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February 19, 2019 - Image 7

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The Michigan Daily

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The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Tuesday, February 19, 2019 — 7

‘M’ tops Dartmouth, 11-10, in 3OT

As time ran down in the first
overtime period, Molly Garrett
took an open shot in front and
missed wide. She immediately
went down with an injury.
Less than 5 minutes later, the
junior midfielder was back on
the field. Forty-eight seconds
into the second overtime period,
she had the same opportunity,
but this time she converted for
her fourth goal of the season,
breaking the tie and giving the
Michigan
women’s
lacrosse
team (4-0) an 11-10 win over
Dartmouth (0-2).
“I was kind of just putting my
head down saying ‘This one’s
mine, this one’s for the team,’ ”
Garrett said.
While
Garrett’s
heroics
decided
the
game,
the
Wolverines
seemed
to
pull
away with 15 minutes left in
the second half. They came out
of halftime strong, scoring five
goals in the first 15 minutes of
the second half to take a 10-7
lead. Sophomore attacker Caitlin
Muir was a big reason for this,
scoring one goal and assisting
on two early in the half thanks
to her stellar play behind the
Dartmouth goal.
Additionally,
Michigan’s

play in the draw circle greatly
improved in the second half.
After controlling just four of
11 draws in the first half, the
Wolverines controlled the first
five of the second half, and only
lost one in the first 15 minutes.
When they were winning draws,
they were at their best.
“Draw controls were huge,”
said Michigan coach Hannah
Nielsen. “The Dartmouth draw
girl is extremely talented and we
won the battle 15-10 there.”
After a strong start to the
half, Michigan let Dartmouth
back into the game but could
have put them away with better
offensive play down the stretch.
The Wolverines led by three
with less than nine minutes
to play in regulation when a
turnover by senior defenseman
Gabby Burns and a foul by junior
defenseman
Quinn
Melidona
led to a Dartmouth goal on the
advantage, cutting the lead to
10-8.
Michigan’s defense recovered
after the goal, but its offense
never did. In the final eight
minutes
of
regulation,
the
Wolverines turned the ball over
three times, committed four
fouls, and earned two yellow
cards. Senior goalkeeper Mira
Shane and the defense bailed
them out, making big saves and

forcing Dartmouth turnovers,
but eventually, the sloppy play
caught up with them. The
Big Green scored on two free
position shots in the final 1:47,
tying the game at 10-10 and
forcing overtime.
“I think it was just youth and
inexperience in close games
from
our
offense,”
Nielsen
said. “We had times where our
defense was getting us back the
ball and we were taking the first
option or just taking less than
90-plus percent opportunities.”
Even though Dartmouth came
back, the Wolverines showed
resiliency in overtime. They
continued to play hard so they
wouldn’t lose a game that they
seemed to have control of late in
the second half, culminating in
Garrett’s game-winner.
Now 4-0 after two wins this
weekend, Michigan is off to
its best start in the history of
the program. While there are
still improvements to be made,
winning close games like this
will be extremely beneficial as
the season progresses.
“I think it shows how mature
we are and how we’ve grown as
a program and how we’re able
to handle that and have those
people out there to keep each
other calm, cool, collected,”
Garrett said. “We can handle it.”

JACK KINGSLEY
Daily Sports Writer

ASHA LEWIS/Daily
Junior midfielder Molly Garrett scored the double-overtime goal to give Michigan an 11-10 victory over Dartmouth.

Connection between Zavier Simpson and Jon Teske fuels Wolverines

Zavier Simpson bided his time,
wrapping
behind
the
basket
before splitting two defenders
with a no-look bounce pass. Just
as the pass reached its apex,
Jon Teske came streaking into
the lane, collected the ball and
emphatically slammed it home,
giving Michigan a double-digit
lead it would never relinquish.
That scene came late in the
second half of the Wolverines’
65-52 win over Maryland on
Saturday, but it’s emblematic
of a larger trend that has come
to define their offense over the

past three months. Simpson —
Michigan’s offensive conductor
— leads all Big
Ten point guards
in
assist-to-
turnover
rate,
while Teske has
flourished as its
interior linchpin,
averaging
10.7
points
and
6.9
rebounds
in
conference play.
“A
little
bit
under-recruited
guys that came in with a little edge
about them,” said Michigan coach
John Beilein. “A lot of people
doubted whether they maybe

could play at Michigan, either one
of them. And I love the way they
work
together.
They really have a
great feel for each
other.”
Early last year,
the
chemistry
between
the
two
would
have
appeared
completely
foreign.
Teske
played
just
12
minutes a game,
while Simpson was still finding his
foothold in a three-headed point
guard rotation.
This summer, that all changed.

Simpson had already emerged
as the exemplification of the
Wolverines’ hard-
nosed identity, but
Teske’s offseason
was filled with
questions
of
whether
he
could
replace
the
departed
Moritz
Wagner.
In October, when
Beilein expressed
his confidence in
Teske to replace
Wagner’s 3-point production, it
was met with a justified skepticism
— Teske had attempted just two
threes in his first two seasons in

Ann Arbor and missed both.
But those within the program
knew better.
“Aw
man,
they were doing
that at pickup,”
said
sophomore
forward
Isaiah
Livers, referring
to the unofficial
scrimmages
players hold over
the summer to
keep
up
their
conditioning
before official practices start in
October.
Ask Teske himself and you’ll get
an answer that goes even further
back.
“I’d say (it developed) as soon
as we got on campus,” Teske said
after he and Simpson combined
for 41 points in a win over
Northwestern last month. “We
came in as freshmen together, so
we’ve been through a lot of ups
and a lot of downs.”
No matter what answer you get,
the consensus is a distinct lack of
surprise.
And with the
rest of Michigan’s
starting
five
finding
their
share of offensive
travails
over
the
past
few
months,
the
pair’s consistency
has been among
the
Wolverines’
defining
strengths.
“The ‘5’ man and point guard
have to have a really good
connection on the court as well,”
said sophomore guard Jordan
Poole. “Cause everything kinda
runs through them. And being
able to have a big man who
controls everything how he does
in the middle and being able to
have (Simpson) lead how he does
from the point guard position is
huge.”
On the rare occasions that
Teske and Simpson don’t shine,
the results are obvious. When

Maryland cut a 15-point deficit to
three midway through the second
half Saturday, Teske’s offense was
a major culprit, as he made just
1-of-10 shots over the opening 35
minutes.
Then, Simpson, as he so often
does, sprung his center open
for consecutive baskets, part of
a two-minute stretch in which
Teske singlehandedly outscored
the Terrapins, 7-2, extending
Michigan’s lead from six to eleven
and effectively icing the game.
It’s not just that Maryland
game, either. The pair’s bond
has shone through in all of the
Wolverines’ most impressive wins
— Simpson last failed to assist
Teske in a game on Jan. 22 against
Minnesota.
“It allows him to play — pop,
roll, slip, do anything he can do,”
Simpson said. “And it opens up not
just for himself but also for others
so that’s always good.”
Just like on the court, Teske’s
answer is on the same page.
“He always knows where I am
on the court and I know he’ll make
the right decision
and
the
right
pass for me to
go finish,” Teske
said. “And he has
the
confidence
in me to go finish
around the rim or
pick and pop and
shoot the three.”
So when Teske
streaks
to
the
basket off a feed
from his point guard, it can be
easy to forget the questions that
surrounded him just four months
ago.
But then he’ll set a screen for
Simpson at the top of the arc and,
when his defender cheats off him,
pop out beyond the 3-point line
to nail a three. And each time, it
will elicit some sort of surprise
from the uninitiated, reminding
Michigan fans of the doubt they
used to carry.
Teske
and
his
teammates,
though? They knew this was
coming all the way.

For Lambert, a vision falls into place

When Denver’s Brett Stapley
finessed the puck past two
defenders and the goaltender for
the overtime goal to beat North
Dakota on Feb. 2, Michigan
freshman
forward
Jimmy
Lambert tweeted a compliment
for his former teammate.
The two played together on
the same line for three years in
the British Columbia Hockey
League. And for all the skill and
talent Stapley exhibited, the
show never got old for Lambert,
who
had
“front-row
seats.”
Lambert, however, put on a
show of his own, scoring 142
points through his three-year
stay with the Vernon Vipers
— the team for which the two
played.
Lambert
was
born
in
Saskatoon,
Saskatchewan,
Canada. His grandfather started
taking Lambert ice skating at
the age of two. Going to public
ice sessions offered at his local
rink, his grandfather taught him
how to skate, bit by bit, until
Lambert reached four when he
was given his first mini-hockey
stick.
Then, Lambert took off and
sought to perfect his craft
through the junior league. He
moved to British Columbia and
joined the Vipers after three
years in Saskatoon’s midget
league. There, under Vernon’s
coach Mark Ferner, Lambert
developed into a better player in
all aspects.
“The program there was
awesome,” Lambert said. “Mark
Ferner, our coach, he really
helped me develop as a player, on
both sides of the puck. He’s very
understandings of how players
play the game and really wants
them to get to the next level.
“That’s the goal of junior
hockey, that’s to help players
get scholarships and he’s done
that for many years with his job
in Vernon. He’s sent multiple
players to (the) NCAA, and
he’s very good at developing
players.”
Ferner, a two-time BCHL
coach of the year, had a keen

understanding of not only the
game but his roster as well.
Lambert’s game is built on
speed, puck control and, most
importantly, vision. Pitting him
with a skill-based player like
Stapley complemented his style
and the two led the team to two
division finals and a semifinal.
From there, Lambert reached
junior hockey. He moved up
to the NCAA. When Michigan
came calling, he didn’t hesitate
to accept.
“I definitely can say, if you’re
going to school in Canada, you’re
not going to be getting the same
things we’re getting here for
sure,” Lambert joked.
But the collegiate level proved
to be a taller task than initially
expected. With only four games
left in the regular season,
Michigan coach Mel Pearson
noted that despite the strides
he’s made so far, Lambert has a
long way to go.
“He’s
just
learning
what
it takes to be a good player,”
Pearson said. “Just an average
player at this level.”
Through 25 games, Lambert
has just totaled eight points,
starkly contrasting the prior
year, when he had 61 points in
55 games in the BCHL and was
top-20 in point totals of the
entire league.
“He’s got to play stronger on
the puck, he’s got to play faster on
the puck, he’s got to handle the
puck better, he’s got to release it
quicker,” Pearson said. “I think
that reflects in his numbers a
little bit. He’s on the power play,
and he gets a little good shake on
a regular line, but his numbers

don’t blow you away. But it’s an
adjustment. And I don’t know if
he was totally prepared for the
adjustment that it takes.”
Pearson
has
implored
Lambert to take things more
seriously, through preparation
for games or practices. There
are many different routines or
styles of hockey — different ways
to play, practice or prepare. As
Pearson puts it, Lambert’s yet to
find his own.
But he has started to put
things together.
“I’m
working
on
making
sure I’m a little better in the
defensive zone,” Lambert said.
“And I like to think I have some
offensive upside, definitely need
to start putting the puck in the
net a little bit more.”
It’s clear what Lambert’s
strengths
are.
Despite
his
numbers on the stat sheets
being limited, the ones on there
have been created by his speed
and vision. Knowing not only
where his teammates are, but
his opponents as well, he likes
to keep tabs on all the players
on the ice at all times. Marked,
unmarked, open or contested,
he’ll know and make the play
with the puck to get the best
shot available.
“He’s got a good knowledge of
the game, good hockey sense,”
Pearson said. “Gets up and down
pretty good, and he’s got some of
the intangibles you look for in a
player. I think he’s a good team
guy, I know he’s a good team
guy.”
Even if Lambert hasn’t yet put
it all together, he has the vision
that will allow it soon.

TIEN LE
Daily Sports Writer

ALEXANDRIA POMPEI/Daily
Freshman forward Jimmy Lambert has displayed speed and vision this season.

ALEXANDRIA POMPEI/Daily
Junior center Jon Teske has developed a strong connection playing alongside Zavier Simpson, as the two scored nine and 12 points, respectively, on Saturday.

THEO MACKIE
Daily Sports Writer

People doubted
whether they
could ... play at
Michigan.

We’ve been
through a lot of
ups and a lot of
downs.

Being able to
have (Simpson)
lead how he
does ... is huge.

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