8 — Tuesday, November 21, 2017
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Katelynn Flaherty
sets scoring record
Every day after the Michigan
women’s
basketball
team
finishes
practice,
Katelynn
Flaherty stays on the court and
takes 1,000 extra shots.
“I’m like, ‘Katelynn, we just
had a three-hour practice,’ ”
said junior center Hallie Thome
at the team’s Media Day. “But
no, it’s Katelynn. I mean, it
speaks to her.”
Flaherty’s work paid off last
Thursday, when she passed
Diane Dietz – who had held
the record since 1982 – as the
program’s
all-time
leading
scorer in just the third game of
her senior year. Coming into the
season, this was
an inevitability,
but
Flaherty
blitzed to the
finish. She not
only
averaged
24 points per
game over the
Wolverines’ first
three contests,
but on Thursday
–
just
nine
points from the
record – Flaherty came out and
nailed her first three 3-pointers
of the night.
A few minutes later, she hit
a fourth for good measure. She
isn’t the type to leave things
unfinished.
“The record was not on my
mind,” she said Monday. “I was
just kind of taking what was
wide open and I just knew that’s
what we needed to do to score
and get points on the board.
And usually I don’t get looks
like that right away, so I just felt
good taking them.”
In the heat of the game, there
wasn’t even time for it to sink
in. Michigan was scrambling to
keep up with No. 5 Louisville, a
task the Wolverines ultimately
weren’t up to as the Cardinals
pulled away late to win 74-49.
“But
after
the
game
it
definitely set in,” Flaherty said.
“And it was pretty cool just to
reflect on past years and think
about it.”
Added coach Kim Barnes
Arico to WTKA after the game
last Thursday: “I had heard
about Katelynn since she had
been in the third grade. We
lived in the same state and it
was going around that there
was this third grader who was
going to be special. And now
here I am today, she was eight
then and 22 now, and I am just
lucky to be her coach.”
Now, when Flaherty walks
into Crisler Center and looks
up
into
the
rafters, behind
the
basket
where Michigan
hangs its retired
numbers,
it
comes with the
realization that
her #3 will likely
join Bill Buntin,
Cazzie Russell,
Phil
Hubbard,
Glen Rice, and
Rudy Tomjanovich. Flaherty
would be the first women’s
basketball player to join that
club, but it’s hard to imagine a
reason why it wouldn’t happen.
“It’s just crazy to think
about,” Flaherty said. “Even
just thinking when I walk in the
gym, I’m the all-time leading
scorer on the women’s side, and
I think that’s just crazy and
still doesn’t feel real as of right
now.”
With the Wolverines looking
at their best chance to make
the NCAA Tournament since
Flaherty has been in Ann Arbor,
don’t expect her to slow down
this season. After all, practice
is over and there are still 1,000
shots left to take.
ICE HOCKEY
Michigan’s resiliency
on display in 1-1 series
“Another gritty character
performance by our players.”
That was how Michigan
coach Mel Pearson categorized
his
team’s
play
against
Wisconsin on Saturday.
Such has been the storyline
for the majority of the season
– a firm Wolverine front that
comes from behind and gives
its opponents no reason to feel
comfortable.
Sophomore forwards Jake
Slaker
and
Nick
Pastujov
epitomized
that
storyline
Saturday,
tallying
two
comeback goals in the third
period against No. 9 Wisconsin.
The two drove down the slot
and
delivered
perfectly timed
wrist shots that
stunned
the
crowd and the
Wolverines’
bench
in
Madison.
The
No.
17
Michigan
hockey
team
(2-2-2-1
Big
Ten,
6-4-2
overall) is no stranger to that
type of performance.
Against
Vermont,
sophomore
forward
Adam
Winborg equalized in the first
period after an embarrassing
1-0 deficit. Against Penn State,
despite the series-opening loss,
senior forward Dexter Dancs
and junior forward Cooper
Marody
netted
come-from-
behind goals in the second and
third periods, respectively, that
did not end up being enough.
An onslaught of six come-
from-behind
goals
in
the
Wolverines’ tie to Minnesota
displayed
this
resiliency
again despite how the Golden
Gophers
prevailed
in
a
shootout.
“They continue to battle,”
Pearson said. “And that’s what
I really appreciate about this
team is they stay with it.”
Added
Calderone
after
Michigan’s shutout win over
Wisconsin: “I think we showed
resilience
again.
It’s
been
a common theme this year,
but I think we like to not put
ourselves in that situation so
it’s something that we ought
to work on, but once again we
came back and that was huge.”
However, as evident by the
four goals that the Badgers
netted in the first and second
periods Friday night, late-game
efforts sometimes aren’t not
enough.
A common thread, even in
tough situations like Friday’s
loss to Wisconsin, is that the
players – and Pearson – believe
that grit is consistently present.
In a weekend
that
was
full
of
defensive
lapses,
some
of the players
saw that there
could have been
improvements
in
communication.
“You
just
have
to
compete,”
Marody said. “You have good
communication
with
the
defensemen, have good support
on the pucks in the scrum.
“We
definitely
have
to
tighten up some stuff, and
we’re gonna work hard in
practice this week to do that.”
This is the fourth time that
Michigan has split a weekend
series, but banking on late goals
from the likes of Calderone,
Marody and Dancs has become
commonplace.
Facing off against two of
the best teams in the Big Ten
in Minnesota and Wisconsin
already,
the
battle-tested
Wolverines have a culture of
resolve when it counts.
Going
forward,
that
steadfastness should be able
to
steamroll
lower
caliber
opponents.
ETHAN SEARS
Daily Sports Writer
Another gritty
character
performance by
our players
ROBERT HEFTER
Daily Sports Writer
That’s just
crazy and still
doesn’t feel real
as of right now
With history in the rivalry, McCray
to lead Michigan against Ohio State
Mike McCray grew up an
Ohio State fan.
As the son of former Buckeye
captain Mike McCray, Sr., his
allegiance made sense.
But
now,
the
fifth-year
senior linebacker is a captain
for the Michigan football team.
And Monday, his final week
of preparation for ‘The Game’
began.
According to McCray, his
father is now committed to the
Wolverines as well.
“He’s rooting for us, so
that’s all that really matters,”
McCray said. “We have a great
relationship. ... He’s cheering
for us every weekend, so he
doesn’t really care about Ohio
State right now.”
McCray Sr. may accept that
his son is a ‘Michigan Man’
now, but he was initially caught
off guard by his son’s interest in
the program he used to regard
only as “that team up north.”
McCray initially visited the
Wolverines in September of
2012 at the first night game in
Michigan Stadium history. The
Wolverines may have fallen
to Notre Dame, but McCray
returned home to Ohio with a
collection of Michigan gear.
“(My dad) was like, ‘What’s
going on?’ I just told him I really
liked it,” McCray said. “He was
a little surprised because it
was my first time ever being up
here. It kind of shocked him a
little bit, but overall he was just
happy for me.”
McCray admitted Monday
that he never hated Michigan.
Even though his father did,
McCray Sr. quickly changed
his mind about the Wolverines
when his son decided that is
where he wanted to spend four
years of his life.
McCray is in the midst of his
fifth. He needed one more to
accomplish his goal of becoming
a captain at Michigan. He may
not have followed in his father’s
footsteps in Columbus, but he
still did in Ann Arbor.
“It sunk in the day that I got
voted captain,” McCray said. “...
It was just one of those moments
(that) was kind of surreal. I
don’t know too many people
to ever have the opportunity
— him being a captain at Ohio
State and me being the captain
here. It’s one of those things
you can’t take for granted.”
Throughout
his
career,
McCray’s father has been by his
side. He records the Wolverines’
games and evaluates his son’s
play. He offers his advice to
prepare for each game, and
now that his son is a captain, he
provides tips for him to help his
teammates succeed as well.
“Ever since I committed, he
was all in,” McCray said. “He’s
a big supporter of me and a
big supporter of our team, so I
thank him for that. Probably
after this game and the bowl
game, he’ll go back over to the
dark side.”
Saturday, McCray will be
leading Michigan down the
tunnel and onto the field for
the final Ohio State game of
his career. He has never beaten
the Buckeyes. None of the
Wolverines have.
Michigan has lost to Ohio
State 12 times in its past 13 tries.
The Wolverines are eager to
reverse that streak, especially
in light of the dramatic nature
of last season’s overtime loss.
McCray is especially motivated
to secure his first victory over
the Buckeyes.
“In
my
eyes,
it’s
really
important,” he said. “I don’t
want to go back home and hear,
‘Oh, you never beat Ohio State
while you were up there.’ ”
McCray
understands
that
this is his final chance to
make a mark on arguably the
most historic rivalry in college
football. He and his father may
have been on different sides of
the rivalry during their college
careers, but Saturday, McCray
Sr. will be cheering on his son
against his former team one
more time.
“It’s my last game at the Big
House, and it’s my last time
being able to try to beat Ohio
State since I’ve been here,”
McCray said. “Everybody here
hasn’t beaten them, so it’d be a
great memory to have if we win.”
Even McCray Sr. would likely
smile if his son and his team
managed to pull off the feat.
Changing his legacy
Y
ou could forget all
about the humiliation
and the wrenching
losses and all the interceptions
and missed passes in between.
You could forget the way
Michigan’s season turned for
the worse against Michigan
State, the
way it
squeaked
past
Indiana,
and the
way it got
trounced
in Happy
Valley.
You
could
forget all about how a transfer
quarterback from Houston
lost back-to-back position
battles. And you could toss
away the memories of how
that fifth-year senior only
played when his superior got
injured, and how he lost the
job to a redshirt freshman
anyway.
John O’Korn could wipe
away all his critics, remold his
legacy, and go from zero to
hero in a heartbeat…
He just has to beat Ohio
State.
Welp.
On Monday, Michigan coach
Jim Harbaugh said redshirt
freshman Brandon Peters was
going through the concussion
protocol for a hit he took
against Wisconsin. Harbaugh
said Peters was making
progress, but he still has to go
through medical assessments
before he even gets the chance
to practice without contact.
Michigan’s other
quarterback, Wilton Speight,
began practicing without
contact last week after a
shoulder injury he suffered in
September, but it’s difficult to
imagine either him or Peters
ready to play this weekend.
Without those two, the
weight shifts onto O’Korn’s
shoulders. An upset, though,
obviously would take more
than just a career game from
the quarterback.
A lot needs to happen for
the Wolverines to beat the
eighth-ranked Buckeyes.
Michigan’s defense needs
to shut down quarterback J.T.
Barrett, and it needs to keep
running backs J.K. Dobbins
and Mike Weber in check. The
Wolverines’ run game also
needs more from junior Karan
Higdon and sophomore Chris
Evans. The offensive and the
defensive lines must hammer
down against one of the most
physical teams in the country.
But no matter what happens
elsewhere on the field, no
single player has more on the
line than O’Korn.
It was O’Korn who threw
three interceptions in the rain
against the Spartans, and it
was O’Korn who couldn’t pass
for more than 60 yards against
the Hoosiers.
When O’Korn has struggled,
so has the team. When he has
excelled, it has only been for
one or two plays at a time.
Michigan fans have yet to see
the same O’Korn that Houston
witnessed in 2013.
Imagine a season where he
threw for over 3,000 yards,
28 touchdowns and won his
conference’s Rookie of the
Year award. He did all that as
a freshman for the Cougars,
yet he hasn’t done the same in
Ann Arbor.
He has been the Wolverines’
backup quarterback since he
arrived, but there is one thing
he shares in common with all
those quarterbacks who have
played while he’s been on the
bench.
None of them ever beat
Ohio State. No Michigan
quarterback has in five years.
Jake Rudock never did it,
and Wilton Speight couldn’t
do it after him. Devin Gardner
played Ohio State three times,
and he never won in the
rivalry game either.
The last quarterback to beat
Ohio State was dual-threat,
fan-favorite Denard Robinson.
In 2011, the Wolverines beat
Ohio State, 40-34. In that
game, Robinson threw for
167 yards, passed for three
touchdowns, rushed for
170 yards and ran for two
touchdowns.
A performance like that
from O’Korn is obviously not
very likely.
Honestly, calling it
impossible wouldn’t be far-
fetched.
Nobody expects much
from John O’Korn, and that’s
exactly why an upset win
would change so, so much.
Janes can be reached at
tedjanes@umich.edu.
AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily
Fifth-year senior quarterback John O’Korn has a chance to change the perception of his career against Ohio State.
TED
JANES
AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily
Fifth-year senior linebacker Mike McCray has a chance to end his career with an elusive win over the Buckeyes.
BETELHEM ASHAME
Managing Sports Editor