At some point for Zavier

Simpson, something clicked.

It could have been before

the Michigan men’s basketball
team took on UCLA, when
Simpson’s
defense
against

Bruins guard Aaron Holiday
earned
him
extra
minutes.

He took advantage by adding
a career-high 15 points in the
comeback win.

Simpson matched that total

against Iowa last week, and it
got him the starting spot that
he’d lost after a lackluster start
to the season.

On Tuesday, against No. 5

Purdue, Simpson dropped 15
points again in a last-minute,
one-point loss. And it was the
manner
in
which
Simpson

scored those points that was
most impressive.

With
5:34
left
and
the

Wolverines down by three,
junior forward Moritz Wagner
corralled an offensive rebound
off a missed free throw. He
kicked it out to Simpson, who
calmly waved Wagner over to
set a screen. When Wagner did

set the screen, Simpson dribbled
to his right, drawing 7-foot-
2 Boilermaker center Isaac
Haas
—
who

was
guarding

Wagner
—
to

pick him up.

A few passes

later,
Simpson

had
the
ball

again with the
towering
Haas

guarding
him.

Simpson
eyed

him,
rose
up

and
drilled
a

3-pointer.

Tie game.
A little under a minute later,

with the score still tied, senior
guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur-
Rahkman drove into the lane
and kicked it out to Simpson,
who was deep behind the
3-point line. The sophomore
calmly rose up again and hit
another.

They were clutch shots that

you might expect to come from
Wagner or redshirt sophomore
guard Charles Matthews, but
maybe not Simpson. Yet, with
the improvements Simpson has
made in his offensive game, and

the control he’s beginning to
take over his position, the shots
shouldn’t come as a surprise.

“Every
day

he’s learning he
needs to evolve
as a player, and
he’s doing that,”
said
Michigan

coach
John

Beilein. “I like
how
receptive

he is to it, but
he’s never gonna
give
in.
He’s

gonna be more

hardworking than anyone we
have. And it paid off a little bit
tonight.”

At the beginning of the

season,
Simpson
struggled.

After a game against Southern
Mississippi where he was held
scoreless with only one assist
in 22 minutes, his minutes were
severely
chopped.
Simpson

started the next game against
LSU, but he played just 10
minutes and again had 0 points.

Meanwhile,
freshman
Eli

Brooks began to look more and
more comfortable. He took
Simpson’s starting spot just
five games into the season, and

it wasn’t until recently that
Simpson took it back.

But now Simpson’s beginning

to
command

respect.
His
3-point

percentage
of 43.3 is the
second-highest
mark
for
the

Wolverines, and
his
5.7
points

per
game
are

a
respectable

sixth-best
on

a
team
that

has plenty of other offensive
options.

“He’s just learning right

now how you play at this

level as far as a big-time high
school player (who) really had
success and all those things,”

Beilein
said.

“But
just
like

when
you
go

to
the
pros,

there’s a whole
other
level
of

understanding
of the game.”

With all that

being
said,

Simpson
will

likely never be a
go-to
offensive

player. But nobody’s asking him
to be. Michigan just needs some
sort of offensive threat from its
point guard position in order to

have a well-rounded offense.

That could mean hitting

a
tough
layup
in
traffic,

like he did in the first half
against Purdue. It could mean
distributing and protecting the
ball — Simpson’s 2.77 assist-to-
turnover ratio ranks him 39th
among all NCAA Division 1
players.

Or, it could mean a clutch

3-pointer when his team needs
it most.

Tuesday’s game may not be

enough to prove that Simpson
can be that kind of point
guard all season, but if his
recent performances are any
indication, he may be as sure a
bet as the Wolverines have.

8 — Thursday, January 11, 2018
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

HAILEY’S COMET

It was just another inbounds

pass after just another shot during
just another game.

Senior forward Jillian Dunston

to senior guard Katelynn Flaherty,
like always, towards the end of the
third quarter as Michigan held
onto a one-point lead.

Except for one twist: on this

inbounds
pass,
Flaherty
was

knocked down by the player
defending her, falling to the ground
as Dunston tossed the easiest pass
in basketball out of bounds. It
was a crescendo of frustration in
a game that seemingly featured
nothing but.

Still, the No. 23 Michigan

women’s basketball team (3-2 Big
Ten, 14-4 overall) escaped Crisler
Center with an 84-79 win over
Indiana (1-4, 8-10) on Wednesday
night — a victory the Wolverines
didn’t especially deserve and
shouldn’t be especially happy
about.

Michigan came into the fourth

quarter down by one and came all
too close to finishing behind an
inferior Hoosier squad.

The two teams went back and

forth to start the final quarter,
trading baskets until the 7:07
mark. That was when — after
grabbing
her
own
offensive

rebound — junior forward Nicole
Munger drew a foul on a putback
attempt, the fifth on Indiana’s
Amanda Cahill. Cahill hadn’t just
been providing an offensive spark
— 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting
— she was also one of the few
Hoosiers able to compete with the
Wolverines on the glass. Without
her, a major advantage turned
into a area of utter dominance
for Michigan, which finished the
contest with a 38-18 rebounding
advantage, including six in a row
to end it.

Munger hit both free throws

to tie the game at 61 and, without
Cahill, the game’s complexion
changed. Though Indiana took

the lead its next time down, the
Wolverines grabbed it right back
off a Munger 3-pointer that fell
through the basket after two
offensive
rebounds
extended

the possession. Next time down,
junior center Hallie Thome found
Dunston out of a double-team in
the post, who promptly swung
it to freshman forward Hailey
Brown in the corner for another
triple.

Michigan wasn’t out of the

mud, yet though. The Hoosiers led
the Wolverines with as few as four
minutes to go in the game after a
Buss layup gave Indiana a 71-69
lead.

With Indiana face-guarding

Flaherty
—
a
now-common

deterrent to the program’s all-
time leading scorer — and double-
teaming Thome in the post, the
Wolverines turned to Brown.

She delivered, nailing an elbow

jumper off the catch to tie it at 71
for her 22nd and 23rd points of the
night, a career-high.

At that point, it was Flaherty’s

turn to get in on the action,
drawing a foul in transition and
hitting both free throws. The
Hoosiers didn’t hold another lead
the rest of the way.

Make no mistake, however,

Michigan got away with one. The
Wolverines turned the ball over
22 times, their highest mark since
November, while coughing up
over 75 points for the third time in
four games.

“I just think we weren’t locked

in and focused,” Munger said. “...
Ohio State, we came out extremely
locked in and extremely focused,
and I think we just need to do a
better job of taking that next step
and being mature — like a mature
team — and taking every scout
and knowing every scout like
completely.”

Barnes Arico touched on the

seeming lack of preparedness
as well, attributing it to a tightly
packed schedule.

“We played (last) Thursday — so

we traveled Thursday — we played

Sunday, we played Wednesday, we
play Saturday, we play Tuesday,”
she said. “Count those days and
count how many games and travel
— three of those on the road — that
(isn’t) that much time.

“Not a lot of time to practice, not

a ton of time to prepare. Trying to
figure out the fine line between
rest and preparation. And using
our experience to make sure we’re
prepared and following the scout
instead of reps. And tonight, I
didn’t think we did a great job of
that and I even called our older
kids out on that. ‘Hey, we gave you
a day to rest your legs, but then
you gotta follow the scout. Or else
we’re gonna practice.’ ”

One thing is clear: Michigan

can’t deliver a similar performance
again and expect to get away with
it consistently. The Wolverines are
about to embark on a two-game
road trip, facing a solid Nebraska
team and Ohio State, a top-10
program that beat Michigan in
Ann Arbor on Sunday.

Simply, if the Wolverines play

like they did Wednesday, they’ll
return home under .500 in Big Ten
play.

AARON BAKER/Daily

Freshman forward Hailey Brown scored a career-high 23 points, as Michigan barely defeated Indiana on Wednesday.

Zavier Simpson bringing steadiness to Michigan’s point guard position

Wolverines eke out tight, 84-79 win over Hoosiers
Freshman Hailey Brown gets career-high 23 points

Following
an
exhilarating

overtime loss to then-No.10
Ohio State, the No. 23 Michigan
women’s basketball team looked
to clinch a routine win against
Indiana Wednesday night.

But there was nothing routine

about it.

With under four minutes

remaining in a tied game, senior
guard Katelynn Flaherty passed
the ball to freshman forward
Hailey Brown, who nailed an
elbow jumper to give her team
the lead.

The Wolverines went on to

win, 84-79, at Crisler Center,
but it didn’t come the way they
expected. The team’s stars —
Flaherty and junior center Hallie
Thome — were closely guarded
from the start and struggled
to score early on. Meanwhile,
Michigan’s
defense
couldn’t

seem to limit the Hoosiers,
causing a close game.

But two of the Wolverines’

three freshmen — Brown and
guard Deja Church — stepped up,

leading the team to victory on a
night that reeked of upset.

Brown started hot, accounting

for eight of Michigan’s first 10
points. She went on to finish with
a career-high 23 points, while
grabbing eight rebounds. It was
a special night for the Canada-
native.

“It felt good,” Brown said. “It

was different cause a lot of people
were asking if I was in my zone,
but every shot just felt good. I
guess once you start hitting them
you become more confident.”

Added Michigan coach Kim

Barnes Arico: “I thought Hailey
was terrific. … It’s incredible
when you have different people
step up.”

Church’s contributions were

also impressive. Though she
finished with just nine points, a
few of her baskets helped prevent
the Wolverines from falling
behind early.

The
contributions
from

these two freshmen couldn’t
have come at a better time, as
Michigan looked out of sync
from the beginning of a contest it
couldn’t afford to lose.

But
Brown’s
stellar

performance
along
with

Church’s
contributions
gave

Michigan the spark it needed,
creating breathing room for
others in the process.

The
duo’s
success
shows

how much they have grown
throughout the season. Though
Church is a reserve, she has
already established herself as the
first player to come off the bench
and receives significant playing
time. Whenever the Wolverines
find themselves in a slump, they
look to her to energize the team
with her quick, confident style of
play.

“Deja Church is key for us,”

Barnes Arico said. “She runs our
team. She is a good defender,
she’s the fastest kid we have on
our team, so she provides a lot
of things for us and tonight we
saw her again getting better
and better. I think as the season
progresses, she’s gonna be a
kid that just improves the more
experience she gets and the more
the basketball is in her hand. But
she’s a sponge — she’s willing to
learn and she really contributed
great minutes to us tonight.”

Brown, on the other hand, has

started every game this season,
and her improvements have been
crucial to her team’s success.
In her first game for Michigan
— against George Mason back
in early November — she went
2-for-11 from the field to finish
with just four points. But she
improved week by week, and
Wednesday she thrived, going
10-for-12. Her confident shooting
made the difference.

“(Brown) missed like two

shots all night,” said junior guard
Nicole Munger. “You can’t guard
that. You can’t guard that at all.”

Though the Wolverines faced

problems against Indiana, the
quality play from the freshmen
saved them from a potentially
devastating defeat, while also
providing a promising glimpse
into the future.

EVAN AARON/Daily

Sophomore guard Zavier Simpson has brought stability to the point guard position with his play in recent games.

MIKE PERSAK

Managing Sports Editor

ETHAN SEARS
Daily Sports Writer

With 15 points in two of his last three games, Simpson seems to have added reliable offense to his stellar defense

“Every day he’s

learning he

needs to evolve

as a player.”

“There’s a whole

other level of

understanding of

the game.”

ROHAN KUMAR
Daily Sports Writer