The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Tuesday, December 5, 2017 — 7
‘M’ takes down Detroit Mercy
DETROIT — The Michigan
women’s
basketball
team’s
game against Detroit Mercy
started off in dramatic fashion
on Monday night. The Titans
drilled
four
consecutive
3-pointers to take the lead
within the first few minutes.
Detroit
Mercy’s
bench
carried all the energy in the
gym and got louder with every
basket
as
the
Wolverines
slowly fell behind. At the six-
minute mark, the Titans hit
their fifth 3-pointer of the first
quarter to take a 10-point lead.
Michigan found its footing
quickly, though, and finished
the
contest
in
dominant
fashion to come away with a
86-50 win.
“They came out of the gates
locked in and focused and
jumped on us right away, but
we responded once we settled
in,”
said
Michigan
coach
Kim Barnes-Arico. “But they
scored 17 points in the first
four minutes — which was
incredible — but I thought we
did a better job defensively,
and then they missed some
shots later in the game.”
The Wolverines had eight
turnovers in the first quarter,
which senior guard Katelyn
Flaherty said contributed to
the Titans’ early run.
“I think our turnovers in the
beginning really hurt us, and
it really helped their offense,”
Flaherty said. “So I think once
we settled down and really
locked in defensively, that
gave us a lot of momentum
on offense. And we knew that
they really couldn’t guard us
in the post with Hallie down
there, so we got her a lot of
early looks.”
Slowly
but
surely,
the
Wolverines closed the gap and
took the lead by one point with
40 seconds remaining the first
quarter.
Michigan finished the first
quarter in a tie at 20, and then
came out more aggressive in
the second quarter. Once the
Wolverines took
the
lead,
they
never
looked
back,
finishing
the
first
half
with
a
47-28
advantage.
The
Wolverines
started strongly
again in the third
quarter, going on
an 8-0 stretch
midway through
the frame.
While the Titans were able
to narrow a 35-point deficit
to 23 at one point in the third
quarter, they still ended the
frame down by 30. And when
Michigan started the fourth
quarter with four unanswered
points, it slowly began to
empty its bench — a sign that
the game was all but over.
For
the
Wolverines,
Monday
was
another
memorable
moment
at
Calihan
Hall,
where
Michigan won
the
WNIT
Championship
game
last
season.
“I love this
place, it’s like our second home
in
Michigan,”
Barnes-Arico
said. “This university was so
incredible for allowing us to
host that WNIT championship.
This place will always hold a
special place in my heart.”
Flaherty puts on clinic in win
DETROIT
—
Katelynn
Flaherty opened the second
half with a pullup 3, the type
of shot you take when you’re
feeling
it.
When
Flaherty
released it from a few feet
beyond
the
line,
Detroit
Mercy’s
Brittney
Jackson
yelled
an
expletive
loud
enough to hear from press
row. The shot rattled out.
The sentiment, however, was
warranted.
On the Wolverines’ next
possession, the Titans let her
shoot again, leaving a crease
for Flaherty to drive through.
She took it happily, then hit
the shot to boot.
“I think it’s just funny,”
Flaherty said, smiling. “I hear
(expletives) a lot, especially
when people are trying to
guard me.”
The
senior
point
guard
finished the night with 26
points, 22 of them in the first
half. Coming into the game,
her season average was 23.7.
She was 11-of-14 from the field
in the first half, dotting her
shot chart with runners, elbow
pullups, transition layups, and
two 3-pointers. In the second,
she barely needed to play,
having done her work early.
“When I come out and hit
my first couple shots, I know
I’m pretty much gonna have
a good night,” Flaherty said.
“I still think that even when I
miss, but obviously when you
make it, it just gives you a lot
of confidence.”
Of course, this wasn’t her
first rodeo at Calihan Hall.
Flaherty scored 27 points,
including two late 3-pointers
to
tie
the
game,
against
Georgia Tech in the WNIT
Championship game last year.
“We
had
shootaround
today and it was incredible,”
said coach Kim Barnes Arico.
“Even pulling up, just the
memories flooding back as to
what that meant last year. So it
was special.”
Unlike other games this year
where the focus has been more
on distributing
the ball from
the
point
guard position,
Flaherty was a
pure scorer on
Monday. She led
Michigan with
19 shot attempts
despite playing
sparingly — just
six minutes — in
the second half.
Not that anyone
minded.
“She’s the best scorer in the
country, we need her to take 19
shots,” Barnes Arico said. “So
if she’s not taking shots, I’m
probably on her to take a few
more. She needs to shoot the
basketball every single time
that she’s open, because she
doesn’t really miss.”
A month into the season,
Flaherty’s adjustment to point
guard hasn’t hindered her
scoring. Her points per game,
field-goal
percentage,
and
3-point percentage numbers
have all gone up this year.
That doesn’t mean things
have been seamless, however.
At the start of the year, the
Wolverines liked going to a
side pick-and-roll set with
Flaherty and junior center
Hallie Thome. They’ve largely
ditched that now, and have yet
to find go-to plays that involve
Flaherty distributing.
“We have a lot of sets, we’ll
go back to it I’m sure,” Barnes
Arico said. “Offense seemed
to be working, I dunno, we
scored 80-something points,
so maybe we didn’t need it. I
always have something in my
pocket, though, if we need it.”
Michigan
tried
some
HORNS sets early in the
Detroit game. Those could
serve that purpose in the
future — one of them opened
up a corner 3 for junior guard
Nicole Munger, though she
missed.
The team is still trying to
find the right actions and
sets for Flaherty as a passer,
according to Barnes Arico.
“We put in a lot of new stuff,”
she said. “We didn’t have
(Flaherty)
go
through to the
side
pick-and-
roll
(against
Detroit) in the
first half, and
we were going
to go to it in the
second half, but
we didn’t need
to.
“Everybody
watches
every
film
of
everything
we
play, so in games like this, we
don’t go through our playbook.
We try to keep it as simple
as possible. But we put in a
bunch of different actions to
try and get Hallie and Kate on
the same side, because that’s a
difficult matchup.”
On
nights
like
Monday,
however, scheme ceases to
matter. Flaherty could hit from
any place, at any time, against
anyone. The only defensive
solution: don’t let her shoot.
Just ask Brittany Jackson.
Two Michigan commits catch first glimpse of future team
PLYMOUTH, Mich. — True
to the variance in experience
levels, Saturday night’s exhibition
between the Michigan hockey
team and the U-18 U.S. National
Team
Development
Program
ended in a lopsided victory for the
Wolverines.
In front of 3,715 fans — the
largest home crowd for a USNTDP
game ever — the college students
handily put the high schoolers in
their place with a dominant 7-3
victory.
Despite
the
unfortunate
outcome for the youngsters, two
USNTDP players — defensemen
Bode
Wilde
and
Mattias
Samuelsson — got their first taste
of the program they will play for
next season.
Saturday night, both skaters
saw
what
will
follow
the
completion of their two-year
stints with the developmental
program based just 20 minutes
away from Ann Arbor.
“It
was
interesting,”
Samuelsson said. “Playing them
in our rink instead of Yost was
definitely pretty cool. A lot of
people came out to play, and just
to see the way they play and what
they can bring was a pretty good
experience.”
Added Wilde: “It was pretty
exciting. I don’t know too many
of those guys, so I got my first
impressions of a lot of them on the
ice, which was great.”
Born
and
raised
in
Birmingham,
Mich.,
Wilde
always had the Wolverines on his
radar.
As a child, Wilde watched his
first college hockey game from
the stands of Yost Ice Arena.
Years later, he’ll have the chance
to lace up his skates and play
on that same ice — donning the
maize and blue.
“I’ve had a relationship with
(Michigan assistant coach Brian
Wiseman) for a while and when
(coach Mel Pearson) came in, I
had an opportunity to meet him,”
Wilde said. “After that, it was a
no-brainer for me.
“Pearson just explained to me
the style and way the team played.
And I think it really suits how I
play as a player, so it’s a good fit.”
In 23 games this season, Wilde
ranks third on the USNTDP in
assists and points with 11 and
15, respectively. Almost half his
points — two goals and five assists
— have come against nine NCAA
teams, many of which he may face
again as a Wolverine.
Wilde attributes his success to
the daily — and intense — regimen
of the USNTDP over the past year
and a half, particularly noting the
importance of facing a plethora of
Division I and III opponents.
“I think my play has grown
in all areas,” Wilde said. “I’ve
become a lot sounder defensively
and just learning how to create
offense without the puck rather
than with it.”
Samuelsson
has
also
put
up
impressive
numbers,
notching
four
goals and seven
assists
in
22
games, including
two
helpers
Saturday night.
Unlike Wilde,
the
Voorhees,
N.J. native heard
about
Michigan
through
word-
of-mouth before
ultimately committing.
“Ann Arbor is a great college
town and then on top of that,
it’s a great hockey program,”
Samuelsson said. “I’ve heard a
lot about it from guys that I know
there, and they have nothing
but good things to say, so it just
seemed like a great move.”
Samuelsson hails from a hockey
family. His father, Kjell, played
in the NHL for
14 years and is
currently
the
Director of Player
Development for
the Philadelphia
Flyers.
His
brother,
Lukas,
plays at Western
Michigan
University.
The
six-foot-
four
blueliner
came
into
the
USNTDP needing to put on some
body weight. Through daily gym
exercises, Samuelsson built his
frame, and now the 217-pounder
is a regular in the rotation,
competing against some of the
nation’s best young players.
But even after making strides
in
the
program,
Samuelsson
knows there is still room for
improvement in his play, as
evidenced by his takeaways from
facing the Wolverines.
“They win a lot of battles, and
you could tell that when they have
opportunities to score, they don’t
mess up,” Samuelsson said. “You
can’t take a shift off. These guys
are older, stronger and they’ll
take advantage of you if you’re
slacking.”
Wilde believes winning at the
college level starts with keeping
pace with other skaters and
upping the tempo on the ice.
“Just focusing on playing fast,
that’s a big one,” Wilde said.
“College players are big and
strong, so I need to make sure
I’m really focusing on what I do
in the weight room and work on
my defensive game. That’s going
to be big next year.”
Wilde and Samuelsson will
come to Michigan well-traveled,
with
impressive
international
resumes. As members of the
USNTDP, the defensemen won
the
2016
U17
Four
Nations
Tournament and 2017 U17 Five
Nations Tournament.
Wilde also secured the 2016
World Under-17 Challenge and
Samuelsson received a gold medal
in the 2016 Youth Olympic Games.
Many Wolverines have similar
achievements to their names.
Ten icemen on its current roster
— and 47 to date — played for the
USNTDP. Over the past 18 years,
many matched up against their
future team in the annual contest
before ultimately finding a home
at Yost the next season.
Coming into the weekend,
Pearson admitted his gaze may
wander during the exhibition
to a handful of players in red,
white and blue sweaters — like
Wilde and Samuelsson, though
he couldn’t comment any further.
“I can’t talk about specific
guys obviously, but there’s no
question about it,” Pearson said
last Tuesday. “Every year we play
them, you’re always anxious and
hope your guys play well against
you. No question about it, you’ll
have an eye on your team, but
you’ll be wondering how player A,
B, C does too.”
After Saturday’s exhibition,
Pearson had a similar response
when asked how a certain few
USNTDP players performed.
“We know who they are, we
know all the good players. They’ve
got a roster full of players,”
Pearson said. “But it’s hard to
just focus on your team and try to
judge our team as the game goes,
so it was a good experience for
us to watch our guys, but also to
watch their team a little bit.
“And I noticed some guys.”
SARAH HURST
Daily Sports Writer
USNTDP defensemen Bode Wilde and Mattias Samuelsson played against the Wolverines in Saturday’s game
SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily
Michigan coach Mel Pearson admitted that he paid attention to the players that will join him in Ann Arbor next season during the exhibition game Saturday.
BENJAMIN KATZ
Daily Sports Writer
We know who
they are, we
know all the
good players
RYAN MCLOUGHLIN/Daily
Senior guard Katelynn Flaherty had her way against Detroit Mercy, racking up 22 points in the first half alone Monday.
They came out
of the gates
locked in and
focused
The Titans started off on top, but the Wolverines came
back in full force to eventually blow out the home team
She’s the best
scorer in the
country ... she
doesn’t really
miss
ETHAN SEARS
Daily Sports Writer