Emma Mati & Olivia Cell / Daily Design by Jack Silberman
‘M’ TOPS OAKLAND DAYS AFTER BEATING ‘CUSE IN OT

Monday, December 9, 2019 | michigandaily.com

A grueling, late-night victory against one 

of the country’s most consistent powerhouses 

can leave a team limping unsuspectingly 

into a game two days later against a weaker 

in-state opponent, ripe to be upset.

Instead, Michigan’s momentum from 

the end of Thursday’s electric victory over 

Syracuse continued into Sunday as the 

24th-ranked Wolverines (8-1) muscled their 

way to a 79-64 win over Oakland (4-4).

The victory wasn’t without its struggles. 

A high-scoring first quarter ended in a tight 

22-21 lead for Michigan, but a strong second 

quarter gave the team essential breathing 

room to sustain its lead, coming into half up, 

40-28.

The Grizzlies narrowed the gap to four 

points with 2:18 left in the third quarter, going 

on a 13-4 run over the span of three minutes 

and missing only one shot.

Just as they did in the second quarter, 

though, the Wolverines slammed the door 

shut with offensive rebounds and second-

chance points, freezing the heat Oakland built 

up on the offensive end.

“I think just really making in-game 

adjustments, that’s the biggest thing coach 

has challenged us on,” said sophomore guard 

Amy Dilk. “Being able to recognize how a 

team is scoring, and then stopping that player 

or that set from executing.”

Despite the Grizzlies shooting 60 percent 

from the field in the first quarter and going 

3-for-4 from beyond the arc, Michigan kept 

pace by playing to two of its strengths — 

one emerging in its most recent matchups, 

another a season-long dominance.

The Wolverines forced seven turnovers 

in the first quarter, scoring 10 points off 

Oakland’s mistakes — eventually finishing 

with 29 points off turnovers. Senior forward 

Kayla Robbins, who is becoming one of the 

team’s most impressive defenders, had three 

steals in the first quarter.

Unlike the previous game, however, 

Michigan found its success without laying out 

its press-and-trap defense, instead reading the 

Grizzlies’ passes from the start. Dilk, senior 

guard Akienreh Johnson and Robbins all 

converted easy, full-court runs for layups.

On the offensive glass, nothing could stop 

the Wolverines, who tallied six offensive 

rebounds in the first quarter alone, totaling 

17 after 40 minutes. Freshman center Izabel 

Varejão, at one point, put up a layup and 

missed, but followed it up with a standing 

offensive rebound and a second-chance layup.

“I think that’s a strength of our team,” 

said Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico. 

“(Johnson), (Robbins) and especially Naz 

(Hillmon) are just tremendous, tremendous 

offensive rebounders. So don’t get 

discouraged on that first shot not falling, but 

keep tracking it down.”

All told, the Wolverines showed they could 

bend, but not break, against a streaky offense 

that could hurt them from beyond the arc. 

And when they were pushed, they pushed 

back — going on an eight-point run to close 

out the third quarter.

Even with its overpowering starting five, 

Michigan needed its bench to spur on the 

starters who were dealing with their own set 

of nicks and bruises from the overtime affair 

on Thursday.

In the second quarter, freshman guard 

Maddie Nolan checked in and, after dishing 

a backward pass to Johnson, was standing 

alone, unguarded, in the corner. Johnson held 

onto the ball and took a long three as the shot 

clock wound down, bouncing off the front of 

the rim. Nolan anticipated the bounce and 

was all alone to collect the rebound, split two 

defenders and finished through contact.

As time wound down in the fourth quarter, 

junior guard Priscilla Smeenge caught fire 

and drained two 3-pointers and two layups.

“We were dragging a little bit, and we 

talked about it this morning, what can we 

change up if we need a little bit of a spark,” 

Barnes Arico said. “We talked about maybe 

putting (Smeenge) at the front of the press. 

She’s just so athletic. Having her run around 

a little bit and be annoying, and just give us a 

little bit of a lift.”

Added Smeenge: “We’ve had a lot of back-

to-back games these past couple days, like a 

lot of people were kind of tired and we had a 

lot of injuries coming into today’s game and so 

you never know when you’ve got to be ready 

when your number’s called. It was really 

exciting, I mean my teammates did a great job 

of finding me and having confidence in me to 

shoot it, so it was really helpful to have their 

support.”

The Wolverines ultimately avoided a 

collapse, springing forward and keeping 

momentum from Thursday’s win.

KENT SCHWARTZ
Daily Sports Writer

WOLVERINES 84 ORANGE 76 (OT)

WOLVERINES 79 GOLDEN GRIZZLIES 64

