4B — March 20, 2017
SportsMonday
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Michigan’s big men take over in win

INDIANAPOLIS — Seventeen 

agonizingly long seconds stood 
between the Michigan men’s 
basketball team and victory as DJ 
Wilson stepped to the line for two 
crucial free throws.

A 
miss 
by 
the 
redshirt 

sophomore forward on the front 
end of the one-and-one would have 
given the Cardinals ample time to 
tie the game — or even win it.

But Wilson was ready for the 

moment, sinking both shots to 
keep Michigan up by four.

Louisville, 
though, 
wasn’t 

ready to give up, as guard 
Donovan Mitchell — who led the 
Cardinals with 19 points — sliced 
his way down the court to close 
the gap to two.

On 
the 
ensuing 
inbounds, 

again, the Wolverines got the ball 
to Wilson, and he was quickly 
fouled. Just eight seconds had 
elapsed between his last trip to the 
charity stripe, and the result was 
the same.

Wilson 
sank 
both 
free 

throws, finally icing the game as 
Michigan moved on to the NCAA 
Tournament Sweet Sixteen with 
a 73-69 win over Louisville at 
Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

In most situations this season, 

it has been the guards who have 
received that inbounds 
pass. 

Whether it is senior guard Derrick 
Walton, senior wing Zak Irvin 
or junior guard Muhammad-Ali 
Abdur-Rakhman, the Wolverines’ 
guards have been the ones to go to 
the line to ice the game.

But on this night, it was Wilson 

who came up clutch.

“I saw a gap in their press late 

in the second half,” Wilson said. 
“(Irvin), luckily inbounded me 
the ball, and I knocked (the free 
throws) down.”

That was the theme of the 

game. The Cardinals defensive 
game plan going into the contest 
was to not switch on Michigan’s 
screens in order to stay out on the 

shooters. But with the length of 
Louisville’s big men, the Cardinals 
ended 
up 
switching 
anyway, 

effectively neutralizing Walton 
and company in the process.

Louisville coach Rick Pitino 

regularly rotates centers Mangok 
Mathiang and Anas Mahmoud 
and forwards Jaylen Johnson 
and Ray Spalding, and the four 
players were great at defending 
Michigan’s guards.

When Louisville switched on 

ball screens, its big men made it 
tough for the Wolverines’ guards 
to operate. They also crashed 
the offensive glass all game long, 
making life difficult for Michigan, 
nearly shifting the balance of the 
game in the process.

“They’re 
long 
and 
they’re 

quick,” said junior wing Duncan 
Robinson. “They move well for 
guys their size, and they have such 
great length. It’s easier for them 
than other bigs.”

But at halftime, Michigan coach 

John Beilein told his big men to 
slip off the ball screen, and that 
was the key to the Wolverines’ 
success in the second half.

It gave the Wolverines’ big men 

a chance to feast, and they took 
full advantage, winding down 
Louisville’s eight-point halftime 
lead to win.

Wilson finished with 17 points 

on 6-of-13 shooting, but he wasn’t 
even the star of the show for 
Michigan.

Sophomore forward Moritz 

Wagner, 
who 
had 
scored 
a 

combined 11 points in his last two 
games, exploited Louisville off 
the pick-and-roll on his way to a 
game-high 26 points on 11-of-14 
shooting.

“We’ve been working a lot on 

switching defenses,” Wagner said. 
“DJ and I have the confidence to 
do our thing. (Louisville) stayed 
with the shooters and gave us a 
lot of room, and we were able to 
finish plays.”

Added Wilson: “We could 

catch them in the middle of a 
screen and hit Moe or myself on 

a roll to the basket. Moe benefited 
from that a lot in the second half. I 
think he had three or four baskets 
from that.”

It wasn’t just Wilson and 

Wagner who had success — 
Michigan’s third big man, redshirt 
junior Mark Donnal, also had 
some success off the bench.

Donnal hit a crucial three 

early in the game to keep 
Louisville at bay, while also 
providing cover for Wagner 
when he was in foul trouble.

“It’s great having a ‘5’ like that 

coming off the bench that can 
stretch the defense,” Wilson said. 

“He got a block, a couple rebounds 
and kept them off the glass. And 
then he hit that big time three. 
Mark is just as good of a shooter as 
anybody on the team.”

The ironic thing about Sunday’s 

game was that many viewed 
Louisville’s 
frontcourt 
as 
its 

biggest advantage over Michigan 
going 
into 
the 
game. 
The 

Wolverines, though, made sure 
that wasn’t the case.

In the bigger picture, the 

Wolverines’ seventh straight win 
came in a much different fashion 
than their last six.

Last weekend in the Big Ten 

Tournament, it was Michigan’s 
defense and guard play that led 
it to victory. Friday, it was the 
Wolverines’ 
3-point 
shooting 

that led them to a victory over 
Oklahoma State.

Against Louisville, it was all big 

men.

“Next man up” — it’s a 

sentiment that the team has 
preached all year long. And 
Sunday, on the biggest stage thus 
far, they proved exactly why. 

“We don’t see ourselves as a 

shooting team,” Wagner said. “We 
know we can shoot, but that’s not 
the only thing we can do.”

MINH DOAN

Daily Sports Editor

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
‘M’ moves 
on in WNIT

The revenge tour will continue 

for 
the 
Michigan 
women’s 

basketball team.

While 

nothing may 
alleviate 
the sting of getting snubbed 
from the NCAA Tournament on 
Monday, the Wolverines (24-9) 
have survived the first two games 
of the Women’s National Invitation 
Tournament, enduring a fourth-
quarter scare to win their second 
round game over Wright State (25-
9), 71-66, on Saturday.

“In March, anytime you’re 

playing a tournament — it doesn’t 
matter what tournament — people 
are gonna come and give you their 
best shot. Wright State did that 
tonight.” said Michigan coach Kim 
Barnes Arico. “But for us to find a 
way to win at this point in March, 
I was really proud of the way that 
were able to do that down the 
stretch.”

The direction of the game 

seemed to be apparent from the 
opening tipoff. Michigan had 
the clear height and strength 
advantage down low, attacking the 
paint often for its first 14 points of 
the match — eight from sophomore 
center Hallie Thome — before the 
Wolverines went to the free-throw 
line. Michigan’s defense followed 
suit in the first quarter, limiting 
the Raiders to just a 21.9 shooting 
percentage from the field to end 
the frame ahead, 23-12.

The second quarter proved to be 

much of the same — stingy defense 
and production from Thome, who 
hit her first seven field goals of the 
game. Wright State attempted to 
double Thome, but it ultimately 
spaced the floor to allow other 
Wolverines 
like 
junior 
guard 

Katelynn Flaherty and freshman 
guard Kysre Gondrezick to drive 
to the hoop. Neither Flaherty nor 
Gondrezick established a rhythm 
from beyond the arc throughout 
the game, but still managed to 
combine for 29 of Michigan’s 
points.

The Raiders were able to 

capture some momentum toward 
the end of the half by capitalizing 
on six Wolverine turnovers to 
narrow their deficit to 10, but that 
swing quickly came to a close after 
Gondrezick buried a halfcourt 
buzzer-beater to give Michigan a 
45-32 lead headed into halftime.

“We practice that every day 

at shootaround,” Barnes Arico 
said. “As coaches we were taking 
votes on who is our best halfcourt 
shooter and Kysre was my pick, so 
I was glad she had the ball in her 
hands. … She knew the situation 
and made a play.”

Wright State turned up the pace 

in third quarter, running a full 
court press and charging toward 
the basket every time it brought the 
ball up the floor. The Wolverines 
struggled to adjust, and their lead 
dwindled to as little as four points 
until a Gondrezick trey halted the 
Raiders’ run. That seven-point lead 
would hold for the remaining five 
minutes of the quarter.

The final period began as a back-

and-forth battle, but Wright State 
eventually mounted an 8-0 run 
to take its first lead of the game 
with 4:52 remaining. A number 
of Michigan’s shots circled the 
rim during the run and there was 
visible frustration on the court, 
but junior forward Jillian Dunston 
utilized a timeout to rally the 
Wolverines.

“She kept going to the huddle 

and she was being positive (saying) 
‘Coach, we’ve got this,’ ” Barnes 
Arico said. “She was telling the 
team ‘Hey, we’ve got this, just get 
stops on the defensive end. Let’s 
just go continue to play hard, we’re 
okay.’ ”

Added Dunston: “I think we get 

uptight. Our layups were in and 
out, our shots were in and out, we 
couldn’t get a stop. Once we calmed 
down, the game went in our favor.”

After the timeout, an and-one by 

Thome gave Michigan a lead that it 
wouldn’t give it up, as the Raiders 
scored only once more in the game. 
They pulled within one in the 
final minute, but a Thome putback 
with 40 seconds remaining and a 
defensive stop solidified the win.

The victory sets up a possible 

third-round match with St. John’s, 
where Barnes Arico was the 
head coach for 10 seasons before 
assuming the same position with 
the Wolverines in 2012.

ETHAN WOLFE
Daily Sports Writer

WRIGHT ST.
MICHIGAN 

66
71

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Thome reaches 1,000 
points, lifts Michigan

The 
Michigan 
women’s 

basketball 
team 
narrowly 

squeaked 
by 
Wright 
State 

in the second round of the 
Women’s National Invitation 
Tournament 
on 
Saturday. 

Sophomore 
Hallie 
Thome 

was a major factor in the 
Wolverines’ 71-66 win. With 
her 23 points, the 6-foot-5 
center surpassed the 1,000-
point mark, becoming just the 
third sophomore in school 
history to do so.

“It’s definitely exciting to 

reach 1,000 points,” Thome 
said. “But all my shots are 
worth 
two 

points, so there 
are 500 assists 
out there that 
I couldn’t have 
reached 
it 

without.”

Right 
from 

the 
start, 

Thome 
put 

her 
stamp 

on the game, 
scoring 
the 

first two layups for Michigan 
and making her first seven 
shots in a row. She tallied 14 
points by halftime and proved 
to be a difficult mark for the 
Raiders to guard down low. 
Her teammates took advantage 
of her length by lobbing passes 
inside — some of which looked 
impossible to catch — which 
Thome buried.

“I 
thought 
Hallie 
was 

incredible,” 
said 
Michigan 

coach Kim Barnes Arico. “She 
came out of the gates scoring 
every which way. Just really a 
tough matchup for them. She 
has such great hands. She has 
such great finishing around 
the rim and she made some big 
plays for us down the stretch.”

Despite Thome’s efforts, the 

Wolverines let a 20-point lead 
slip away completely, and it 
nearly cost them the game. 

Michigan 
went 
down 

64-63 with 4:52 left in the 
fourth quarter — the first time 
Wright State took the lead all 
game. But Thome brought the 
Wolverines out of their deficit. 
Her signature layup and 61.5 
percent field goal percentage 
allowed her teammates to trust 
her and get her the ball, even in 
an intense postseason scenario.

“Our 
game 
plan 
didn’t 

change,” said junior guard 
Jillian Dunston. “As you can 
see, Hallie still killed it in the 
second half.”

Thome’s 
reliability 
goes 

beyond just making baskets. 
She 
earned 
seven 
boards 

against the Raiders, second 
only to Dunston’s 11. Dunston 

leads Michigan 
in 
rebounds, 

with 251, and 
Thome 
is 

right 
behind 

her with 238. 
Each of them 
has over 100 
rebounds more 
than any other 
Wolverine.

Despite 

her 
massive 

contributions, Thome also has 
the highest number of fouls, 
with 93 on the season. Notably, 
she only picked up one foul 
against the Raiders, meaning 
she was not forced to play 
conservatively.

“I tend to get in a little bit of 

foul trouble,” Thome said after 
playing Kent State on Thursday 
night. “(When you get in 
foul trouble) its definitely a 
different style of play. You kind 
of have to change your game 
to make sure you don’t pick up 
another one.”

Without Thome on the court, 

Michigan 
has 
unexceptional 

height and less inside presence, 
and it is forced to rely more 
heavily on its guards. When she is 
in the game though, she is always 
effective. For the Wolverines to 
win the WNIT, Thome will need 
to continue avoid foul trouble, 
and keep on scoring.

MAGGIE KOLCON

Daily Sports Writer

“She came out 

of the gates 
scoring every 
which way.”

‘M’ wins Big Ten title

It was a big week for the 

Michigan women’s gymnastics 
team. Not only did five gymnasts 
make the All-Big Ten first team 
but it also clinched its fourth Big 
Ten Championship in a row.

Honorees 
for 
first 
team 

included seniors Nicole Artz 
and Talia Chiarelli, junior Paige 
Zaziski and sophomores Olivia 
Karas and Emma McLean. Junior 
Lauren Marinez was honored on 
the second team.

The Wolverines traveled to 

Piscataway to compete against 
five other teams at the Rutgers 
Athletic 
Center 
and 
they 

dominated the meet, winning 
four individual events.

Artz 
won 
the 
all-around, 

McLean won vault, Chiarelli won 
balance beam and Karas won the 
floor exercise.

“I thought we did really well 

on beam, and that just opened 
it up for us to have fun and be 
aggressive and just really enjoy 
floor and vault,” Michigan coach 
Bev Plocki said. “Emma was just 
the exclamation point at the end 
of a great meet.”

McLean finished off the meet 

with a beautifully executed vault 
and stuck the landing, earning 
a score of 9.975 to tie her career 
high and secure the individual 
title.

“I knew I was going to be the 

last competitor from Michigan 
pretty much and everyone else 
had hit their vaults. So I just did 
what I do and it worked out,” 
McLean said.

As the season winds down, 

the Wolverines are starting to 
compete in more meets with 
multiple opponents, which is 
different from their regular-
season dual meets .

And 
with 
the 
extra 

competition, 
the 
gymnasts 

attribute their success to the 
energy created in the arena which 
gave them the extra edge they 
need to compete.

“The energy in the arena is 

outrageous,” Artz said. “There’s 
nothing you can compare to that 
and then to have the opportunity 
to compete on podium makes it 
even that much more fun. “

McLean 
agrees 
with 
her 

teammate, 
noting 
that 
she 

hopes the atmosphere will carry 
through in upcoming meets.

“We build off the energy 

the entire meet, and we kept 
it going the entire time and it 
was amazing,” McLean said. 
“Hopefully moving forward, we 
can keep that energy as well.”

The two leaders on the team 

are the two seniors Artz and 
Chiarelli. They have dedicated 
four years to the team and have 
four Big Ten Championship rings 
to show for it.

The 
two 
captains 
have 

also collected a plethora of 
individual accolades over the 
years. This season they both won 
individual titles at the Big Ten 
Championships and Atrz was 
named Big Ten Gymnast of the 
Year.

Both Artz and Plocki have 

described the season ending 
as bittersweet, saying they are 
looking forward to the future but 
will miss the team a lot.

“These 
two 
seniors 
have 

been so incredibly strong and 
consistent all four years, and it’s 
bittersweet because you look to 
see where they are now and what 
they’re going to be going off to 
do,” Plocki said. “It’s really going 
to be sad to lose them at the end 
of the year.”

SARAH HURST
Daily Sports Writer

EVAN AARON/Daily

Redshirt sophomore forward DJ Wilson helped Michigan’s frontcourt dominate the second half to lift the Wolverines.

ZOEY HOLMSTROM/Daily

Senior Nicole Artz won the all-around title at the Big Ten Championships at Rutgers on Saturday.

