The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Thursday, March 15, 2017 — 7

BY THE NUMBERS

Senior guard Katelynn Flaherty

23.2

Average points per game

129

Total assists this season

2.7

Average rebounds per game

36.8

Average minutes played per game

A dream come true for Flaherty and Dunston

D

espite never having 
played in the NCAA 
Tournament, senior 

forward Jillian Dunston is 
confident in the Michigan 
women’s basketball team’s 
chances in March Madness.

She said as much this past 

Wednesday, with a declaration: 
“We’re not 
afraid of any 
team.”

And why 

would they 
be?

Under 

Dunston’s 
leadership, 
the 
Wolverines 
have amassed 
a 22-9 overall 
record, including marquee wins 
over Marquette, Nebraska, Ohio 
State and Maryland — all of 
which are also slated to compete 
in the Big Dance. She’s coming 
off a strong regular season, 
where she was one of the top 
rebounders in the Big Ten with 

an average of 9.1 per game.

She serves as a much-needed 

supplement to her fellow 
classmate — guard Katelynn 
Flaherty — who is one of the 
best scorers in the country.

But while her buoyancy could 

be warranted, it could also 
simply be ignorance.

Michigan is surely a very 

good basketball team. But how 
they compare to the nation’s 
elite is still to be determined.

They do hold wins over 

ranked conference foes in then-
No. 8 Buckeyes and then-No. 
13 Terrapins. However, the 
Wolverines were routed in their 
two games against ranked non-
conference opponents — then-
No. 5 Louisville and then-No. 
3 Notre Dame. Though those 
games were early in the season, 
they weren’t even close, as 

Michigan was outscored by 
a combined 45 points. And, 
as impressive as its Big Ten 
wins were, conference games 
always possess an element of 
unpredictability that should be 
accounted for.

If the 

Wolverines 
do get past 
10th-seeded 
Northern 
Colorado on 
Friday, they 
have a lofty task 
ahead of them 
in Baylor. The 
Lady Bears (31-1) 
are a two seed as 
the No. 2 team in the country. 
They possess the second-best 
offense in the nation, scoring 
86.6 points per game. For 
comparison, Michigan ranks 

35th and averages 75.5.

Let’s face it, the Wolverines’ 

chances are far from ideal.

But they have come a 

long way. They are the first 
Michigan team to make the 

tournament 
since 2013. 
They have also 
secured wins 
over rivals 
Ohio State and 
Michigan State.

And the 

seniors — 
Dunston and 
Flaherty — 
have come the 
furthest in their 

four years in Ann Arbor. The 
tournament is a chance for 
them to show off just how good 
they really are.

“For them to be on the 

national scene, they’ve 
established themselves as 
two of the best players in the 
country,” said Michigan coach 
Kim Barnes Arico. “For the 
rest of the world to have an 
opportunity to see Katelynn 
Flaherty I think is really 
important. She’s been really 
special for us and it’s going to 
great for her to be playing in 
front of national television.”

The senior duo has certainly 

left its mark.

Including postseason play, 

the two have amassed 91 wins 
at Michigan. And while it’s the 
lesser of the two tournaments, 
the pair helped the Wolverines 
raise their first-ever banner 
in Crisler Center with a 2017 
WNIT Championship. Now, 
they have qualified for the 
NCAA Tournament.

“(The Tournament) was our 

main goal,” Dunston said. “And 
now that we’ve gotten there, we 
don’t want to just show up. We 
just want to continue to take 
care of business.”

On an individual level, 

Flaherty will leave Michigan 
the program’s all-time leading 
scorer in her four years as a 
starter. As for Dunston, she has 
been the outspoken leader for 
the Wolverines for the past two 
seasons. She also has the third-
most rebounds and 11th-most 
steals in Michigan history.

And most of all, the two have 

now accomplished a lifelong 
ambition.

“We’ve worked so hard to 

get to this point,” Flaherty said. 
“I know it’s been both of our 
dreams since we were young 
girls to go to college and play 
in the NCAA Tournament. So 
to finally make it here our last 
year is really exciting.”

Sharf can be reached 

at hsharf@umich.edu.

BY THE NUMBERS

Senior forward Jillian Dunston

3.3

Average points per game

111

Total assists this season

9.1

Average rebounds per game

32.3

Average minutes played per game

ZOEY HOLMSTROM/Daily

Seniors Katelynn Flaherty and Jillian Dunston will finally have their shot at the NCAA Tournament after missing out in their previous three years in Ann Arbor.

HUNTER
SHARF

To finally make 
it here our last 
year is really 

exciting

Defense derails Wolverines
in 8-3 loss to Lawrence Tech

With two outs in the top of the 

seventh inning, Ako Thomas saw 
a hard hit grounder squirt off his 
glove as two runners crossed the 
plate. Lawrence Tech’s Joseph 
Russo had smashed a ball at the 
junior shortstop, who attempted to 
field it on a hop. The play extended 
the Blue Devils’ lead to 7-3 before 
another single completed the six-
run inning, and gave Lawrence 
Tech an 8-3 advantage that it held 
over the final two frames.

The play not only put the 

Michigan baseball team in a 
hole from which it was unable to 
recover, but served as a microcosm 
of the Wolverines’ 
disastrous 
start 

to 
the 
season. 

After establishing 
themselves 
as 

one of the Big 
Ten’s 
premier 

defensive units a 
season ago, they 
have committed 
27 errors in just 15 
games.

“It’s 
just 

another game where we played 
very sloppy on defense and gave 
the opposition a huge inning,” said 
Michigan coach Erik Bakich. “The 
four errors stand out, but it’s just 
the execution of playing defense 
and taking care of the baseball.”

While the errors have been a 

huge blemish on Michigan’s 4-11 
start, they have been far from the 
only problem. Their three-run 
output 
Wednesday 
afternoon 

marked the third consecutive 
game in which the Wolverines 
have scored four runs or fewer.

“The defensive side of things 

… is causing the hitters to get 
behind a hole,” Bakich said, “and 
then they start pressing. They’re 
not 
stringing 
quality 
at-bats 

together because they’re looking 
at climbing out of a deficit.”

The 
correlation 
between 

defensive struggles and offensive 
stagnation cannot be ignored. 
Michigan jumped out to an early 
lead courtesy of a RBI groundout 

and single from redshirt junior 
Miles 
Lewis 
and 
freshman 

outfielder 
Jesse 
Franklin, 

respectively.

Minutes after Franklin’s single 

put the Wolverines’ in control, 
though, 
the 
lead 
crumbled 

in an all-too-familiar turn of 
events. 
Freshman 
shortstop 

Jack Blomgren short-hopped a 
throw that skipped past Franklin, 
allowing Lawrence Tech’s first run 
to score and igniting Michigan’s 
collapse.

“It was the little things again,” 

Bakich said, “and it’s the little 
things that have plagued us all 
year and that is something that 
we are absolutely laser-focused on 
and that we are going to work to 

correct.”

Two 
innings 

later, 
the 

Wolverines’ 
defensive 
woes 

compounded, as 
the Blue Devils 
plated 
four 

unearned 
runs 

in their six-run 
seventh. 
The 

first run of the 
inning 
scored 

on a double into the corner after 
sophomore right fielder Christian 
Bullock missed the cut-off man, 
allowing Tyler Cleasby to score 
from first.

Three pitches later, with a 

man on third and the infield in, a 
hard-hit grounder found junior 
second baseman Blake Nelson. 
Even a high throw from Nelson 
easily beat Cleasby to the plate 
before redshirt freshman catcher 
Marcus Chavez mishandled the 
throw, allowing the go-ahead 
run to score. Five batters and a 
pitching change later, Thomas’ 
error pushed the Michigan deficit 
to four.

“We’re letting one negative play 

turn into three negative plays,” 
Bakich said. “If something bad 
happens, we just got to be able to 
shut it down and get back to the 
positive side of things.”

In a familiar refrain, one bright 

spot for the Wolverines came 
from its starting pitching. Junior 

southpaw 
William 
Tribucher 

went five innings, allowing one 
unearned run on three hits while 
striking out four Lawrence Tech 
hitters. It was the fifth game in 
seven in which Michigan’s starter 
gave up three runs or less — a 
stretch over which the Wolverines 
have gone 2-5.

“It was encouraging,” Bakich 

said. “(Tribucher) threw strikes, 
he was aggressive in the strike 
zone, he was very consistent 
and executed his pitches well. … 
In those five innings, he looked 
pretty good. He looked like the 
Will Tribucher that we know he 
is.”

Ultimately, 
though, 
the 

starting pitchers’ performances 
need to carry over the rest of the 
team.

“We’re just gonna stick with 

it,” Bakich said. “We’re gonna 
continue to believe that we’ve got 
good players and a good team and 
we’re just gonna keep a relentless 
focus and attack on the little things 
and make sure that if we take care 
of those, then the big things like 
the outcome of the game will take 
care of itself.”

Michigan crushed by yet 
another mid-game surge

With the seventh inning 

looming, the Michigan baseball 
team was sitting pretty.

Junior left-hander William 

Tribucher 
had 
just 
tossed 

five inspiring innings against 
Lawrence 
Tech, 
relenting 

only one unearned run and 
propelling 
the 
Wolverines 

(4-11) to a 3-1 lead. Michigan 
was hitting in stride against 
the Blue Devils (17-9) and 
ended the fifth with an RBI 
single from sophomore catcher 
Harrison Salter.

The sixth inning followed, 

and went off with only a 
minor hitch. Junior reliever 
Troy Miller had entered the 
game and immediately gave 
up a home run. Michael Rinke 
demolished the ball, sending it 
past the left field fence on the 
opposite side of the park. Miller 
quickly 
found 
redemption 

by striking out his next two 
opponents. 
The 
Wolverines 

closed out the inning without 

securing a run.

Then came disaster.
Miller quickly struck out the 

first batter, then gave up two 
runs with seemingly as much 
haste. Miller had racked up two 
earned runs and didn’t show 
any signs of slowing down 
when Michigan 
coach 
Erik 

Bakich 
made 

a 
desperate 

pitching 
change. Senior 
right-hander 
Jayce 
Vancena 

entered 
the 

game 
and 

allowed 
four 

additional runs 
before stopping 
the bleeding with a much-
needed strikeout.

When 
the 
dust 
settled, 

the Wolverines had given up 
six runs off three hits and 
committed 
three 
defensive 

errors. All in one inning.

“Sloppy,” Bakich said. “It 

was the little things again, 
and it’s the little things that 
have plagued us all year and 
that is something that we are 
absolutely 
laser-focused 
on 

and that we are going to work 
to correct.”

For this Michigan team, it’s a 

broken record. The Wolverines 
consistently put themselves in 
a great position to contend for 
each game through four or five 
innings, then sluggish bats and 
sloppy defense seal their fate.

Michigan has lived by this 

routine in many of its previous 
contests, dropping games to 
Lipscomb, Stanford and San 
Diego State in similar fashion.

In a textbook example of 

this pattern, the Wolverines 
had held the Aztecs scoreless 
through four innings when 
they faced them on Feb. 26. 
San Diego State subsequently 
exploded onto the scoreboard 
with a four-run fifth inning, 
giving it a 4-1 lead. From there, 
Michigan didn’t have enough 
firepower to claw itself out of 

the deficit, ultimately losing, 
4-3.

It’s troubling for any team 

to have destructive habits, 
especially this early in the 
season. However, the one silver 
lining in this disappointing 
start is that the team now 

knows what to 
fix — and has 
time to fix it.

“We’re 
not 

taking care of 
the 
baseball 

and 
we’re 

letting 
one 

negative 
play 

turn into three 
negative plays,” 
Bakich said. “If 
something bad 

happens, we just gotta be able 
to shut it down and get back 
to the positive side of things. 
What you’re seeing right now 
is a team whose confidence is 
shook.”

In addition to regaining 

confidence, 
leadership 
and 

high-quality 
play 
are 
also 

needed to aid this battered 
squad. When one player does 
well, it seems to carry over to 
the rest of the team.

Behind Tribucher’s bright 

performance 
also 
lied 
a 

solid defensive outing that, 
at the end of it, pushed the 
Wolverines 
into 
the 
lead. 

Things took a turn for the 
worse once the pitching and 
defense became sloppy.

“Right now, the defensive 

side of things is causing the 
pitching to be out there a long 
time,” Bakich said. “It’s causing 
the hitters to get behind a hole 
and then they start pressing. 
They’re not stringing quality 
at-bats 
together 
because 

they’re looking at climbing out 
of a deficit.

“It’s just all connected, so 

we just gotta get rid of this 
feeling and get back to what we 
know how to do, which is work 
extremely hard and trust that 
our training is going to take care 
of the outcome on the field.”

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily

Junior left-hander William Tribucher provided the lone bright spot Wednesday.

THEO MACKIE
Daily Sports Writer
JACOB KOPNICK
Daily Sports Writer

“We’re letting 
one negative 
play turn into 
three negative 

plays”

“If something 
bad happens, 

we gotta be able 
to shut it down”

