home game of the season. A
contest in Crisler Center should
be a welcome sight, as Michigan
has dropped just three games on
its home court this year. But the

Wolverines will be up against the
toughest task they have faced in
their own arena.

Purdue boasts the best offense

in the Big Ten, averaging 81
points per game, and ranks as
the fourth-best defense as well,
allowing 66.2 per game. Those
lofty numbers give them a plus-
14.9 scoring margin — also tops in
the conference.

Contributing to their top-

ranked offense, the Boilermakers
lead the Big Ten in both field-goal
percentage and 3-point field-goal
percentage, averaging clips of 48.1
and 41.3, respectively. That could
spell major trouble for Michigan,
which ranks last and second-
to-last on defense in those same
categories, allowing its opponents
to shoot 46.4 percent from the
floor and 38.9 percent from
beyond the arc, respectively.

The Wolverines will go up

against standout forward Caleb
Swanigan, who leads his team
with a double-double average of
18.6 points and 12.9 rebounds per
game on the season. He is flanked
in the middle by forward Vincent
Edwards and assisted off the
bench by center Isaac Haas, both
of whom also average double-
digit points with 11.8 and 13.4
points, respectively.

In order to make up for their

deficiencies on the defensive end,
the Wolverines will need to exploit
one of Purdue’s key weaknesses:
turnovers. And fortunately for
them, that happens to be one of
their biggest strengths.

While the Boilermakers sit at

the bottom of the conference with
a minus-1.2 turnover margin —
committing an average of 13.4
per game — Michigan occupies
the top spot, forcing an average of
12.8 while committing just 9.5 by
comparison.

Even so, the Wolverines will

have their work cut out for
them Saturday against the stiff
challenge that is Purdue. In this
case, if the outcome of the game
isn’t decided until late, it may
prove to be a victory in and of
itself.

MAGGIE KOLCON

Daily Sports Writer

JEREMY MITNICK/Daily

Michigan coach John Beilein and the Wolverines will have their work cut out for them against Purdue on Saturday.

LANEY BYLER
Daily Sports Editor

“They’re a
really good

offensive team,
we know that”

BETELHEM ASHAME

Managing Sports Editor

Purdue at
Michigan

Matchup:
Purdue 12-3
Big Ten,
23-5 overall;
Michigan
8-7, 18-10

When:
Saturday
4 P.M.

Where: Crisler
Center

EMMA RICHTER/Daily

Senior guard Siera Thompson played at Crisler Center for the final time in her career Thursday against Nebraska.

NATHANIEL CLARK

Daily Sports Writer

NEBRASKA
MICHIGAN

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