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