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SportsMonday
Monday, January 22, 2018 — 3B
DARBY STIPE/Daily
Senior point guard Katelynn Flahery led Michigan with 27 points in the 19th-ranked Wolverines’ 44-point win over Illinois on Saturday night.
Michigan throttles Illinois, 86-42
As the clock ran out in the
first quarter, Katelynn Flaherty
pulled up from the far right side
at midcourt. The ball swished
perfectly through the net.
“When I saw it was high
enough, I was like, ‘It feels
pretty good,’ ” Flaherty said.
“Then it went in I was like,
‘Wow, that’ll never happen
again.’ ”
It was that kind of day for
the No. 19 Michigan women’s
basketball team, as it went on
to defeat Illinois by 44 points,
86-42.
After
allowing
a
quick
five points to start the game,
the Wolverines (6-2 Big Ten,
17-4 overall) were locked in.
Throughout the final 8:10 of the
quarter, Michigan outscored the
Fighting Illini 24 to seven. The
strong play in the first was the
byproduct of team basketball.
Though, as often is the case,
senior
guard
Flaherty
was
the star of the quarter. After
missing her first three shots,
Flaherty hit three straight 3s,
including her half-court heave.
Her typical strong performance
continued, as she finished with
27 points, eight assists, four
rebounds and four steals.
After the opening surge,
the
Wolverines
cooled
off.
Michigan and Illinois (0-7, 9-12)
were even in the second, scoring
12 apiece. The Wolverines went
through a four-minute drought
without a basket, but were
able to maintain a lead with
solid defense. The only place
the Fighting Illini found some
success in the first half was
from behind the arc; 50 percent
of their first-half points came
off 3s.
While
Michigan’s
defense
was extremely good in the first
half, it was even better in the
second.
“We did a really good job in
the first half of taking away
the foul line,” said coach Kim
Barnes Arico. “They made some
shots late in the shot clock and
some off offensive rebounds (in
the first half). So we knew if we
could clean that up a little bit,
we would be able to get more
stops.”
And that’s exactly what they
did. The Wolverines allowed
just four points in the third
quarter and 18 total points in
the second half. Comparatively,
Flaherty scored 14 and freshman
forward Hailey Brown scored 11
in the second half.
Brown had one of the best
games of her young career,
finishing with 17 points on
6-of-9 shooting, a career-high
14 rebounds and one block. She
was a force down low, where
Michigan outscored Illinois 40
to 12.
“We
knew
when
Hailey
committed to us that she would
be an outstanding addition
to
our
program,”
Barnes
Arico said. “Hailey just keeps
grinding, just keeps working
and improving each and every
single day. Last week she was
recognized as freshman of the
week nationally.”
Throughout the game, the
Wolverines were able to create
offense from their defense.
Michigan forced 21 Fighting
Illini
turnovers,
scoring
31
points
off
those
mistakes.
Illinois, on the other hand, had
just two points off turnovers
and four steals. Junior guard
Nicole Munger had five steals of
her own.
While it’s always nice to win
by 44, the Wolverines shouldn’t
be too surprised — the Fighting
Illini
have
now
lost
eight
straight.
Don’t expect it to be this easy
when the Wolverines face rival
Michigan State this Tuesday.
Rice, ‘M’ honor Flaherty’s record
For Katelynn Flaherty, it’s
easy at this point. Wait for the
defense to contract around a
stampeding Jillian Dunston then
slide in behind as the trailer. Three
points. Run off a Hallie Thome
pindown, leaving her defender
behind. Three points. Or, loft one
up from half-court, a heave that
falls through the net as the buzzer
sounds. Three points.
The senior guard does all of the
above, all in the first quarter, on
the way to a 44-point win over a
conference opponent. It’s par for
the course.
“Just crazy,” she said. “I do not
know how the hell I would be able
to do (a half-court shot) again.”
Flaherty is Michigan’s all-time
leading scorer, an honor earned
with a 3-pointer (what else?) at
Nebraska last week, to move atop
the list. Not the women’s basketball
program’s all-time leading scorer,
mind you — though she holds that
honor as well. The school’s all-
time leading scorer. She passed
Glen Rice’s record of 2,442 points,
leaving the three-time NBA All-
Star in her dust.
Rice
sent
Flaherty
a
congratulatory Facebook message
after the record was broken, but
didn’t meet her in person until
Sunday — a ceremony during
a break in the Michigan men’s
basketball team’s win over Rutgers.
“I always say records are made
to be broken and to be able to have
it done by Katelynn, who’s had a
tremendous career, tremendous
athlete, tremendous scorer — I
mean, God, that’s almost like
another Glen Rice out there
watching her shoot the basketball
and do what she does,” Rice said.
“For me, it’s an honor to even be in
the same sentence as she is.”
Rice knew Flaherty was coming
for his record well in advance,
a reality of having a female
sharpshooter who couldn’t leave
early for the NBA in his midst. By
Sunday, Flaherty was already at
2,505 points, a virtue of dropping
21 and 27 points in two games since
breaking the record.
“When I found out I was gonna
be coming here and scouting the
game (for the Miami Heat) and
they told me, ‘Oh yeah, you know,
you’re not the all-time leading
scorer anymore,’ ” Rice said, “I
went, ‘Oh really, great. Let me
guess: Katelynn.’ Yes, it was her. I
(had) seen it coming, a while back.”
There’s a poetic justice to
Flaherty — a sharpshooting guard
whose favorite play is a pull-up
jumper — passing Rice, who shot
over 50 percent from beyond the
arc, leading Michigan to the 1989
National Championship. Though a
senior, Flaherty has yet to make the
NCAA Tournament. But the No.
19 Michigan women’s basketball
team (6-2 Big Ten, 17-4 overall) is
well on its way.
And, like they did with Rice,
opponents are pulling out all
the stops to keep Flaherty from
beating
them,
face-guarding
her 25 feet from the basket with
regularity.
“You got defense working night
in and night out trying to stop you
and at the same time, when you’re
a scorer and you know it’s coming,
you work that much harder to stay
ahead of what they’re trying to do
as far as strategy and stopping you,
so I feel it,” Rice said. “I understand
the body of work that she (has).
She’s put in the work and when you
put in the work, you accomplish
what she is accomplishing. It’s
pretty easy when you’re in that
spot because you understand
exactly what you gotta do to keep
going forward.”
With eight games to go before
the Big Ten tournament, Flaherty
is well on her way to setting a
near-unbreakable scoring mark.
The only thing left for her to
accomplish
in
her
collegiate
career: A tournament run.
HUNTER SHARF
Daily Sports Writer
ETHAN SEARS
Daily Sports Writer
‘M’ finishes second
In the face of 2,000 screaming
fans at the new U-M Indoor
Track Stadium, fifth-year senior
Micah Beller came sprinting
down the stretch of his 3000-
meter race, neck and neck with
Michigan State’s Clark Ruiz.
As they neared the finish line,
Beller narrowly pulled ahead,
holding his advantage with a
final lean of his chest over the
finish line.
“Once it was within 200
meters, it was just the crowd
carrying me the whole way,”
Beller said. “They really got
into it, and it was awesome
being able to feed off that
atmosphere.”
It initially appeared that
Beller’s
victory
gave
the
Michigan men’s track and field
team the advantage it needed
to hold off Ohio State and take
home
the
Simmons-Harvey
Quad meet. However, a late
disqualification in the 4 x 400
race dropped the Wolverines to
second place.
Despite the disappointing
ending, Michigan came away
from the meet optimistic about
its all-around showing.
“We performed in almost
every area,” said Michigan
coach Jerry Clayton. “Obviously
the throws and then (junior)
Taylor (McLaughlin) in the
400, the 4 x 4 there at the end.
Overall, from top to bottom,
very good team effort.”
While Beller’s 3000-meter
was the most exciting race of
the day, the Wolverines were
also dominant in the throwing
circle. Junior Joseph Ellis and
senior Grant Cartwright placed
first and second, respectively,
in the weight throw, while
sophomore Andrew Liskowitz
and Cartwright were the top-
two shot putters.
To contend for a Big Ten title
next month, these throwers
— the self-proclaimed ‘Meat
Factory’ — know they will
need
to
repeat
Saturday’s
performances.
“We took that responsibility
(to be team leaders) on last
season,”
Ellis
said,
“when
we scored 30-some points at
outdoor Big Tens so the team
is expecting a lot of us but we
expect a lot of ourselves. Ideally
the ‘Meat Factory’ — me , Grant,
Andrew
Manning
—
we’re
making moves onto the next
stage at nationals and we start
to score big points for the team.”
Clayton was equally pleased
with the performance of his
throwers.
“The marks at which they
opened at (were) about exactly
what
we
were
expecting,”
Clayton said “so we’re real
excited with where they’re at.”
Back on the track, Michigan
saw two personal records in
the 800-meter race produce
another 1-2 finish. Junior Matt
Plowman clocked in at 1:51.83
while his sophomore teammate
Anthony Berry ran a 1:52.18 in
his first collegiate race.
“That was really a big step
forward, because those guys
are younger,” Clayton said. “To
step in and compete against the
teams we had here, that was
an outstanding race for both of
them.”
While the Wolverines were
pleased with their work on
the track, perhaps the most
encouraging performance was
from the stands. Many of the
Michigan athletes credited both
the crowd and their sparkling
new facilities as supplemental
to their success.
“I can’t speak enough to
how this facility has helped us
(train) over the last couple of
months,” Beller said.
Even
the
throwers
—
normally hidden from the fans
— noticed a difference in the
crowd.
“It’s kind of nerve-wracking”
Ellis said. “Normally the throws
are off to the side and now we’re
just surrounded by fans.”
Added Clayton: “The crowds
we’ve had these last two meets
have just been great. We’re
excited and we’re glad the fan
base is too.”
MEN’S TRACK AND FIELD
THEO MACKIE
Daily Sports Writer
Underclassmen shine in season’s first dual-match
With the score knotted at
30-30,
Chiara
Lommer
and
Alyvia Jones were feeling the
pressure. If they could just take
this game, the underclassmen
would clinch the doubles point
for the Michigan women’s tennis
team. If they faltered, the point
would go to Kansas.
They did not falter.
The No. 2 doubles pair set up
back-to-back
unforced
errors
to take their match, 7-5. The
victory was just the beginning of
Sunday’s dual match, but in the
end, the Wolverines finished on
top, 7-1.
Though the ITA Kick-Off is
not until next weekend, Michigan
didn’t want to wait to play. By
starting its season early, it’s just
one more opportunity for coach
Ronni Bernstein and the team
to see what works well and what
doesn’t.
“We’re trying to figure out a
way to win the doubles point,”
Bernstein said. “We’re trying
to
find
someone
that
plays
aggressive with someone that
sets them up. Today we got (the
doubles point), which was great,
but we’ll change it until we feel
like it’s good.
“But that doubles point is big
and I think it was a momentum
thing for us today.”
Some
may
think
that
a
freshman and sophomore doubles
duo is risky, but it clearly paid
off for the Wolverines. In fact,
their senior pair at No. 3 doubles,
made up of Mira Ruder-Hook and
Kara Hall, was the only team that
dropped their doubles match.
The underclassmen didn’t just
shine in doubles, though. The
first two players off the court
were Jones and freshman Bella
Lorenzini, at No. 3 and No. 6
singles, respectively.
Jumping out to a quick start,
Jones eventually lost her 2-0 lead
and the score was tied up again.
While the first set was a grind for
the freshman, she took control
early in the second set. Braced
with a 5-1 lead, Jones was down
on points, 40-15. But Jones was
eager to end her match, forcing
the game to deuce and winning a
baseline rally on a Jayhawk error.
While Jones just joined the
Wolverines at the beginning
of the winter semester, she has
already
proved
herself.
She
earned her way into the doubles
and singles lineup due to her
unbeaten record.
“She’s aggressive, she’s got
some weapons,” Bernstein said.
“She’s got a big serve, big forehand,
she plays defense well, too. I think
she has it all. … Definitely a big
addition mid-year.”
While the freshmen breezed
through
their
matches,
that
wasn’t
the
case
for
every
Michigan player. Normally, when
a team reaches four points the
match is over and all matches
are abandoned, but Ruder-Hook
and Lommer were given the
opportunity to play out their third
sets.
With
all
her
teammates
watching, Lommer was the last
on the court. She had a 5-2 lead
in the final frame, but was down
on points, 40-30. She fought off a
game-point to set up deuce. With
no advantage scoring, this was
Lommer’s chance to end it.
Kansas was going to make her
work for it, though.
After a rally of over 30 shots,
both
players
were
clearly
exhausted but neither wanted
to go for the big shot and make
a mistake. It became a matter
of who was going to make the
error first, and in the end, it was
Jayhawk Janet Koch. Lommer
won her match, 2-6, 6-2, 6-2.
As fall tennis is all about
individual play, it was clear that
the Wolverines were excited to
get back to being a team. They
rushed up to Lommer to greet
her and exhaled as their first dual
match was in the books.
With ITA Kick-Off on the
horizon, Michigan’s season is
just getting started. But with a
strong veteran force and eager
underclassmen, the Wolverines
are poised for another impressive
season.
DARBY STIPE/Daily
Freshman Alyvia Jones acquitted herself well in Michigan’s dual match of the season, winning both her doubles and singles matches against Kansas.
PAIGE VOEFFRAY
Daily Sports Editor