8A — Wednesday, April 5, 2017 Sports The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily Sophomore running back Chris Evans has taken advantage of the offseason to gain more strength and knowledge. Evans builds stronger physique Chris Evans strolled into the lobby of Towsley Family Museum, clad in a grey cut-off t-shirt and a pair of flip-flops. The customary flattop hairstyle — a trait which he became known for last year — was still there. What was different was Evans’ physique. The sophomore running back has made upper- body gains — significant enough that it was hard to believe that the difference between his weight Tuesday and last season was just seven pounds, up from 205 to 212. However striking his physical difference may have been, it probably should not have been a surprise. After all, Evans simply followed through with a plan that he told to many near the end of a breakout freshman campaign, one that saw him average seven yards per carry en route to 614 total rushing yards. As the season wound down, Evans had said he wanted to put on more weight so he could run with a more bruising style similar to last year’s starter, De’Veon Smith, while also improving his pass-blocking ability and knowledge of the offense’s concepts. “Basically last year, I was just going out there and I had one job,” Evans said Tuesday. “(Former running backs coach Tyrone) Wheatley just made sure I had one job, because once you get two jobs and you’ve got to check this and check that, it gets crazy. “Most of the plays that I ran (last year) were like, ‘Okay, run to this gap,’ and that’s it. During (pass) protection, you have to look coast to coast and all that, so it’s really hard.” In short, he wanted to develop the traits of a complete back — the type of back who would earn more than the 10 combined carries Evans received against Michigan State and Ohio State. While the jury is still out on whether Evans will be able to dole out more punishment to opposing defenses and whether he has a better grasp of the offensive scheme, he claims he has already seen improvement in his pass blocking. It was also evident in the results from Michigan’s Spring Combine that he has retained the speed, agility and overall athleticism that made him a home run threat last year, earning recognition as the top offensive performer for his standing within his position group. Evans finished first amongst running backs in seven out of eight tests, each designed to measure athleticism. He had the highest vertical, the best shuttle times, the farthest broad jump, and the fastest 40-yard dash time at 4.64 seconds. While 4.64 is still plenty fast, the time may have seemed slow to many, especially given Evans’ pedigree as a high school track star. Plus, he had flashed what certainly looked like 4.4 or 4.5 speed plenty of times last year. Evans was adamant that — even with the weight gain — he has maintained his speed, mentioning with a slight chuckle just when exactly the 4.64 time had been recorded — “It was 6:00 in the morning.” His physical change has come during what could have been a tumultuous offseason, given that his former position coach Wheatley left Michigan for the same position with the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars. Evans and Wheatley were close, and still are, with the former saying he still calls his old mentor nearly every other day. “I talk to him a lot and he just tells me his side,” Evans said. “We just have long talks and stuff. ... I’ll send him clips of stuff I couldn’t do last year just to be like, ‘Hey coach, I’m getting better.’ ” The Wolverines ended up finding an in-house solution for Wheatley’s vacancy, moving Jay Harbaugh from the tight ends to running backs, which eased the transition. Evans said the younger Harbaugh’s preparation, from having meetings and slideshows on the first day back, “really blew him away”. And Evans, a speed and “finesse” back, as fifth-year senior center Patrick Kugler described, has enjoyed the change in philosophy that Harbaugh has brought to the position group as well. “It’s a different perspective because Coach Wheatley, he had the perspective of a big back and I’m not a big back,” Evans said. “So the technique and things he was teaching me, I really couldn’t get all the way because I couldn’t relate to them. Coach Jay, he didn’t play running back, but he’s looking outside in, so he gives a different perspective of the game.” It has been quite the eventful offseason for Evans, from the weight gain to the coaching change to the terminology that new assistant head coach and passing game coordinator Pep Hamilton has installed into the offense. What has sustained Evans through all of the work and the grueling four-hour practices is the knowledge that slowing down could result in getting passed by any of the other backs on the roster. “All the competition in the room just makes you compete at a higher level,” Evans said. “You have to come to practice knowing your stuff, or somebody will know more and he’ll expose you. “You’re not gonna be like, ‘Oh, I’ve got to make sure I do better than him.’ No one’s saying that, that’s just in everyone’s head. … Having that competition in the room is just going to make you go that much harder.” WOMEN’S LACROSSE With full team effort, Michigan tops Niagara The Michigan women’s lacrosse team (4-9) had no shortage of firepower on their way to a 20-10 victory over Niagara University (4-7) on Tuesday. In a well- rounded team effort, the Purple Eagles just couldn’t seem to find the answers to anyone in the Wolverines’ lineup. The first half began with four unanswered goals for Michigan. Senior midfielder Ann Schueler had a standout performance as she scored two unassisted goals to start the game. Ten minutes later, senior Natalie Carti ended the scoreless drought off an assist from senior attacker Tess Korten. Korten went on to pick up a goal herself just 30 seconds later. There were still about 15 minutes left to play in the first half. Niagara began to build momentum three minutes later, scoring three unanswered points, but the Purple Eagles faltered shortly afterward, and failed to come any closer. Schueler responded immediately, picking up a goal just 15 seconds after Niagara had scored. “They made a push,” said Michigan coach Jennifer Ulehla. “We pushed back. We pushed back before the first half. And that makes a difference.” With 41 seconds remaining in the first half, Korten scored her second goal. And with just two seconds left on the clock, freshman Sydney Whitaker broke through off an assist from Shueler. This put the Wolverines up, 7-3, at halftime. Michigan blew open its lead halfway through the second half. Senior attacker Jess Angerman tallied three of her own, and goals also came from redshirt junior attacker Bianca Brueckner, junior attacker Mae Tarr and senior midfielder/attacker Lauren Olbermann. Up until that point, upperclassmen had dominated the play for the Wolverines, but with a comfortable lead, Ulehla decided to give her younger players a chance to compete. “It was great to be able to put in a lot of younger ones, freshmen and sophomores,” Ulehla said. “It was great to showcase our depth. So it was a great day for the youth and the future of Michigan lacrosse.” Redshirt freshman attacker Adriana Pendino notched a hat trick, and freshmen midfielder Chandler Kirby and attacker Lilly Grass would pick up a goal apiece. Sophomore Grace Hemmer would also contribute a goal to wrap up the 20-10 win. As the team gets ready to head into the last three games of their tough season, Ulehla explained the importance of Tuesday’s win. “It’s good for us from a momentum standpoint,” Ulehla said. “We really did really well on the draw. We had nine draw-controls against Niagara, which just shows consistency. We’re going to carry that on into our game against (Johns) Hopkins.” Michigan has just three games left to capitalize on its momentum, but if they continue to succeed as they did against the Purple Eagles, they might be able to pull together a great finish to a difficult season. 2016-17 Season in Review: Women’s Basketball The Michigan women’s basketball team overcame many hardships this season, despite having the most successful year in the program’s history. The Wolverines totaled 28 wins, smashing their record for victories in a season by six. They also finished in third place in the Big Ten — their best finish since the 2010-11 season. Regardless of Michigan’s success, the selection committee opted to leave the Wolverines out of the NCAA Tournament, much to the team’s surprise. Michigan (11-5 Big Ten, 28-9 overall), however, responded in the best way possible by finishing its season with six straight wins to claim its first-ever tournament championship. The Daily recaps the highlights and lowlights of the 2016-17 season. Best game: WNIT Championship — Michigan 89, Georgia Tech 79 The most important game also happened to be the best game of the year. Down six points in the final 1:23 of regulation of the WNIT championship against the Yellow Jackets, the Wolverines clawed their way back to an improbable victory. Michigan can thank junior guard Katelynn Flaherty for that, as she hit two triples in those final 83 seconds to tie the game. It can also thank divine intervention, as Georgia Tech missed two free throws with 0.6 seconds left to send the game to overtime. The Wolverines and Yellow Jackets battled back and forth in the extra periods, until Michigan finally broke away in the third overtime to give the Wolverines their first banner to hang in Crisler Center. Worst game: Michigan State 86, Michigan 68 All signs pointed toward a Wolverine victory headed into their in-state rivalry game with the Spartans on Feb. 19. Michigan was 21-6 entering the contest — 13-0 at home — and prepared for its biggest home crowd ever for its “break the attendance record” game. The Wolverines accomplished the feat with an attendance of 12,707, but suffered their second-worst defeat of the season. While Michigan lost the previous game to Indiana in Bloomington, its first and only home loss to Michigan State exposed a lot of the Wolverines’ flaws and marked their descent out of the Associated Press top- 25 poll and eventually the NCAA Tournament. Best individual performance: Katelynn Flaherty in the WNIT The junior guard’s scoring prowess — Flaherty averaged 20.2 points per game this season — is a mainstay for Michigan, making her appearance in this category unsurprising. Even on the biggest stage she has ever played on, Flaherty still managed to shine on offense with 21.3 points per contest in the six WNIT games. Her biggest impact came in the WNIT championship, though. Flaherty didn’t make any of her first-quarter field goal attempts, but rebounded strongly with those two game-tying 3-pointers and 27 total points to re-energize her team. Most important game: Penn State 76, Michigan 75 Even with losses down the stretch to Indiana and Michigan State, the Wolverines still appeared to be a lock for the Tournament before their regular season finale against the Nittany Lions. But tied at 75 with five seconds remaining, a shooting foul committed by sophomore center Hallie Thome put Penn State on the free throw line. The Nittany Lions only hit one of two attempts, but it was all they needed to top Michigan and seemingly seal the Wolverines’ fate out of the Big Dance, as they lost three of their final four Big Ten contests. Most improved player: Jillian Dunston The junior forward, who started just nine games and played 19.6 minutes per game in the 2015-16 season, started all 37 games for Michigan this season and bumped her playing time up to 28.9 minutes per game. Her point total increased marginally from 4.4 to 5.8 points per game, but her efforts on the glass — 7.7 rebounds a game — were the best on the team. Dunston’s most valuable contribution, though, has been her newfound role as the Wolverines’ emotional leader. She is often the most animated player on the court, and has become a vocal representative for Michigan during games. According to Flaherty, Dunston even guaranteed a 10-point win during a team huddle before the third overtime of the WNIT championship. Most valuable player: Hallie Thome It wouldn’t be wrong to put Katelynn Flaherty here as WNIT MVP and first team All-Big Ten honoree, but the Wolverines relied most heavily on Thome, their best frontcourt big. The sophomore center averaged 16.2 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, and had her second consecutive season in the nation’s top-10 for field goal percentage at 61.3. Thome was also a first team All- Big Ten honoree. Thome’s achilles’ heel — foul trouble — also makes her Michigan’s most valuable player. In seven of the Wolverines’ nine losses, Thome either had four fouls or fouled out, and had three fouls in the other two. With Thome off the court, it was exponentially harder for Michigan to win, a conviction that came to fruition. AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily The Michigan women’s basketball team captured the WNIT Championship. ETHAN WOLFE Daily Sports Writer ORION SANG Daily Sports Editor “Last year, I was just going out there and I had one job.” ALEX SAYLOR For the Daily NIAGARA MICHIGAN 10 20