8 — Thursday, February 6, 2020
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Austin Davis a bright spot in loss
It’s been just over three weeks
since Austin Davis first started
showing poise as a reliable
backup big man. And now poise,
as it turns out, may have been a
bit of an understatement.
This may be the Austin Davis
breakout season, or at least as
close to it as could have been
reasonably expected.
It’s not as if he’s going to
replace his fellow senior center,
Jon Teske, in the starting lineup
(at least barring any injuries).
But Davis is continuing to get
significant playing time, and
has
surpassed
sophomore
forward Colin Castleton in the
rotation.
As he’s continued to get
those significant minutes, he’s
continued to do significant
things with them.
A
surprising
twist
this
season, to be sure. Davis has
given
Michigan
a
reliable
presence in the low post and
a few buckets when it needed
them most.
But when you get down to it,
it’s not hard to see from where
this sudden production has
emerged.
“He’s
a
tough-nosed
competitor,” Michigan coach
Juwan Howard said Tuesday
night. “He does a really good
job of using his body. He’s not
afraid of contact. He loves
the contact. He welcomes the
contact. And not just tonight,
but a lot of the other games
we
played
throughout
the
year. He’s always accepted the
challenge.”
In a 61-58 loss to Ohio State,
Davis finished with 11 points,
on 4-for-4 shooting from the
field and 3-for-3 from the free
throw line. He pulled down
three rebounds, two on offense
and one on defense. Not bad for
14 minutes.
In fact, it’s not that hard to
compare Davis’ stat line from
last night — a career high for
him — to some put up by Teske,
the starter at the position.
“I’m
just
trying
to
be
aggressive, play within our
offense, play within myself,”
Davis said. “I’ll take open looks
when they’re there, and just put
our team in the best position to
win.
“I think it’s just confidence.
Confidence in my teammates,
confidence in myself. That’s the
biggest thing.”
Perhaps this takeoff from
Davis
—
who,
it’s
worth
mentioning,
was
recruited
and
oft-praised
by
former
Michigan coach John Beilein
— is a reflection on, or maybe a
result of, Howard’s new tenure
at the helm of the program.
Howard has worked intensively
with all four bigs on the roster
throughout the course of the
season,
watching
film
and
teaching them post play.
The fruits of that labor are
probably clearest when looking
at Teske. But they’re becoming
more and more evident in
Davis, too. For both Davis
and Howard, the hard work is
paying off.
“It
started
back
in
the
summer, when we had some
player
development
time,”
Howard said. “I work with
all our bigs. Austin, just like
all the bigs, has been working
extremely hard leading up to
this point in practice, spending
time learning post play.
“Austin has always had it.”
Two weeks that changed the season
The
Michigan
women’s
basketball team had one week
without a game, its season on the
brink of disaster. One week to
right the ship.
First came the Jan. 9 road
loss to Ohio State, where the
Wolverines led for 27 minutes
total, even up to halfway through
the fourth quarter. Then it was
the 28-point home loss to No. 17
Maryland on Jan. 12, just two
weeks after Michigan played
a tight game through three
quarters on the road against the
Terrapins.
But what looked like the
dagger came a week later against
Nebraska. Senior forward Kayla
Robbins — the Wolverines’second-
leading scorer — went down in the
first minute with a season-ending
ACL tear, and Michigan lost after
blowing a 13-point third-quarter
lead.
The
loss
dropped
the
Wolverines to 3-4 in the Big
Ten and out of ESPN’s NCAA
tournament prediction, and the
loss of Robbins just prior to a
three-game stretch against three
of the Big Ten’s top five teams
looked like it would be difficult
to overcome. Michigan knew
the challenge it would face in
overcoming Robbins’ absence, but
it stayed optimistic.
“Don’t let today knock you out
of the water,” Michigan coach
Kim Barnes Arico said after
the loss to Maryland. “All our
games this year have been really
competitive. It’s been a tough
stretch, but we’ve got to grow
from it, we’ve got to learn from it.”
Lucky for the Wolverines,
though, they had a week off
between the Nebraska loss and
their next game against Rutgers
— a rare occurrence in Big Ten
play. And for Michigan it was no
ordinary week of practice. The
bench players had to adjust to the
new roles they would play. Senior
guard Akienreh Johnson had
to prepare to guard opponents’
top offensive threat — typically
Robbins’ job.
The Wolverines had to adapt to
life without Kayla Robbins.
“We just talked about one-
through-10 has to step up on the
court, off the court, in practice,”
sophomore forward Naz Hillmon
said. “Somebody needs to take on
the little things she did. Anything
they can do to be a part of what
Kayla was to this team because
she was just such a huge part,
whether she was talking, or
scoring or rebounding.”
From
the
opening
tip-off
against the Scarlet Knights, it was
clear Michigan took the message
to heart. It shot 50 percent from
the floor and excelled on the
defensive end, forcing 15 first-half
turnovers. Johnson held Rutgers’
leading
scorer,
guard
Arella
Guirantes, below her season
average. Johnson didn’t shut her
down — she still finished with 16
points — but she filled in well in
place of Robbins.
While beating the Scarlet
Knights at home was a good
start for the Wolverines without
Robbins, they still had two tough
games against the Big Ten’s best,
No. 23 Northwestern and No.
18 Iowa. Winning either would
be huge for Michigan’s NCAA
Tournament chances.
Against
the
Wildcats,
the
Wolverines came out flat and
couldn’t overcome an early deficit,
but a strong final three quarters
in an eight-point loss gave them
optimism entering Sunday’s game
against the Hawkeyes. It would
be one of their last chances to pick
up the signature win that Barnes
Arico has talked about needing so
much of late.
Sunday, Michigan came out
strong and for much of the game
looked as good as it had all season.
The loss of Robbins was barely
even noticeable. A combination
of
Johnson,
Hillmon
and
sophomore guard Amy Dilk held
Iowa’s leading scorer Kathleen
Doyle below her season average,
and the Wolverines’ bench and
sophomore guard Danielle Rauch
— who replaced Robbins in the
starting lineup — combined for 17
points, as Michigan won by 15.
“We’ve had a little bit of a
rocky start to the Big Ten season,”
Hillmon said. “So just getting
these wins, it’s very important to
us and our confidence. The Big
Ten is a tough league and to get
this one is huge, and it’ll definitely
help us later on.”
Even though the Wolverines
have played three good games
without Robbins, her absence
could still play a factor going
forward. Teams may find holes in
the way Michigan plays without
Robbins and expose them. But
after an injury that could have
sunk the team just over two
weeks ago, the Wolverines look
rejuvenated and motivated.
And looking back, the most
important week of Michigan’s
season might have been the week
in which it didn’t play a single
game.
Michigan’s defense gives leadership
When Mel Pearson looked at
the roster at the beginning of the
season, he viewed it through two
lenses.
The first was strengths. In
Pearson’s eyes, Michigan was
stacked with offensive weapons. It
would be a goal-scoring team. An
offensive powerhouse.
But the defense and goaltending
were potential weaknesses, or at
least question marks. Sophomore
goaltender Strauss Mann hadn’t
yet emerged as the Wolverines’
starter. On the blueline, they’d
have to replace three skaters —
last season’s point leader Quinn
Hughes, Joseph Cecconi and Nick
Boka.
The
only
upperclassmen
returning were seniors Griffin
Luce
and
Luke
Martin.
Sophomores Nick Blankenburg
and Jack Summers accounted
for another third of the blueline.
Michigan’s final two pieces were
incoming freshmen Cam York and
Keaton Pehrson.
Someone
would
have
to
show them the ropes, and that
responsibility fell on the shoulders
of Martin and Luce. It was their
job to pave the way for the younger
players. To lead by example.
And they’ve done exactly that.
As the season’s progressed,
Pearson’s concerns about the
Wolverines’ defense vanished. It
emerged as the strongest part of an
otherwise struggling team.
“They’ve done great,” Pearson
said. “Real pleasant surprise.
We’re committed more as a
team to playing better team
defense overall. That’s helped us
immensely. … We haven’t been
giving up as many outnumbered
rushes like we did last year or
turnovers. We’ve done a much
better job of managing the puck
this year.”
Until
recently,
Michigan’s
record didn’t reflect the defense’s
success. Earlier in the season, it
went winless through a period
of
seven
games.
When
the
Wolverines couldn’t rely on their
offense to produce, they relied
on the defense to keep the games
within reach. And they did just
that, losing four of the games by
only one goal.
After that string of games,
Michigan started collecting wins.
It split series with Wisconsin and
Penn State, largely because of its
defense. The Wolverines almost
posted a shutout against the sixth-
ranked offense in the nation,
beating the Nittany Lions, 4-1.
While the team wasn’t climbing
in the rankings, its defense
— currently ranked seventh in
scoring — was. Allowing just 2.14
goals per game, Michigan owes a
large part of its sustained success
to its six defensemen and Mann.
“Up until after Christmas, we
didn’t really score much,” Pearson
said. “We needed to be good
defensively to sort of hang around
until we got our legs underneath
us and started running instead of
crawling.”
Much
of
the
Wolverines’
defensive success is attributed to
its anchor, Mann. Rightfully so, as
there’s a handful
of games where
he was the reason
Michigan
won.
But the skaters in
front of him have
played a pivotal
role too.
York
and
Pehrson
have
found their roles
on
the
team.
They’ve
settled
in and managed the pressure
well. They’ve avoided getting
overwhelmed — something that’s
often a challenge for younger
players to do when their team’s
struggling.
Summers and Blankenburg have
made strides, too. Both of them add
offense from the blueline.
And then there’s Martin and
Luce. Through the loss of three key
defenders and all the Wolverines’
struggles, their roles increased
exponentially. With the team
relying on them and the spotlight
pointed their way, they’ve shown
nothing but confidence and focus.
“I’ve gotten a lot more confident
with the puck and with my feet,”
Martin said. “And just working
on my mental game. (Director of
Athletic Counseling) Greg Harden
has been unbelievable for me. He’s
just helped me in so many areas.
Just growing mentally and taking
strides there. It’s done wonders for
my game on the ice.”
All these factors — Mann,
Martin, Luce’s confidence and the
underclassmen’s efforts — are the
reason why Michigan’s defense
has found so much success in its
last three weekend series.
On the road against then-No.
14 Notre Dame on Jan. 10-11, the
Wolverines allowed only one goal
on the weekend. After giving up a
goal in the first few minutes of the
Saturday game, the defense settled
down and paved the way for
Michigan to make its comeback.
This trend continued the next
weekend at then-No. 6 Penn State.
In the Friday night game, the
Wolverines kept the Nittany Lions
off the scoresheet. The following
night, the defense lagged a bit,
allowing four goals, but Michigan
managed to steal the extra point in
double overtime.
“It’s
nice
to
score
six
goals
like we did at
Penn
State,”
Pearson
said.
“But it’s the zero
that’s important.
If you do that,
you’re going to
win some games.
Defense has to be
paramount to this
team.”
Last weekend, the Wolverines
split with then-No. 11 Ohio State.
They surrendered four goals to the
Buckeyes on Saturday night, after
giving up only one the night before.
Even so, Michigan significantly
limited
Ohio
State’s
scoring
chances.
Four goals is uncharacteristic
for Michigan’s blueline, but a
bad game hasn’t ever rattled the
defense. It’s always been able to
bounce back and come out strong
the next night.
“You can’t put enough emphasis
on it,” Pearson said. “You’re going
to go through stretches like that
where you don’t score and you’re
pressing. But if you don’t give
anything up then you don’t need
as much. It’s critical. It’s vital to
having success and for us to turn it
(the season) around.”
‘M’ looking to follow success of 2019
Sometimes having the best
season in program history may
lead to a feeling of complacency —
satisfaction in a day’s work.
Not for the Michigan women’s
lacrosse team. After a 2019
campaign that saw a shattered
record in the win column and
first NCAA Tournament bid, the
team is approaching 2020 with
the ambition to build on what it
did last year.
“I think the team has returned
with even more hunger than we
had last year,” Michigan coach
Hannah
Nielsen
said.
“And
they know and have that belief
from last year of what we can
accomplish.”
It’s pretty easy to transition to
a new season when there aren’t
a lot of questions surrounding
the team. And when you return
eight starters who contributed
to 77 percent of your team’s
points, there really aren’t a lot of
questions to be asked.
One of those starters, junior
attacker
Caitlin
Muir,
broke
both the program single-season
goals and assists records last year
with 59 and 21, respectively. This
returning offense means the team
can spend less time adjusting to
new additions and simply carry
the momentum from last year.
The list of returning starters
also includes all three of the
Wolverines’ captains — senior
defenseman Maggie Handlan,
senior goalie Alli Kothari and
senior midfielder Molly Garrett.
“Being a captain last year was
a very big honor just as it is this
year, too,” Garrett said. “And I
think having that experience and
a year under my belt especially
with Allie and Maggie, who are
also returning captains makes us
stronger, more experienced and
have that knowledge of how we
should handle things.”
This knowledge will help a
lot with the transition for the
younger players — either from
high school to college games or
from a less prominent role to
carrying more of the load.
Nielsen also thought there
were a lot of younger players
who were ready to step into more
prominent roles this season.
“(Sophomore
midfielder)
Kaitlyn Mead is one that I think,”
Nielsen said. “Just her body size
and her strength and her athletic
ability alone, she’s capable of so
much and is improving with the
game-sense side as well.”
Nielsen
seemed
optimistic
about many of the other young
players as well, and thinks by the
end of the season a lot of them
should be able to contribute even
more.
These players, in combination
with all of the returning starters,
have the chance to shoot even
higher than they did last year.
Though, there is still one thing
that stands in their way.
The Big Ten has been ruled
lately by two national powers:
Northwestern
and
defending
national
champion
Maryland.
All three of the Wolverines’
conference losses last season
were to these teams.
“We certainly want to be
competing with Maryland and
Northwestern, who have been
the top dogs in the conference
for the last five years,” Nielsen
said. “It seems so with how we’ve
been performing, I think it’s a
possibility.”
Last season, the Wildcats
ended Michigan’s conference title
hopes with a 19-9 victory in the
Big Ten Tournament semifinal.
This is the type of game that
the Wolverines hope to not only
compete in this year, but win.
The Terrapins, though, are
a whole different animal. The
defending national champions
dominated Michigan, 14-3, in
College Park last season.
“Obviously, we want to be
competing at the top,” Nielsen
said. “We got our minds set on
going one further and making
that
Big
Ten
Championship
game.”
ABBY SNYDER
Daily Sports Writer
MILES MACKLIN/Daily
Senior center Austin Davis scored 11 points with three rebounds against Ohio State on Tuesday night in a 61-58 loss.
JACK KINGSLEY
Daily Sports Writer
EMMA MATI/Daily
The Michigan women’s basketball team turned its season around.
HOCKEY
MOLLY SHEA
Daily Sports Writer
We’ve done a
much better job
of managing
the puck.
SPENCER RAINES
Daily Sports Writer
KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Michigan coach Hannah Nielsen says making the Big Ten Championship game is her team’s goal this season.