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Sports
Wednesday, February 19, 2020 — 7A
Fatigue catching up to Michigan
Prior to Sunday, the Michigan
women’s basketball team had lost
just two of its six games without
senior forward Kayla Robbins
— both to No. 18 Northwestern,
both by single digits.
Without
sophomore
guard
Danielle Rauch, who suffered
a hand injury in practice three
games after Robbins went down,
the Wolverines had won two of
three.
But with the absence of
Robbins and Rauch, almost every
other player on the roster had to
play significantly more minutes
than they had before. While
many players were able to handle
playing more for a while, fatigue
clearly hurt Michigan in a 62-41
loss to Rutgers on Sunday.
Junior forward Hailey Brown
played over 35 minutes in three
of the first six games without
Robbins, and only played less in
the others due to foul trouble.
Prior to Robbins’ injury, she
rarely ever played 30 minutes.
But despite playing more than
she ever had, Brown was just as
effective, shooting 37 percent
from 3-point range over this
stretch.
Senior
guard
Akienreh
Johnson averaged 33.5 minutes
over the six games, a six minute
increase over her per-game
average with Robbins and Rauch
healthy. And with her uptick
in minutes, she was playing her
best basketball of the season,
averaging 13.8 points and 8.3
rebounds per game, all while
guarding
opponents’
biggest
perimeter threat.
“My role has stepped up
where I have to bring more
energy,”Johnson said after a Jan.
26 win over Rutgers. “I have to
bring the steals that (Robbins)
got, bring the charges that she
got, defend the best player like
she did, get offensive rebounds
like she did.”
But Barnes Arico knew that
the players wouldn’t always be
able to handle playing so many
minutes as well as they had, and
she would have to figure out how
to keep them fresh.
“We tried to utilize some
timeouts tonight,” Barnes Arico
said after a Feb. 6 win over
Purdue. “I think we made them
stay seated until the end of the
timeout. Sometimes we run out
there a little bit quicker. But
tonight we were saying ‘Nope.
Stay here until that horn blows
and rest your legs.’ ”
While Brown and Johnson
both stepped up over the six-
game stretch and the Wolverines
were playing as well as they had
all season, Sunday against the
Scarlet Knights the injuries and
fatigue finally caught up with
them.
Brown scored just four points
on 1-for-9 shooting — 1-for-
6 from deep — in 31 minutes.
Johnson
scored
just
three
points
on
1-for-8
shooting
in 36 minutes. Behind these
performances, Michigan played
its worst game of the season. It
shot just 30 percent from the
floor and got out-rebounded by
Rutgers, issues only magnified
by a less-than-full-strength Naz
Hillmon totaling five points and
four rebounds.
“There’s definitely a fatigue,”
Barnes
Arico
said
Sunday.
“When you look at the minutes
that we’ve accumulated this
week, and haven’t really had a
day off, and I just think it was the
wear of Rutgers too. It’s a credit
to them, too. We couldn’t get
anything to get going offensively,
and then rebounding, they really
dominated on the glass, which
last time we beat them on the
glass.”
The Wolverines could have
used Robbins’s ability to get
tough baskets when not much
else is working for the offense.
They could have used Rauch’s
energy to motivate them at a time
when they didn’t have much.
For the first time all season, it
was clear that Michigan missed
Robbins and Rauch.
Going
forward,
while
Michigan’s schedule gets easier,
the team doesn’t have much
time to recover between games.
With just two days off between
Sunday’s loss and a Wednesday
night game against Illinois, the
Wolverines don’t have much
time to rest up and get their legs
back. Hillmon doesn’t have much
time to get back to 100 percent.
When Robbins and Rauch
went down, Michigan knew
fatigue would become an issue.
For a while, the Wolverines won
despite it, but Sunday showed
that they can’t always rely on
players like Brown and Johnson
to play nearly 40 minutes of
high-quality basketball.
And if Michigan’s season is
going to end in a tournament bid,
it is going to come despite a lack
of depth. Because with Robbins
and Rauch not coming back, the
problem is likely not going away
any time soon.
Clay’s six goals lead ‘M’ to 16-8 win
It took nearly the entire first
quarter, but once Michigan’s
offense clicked, there was no
turning back.
The
Wolverines
had
mustered only two goals for
a majority of the first quarter
until they finally erupted for
four in the final 80 seconds.
Their hot start propelled them
to a 16-goal outburst. Led by
dominant performances from
the attack line, the Michigan
men’s lacrosse team (2-1) was
able to cruise to its second
victory of the year, throttling
Canisius (0-3), 16-8.
Junior
attackman
Kevin
Mack — who recorded a first
quarter hat trick — ended with
four goals on the day. Freshman
attackman Josh Zawada has
continued to excel early on in
his career as he produced two
goals and four assists. Zawada
is now tied for the team lead
in
points
with
sophomore
attackman Bryce Clay.
Clay,
who
boosted
his
season total to 13 points, had
no problems finding the back
of the cage either as he netted
six goals. This performance
not only set his career high, but
matched the Michigan record
for goals in a single game.
Despite his successes, he has
his eyes set on bigger things.
“It was pretty cool,” Clay
said. “But I’m gonna focus on
the team win.”
That
focus
was
exactly
what allowed the Wolverines
to dictate every facet of the
game. They were set up with a
barrage of opportunities early
on, largely due to their ferocity
in the riding game. The Golden
Griffins managed to clear only
two of their six chances and
were plagued by turnovers.
“The ride really triggered
our offense,” Michigan coach
Kevin Conry said. “We weren’t
clicking on all cylinders in the
first quarter, and then a couple
good rides were able to fuel the
offense.”
Canisius was able to get on
the board early in the second
and cut the lead to 7-2 by a pair
of goals by Mathi Boissonneault.
This run was immediately put
to rest by back-to-back goals
by Zawada to Clay, giving the
Wolverines a commanding 9-2
lead.
They would
extend
the
lead
to
11-3
and head to the
locker room in
a
comfortable
position.
One
of
the
biggest factors
behind
their
overwhelming
first half was
senior face-off
specialist Matt Dellacroce. He
won a remarkable nine of 10 at
the center x and scooped up six
groundballs before the break.
While Dellacroce was happy
with those accomplishments,
perhaps the most memorable
one came in the first quarter
when he buried his first career
goal.
“It’s incredible, it’s a long
time coming,” Dellacroce said.
“But, I just have to credit that
to all the practice we’ve done.”
The face-off group has been
instrumental in his success this
season.
“We’re
all
super
close,”
Dellacroce said. “But when it
comes down to it in practice,
we’re probably one of the most
competitive
groups
on
the
field.”
Michigan would tack on five
more goals in the third quarter.
The Zawada to Clay connection
remained
unstoppable
and
senior
midfielder
Christian
Ford contributed a career-high
two goals.
By the start of the fourth,
the Wolverines were in cruise
control.
Their
16-5
lead
allowed Conry to incorporate
some of his less
experienced
players.
Canisius
would
outscore
Michigan 3-0 in
the final period,
but
the
game
had been long
decided.
Even
though
the
Wolverines were
comfortable throughout, there
is still room for growth.
“I just think playing for
60 full minutes,” Conry said.
“Especially a young team, we
have to keep the same intensity
and the same tempo throughout
an entire 60 minutes.”
This will be crucial for the
Wolverines moving forward
as the schedule ramps up.
The
team
faces
national
powerhouses Yale and Notre
Dame in the non-conference
and will have to go through the
gauntlet that is the Big Ten.
“Not letting up off the gas
pedal,” Clay said. “Especially
playing in the Big Ten, it’s
gonna be a dogfight the entire
game.”
Until then, Michigan has
its eyes set on a date with
Merrimack
this
Saturday.
These early tests will serve as
building blocks for the team
and its young core.
Team effort leads Wolverines to win
One step at a time.
It was a simple approach
but it was all that sophomore
Maddie Mariani needed to
propel herself to a career best
performance on the beam. She
earned a 9.900 for her routine,
but none of it came as a shock to
her coach.
“Those routines I see from
her in the gym every single
day,”
Michigan
coach
Bev
Plocki said. “I was just glad that
she was able to get up there and
compete.”
And it wasn’t just Mariani.
All the Wolverines stepped
up to lead the No. 7 Michigan
women’s
gymnastics
team
(7-0 overall, 5-0 Big Ten) to a
196.800-195.975 win over Iowa
(4-6, 1-4) Friday night.
“This team has just been
focused all year,” Plocki said.
“Overall, I’m happy with our
performance.”
Michigan led off on the
uneven bars and got out to an
early lead, 49.250-48.875. They
were paced by freshman Sierra
Brooks, who earned a 9.900
— her best mark in any of the
four events. Brooks compiled
a 39.475 to take the all around
title, her third of the season.
The team moved to the
vault and continued to put
the pressure on. A trifecta of
Wolverines earned scores of
9.875 to share the vault title.
Among them was sophomore
Abby Heiskell, who scored a
career best in her first vault
routine since the opening meet.
Michigan remained ahead
98.525-97.875
through
two
events.
The
Wolverines
headed to the
floor in what
turned out to be
their strongest
showing of the
day. Freshman
Gabby
Wilson
danced
and
tumbled
her
way to a 9.900
to lead the field.
Michigan claimed four of the
top five finishes on floor and
had an overall score of 49.300.
The
Wolverines
extended
their lead to 147.825-146.800
as they switched to their final
event — the beam.
“Before beam we had a team
meeting,” Mariani said. “We all
felt super confident going into
(it).”
It was there that Mariani
thrived. She blew past her
previous career high of 9.875
and flipped her way to a 9.900.
Her approach was the same
as
always.
This
time,
the
execution was just better.
“I
didn’t
do
anything
differently.” Mariani said. “I
just felt more confident going
into it.”
Her
performance
sealed
the deal for Michigan and the
Wolverines took
home the win,
196.800-195.975.
They
remain
undefeated
and took down
another Big Ten
opponent,
now
turning
their
attention to the
Big
Five
meet
next
weekend,
where
they’ll
look to finish unbeaten in
conference play for a second
year in a row.
“We love our record of
dominance in the Big Ten,”
Plocki said. “We want to keep
that string going.”
Added Mariani: “I’m feeling
really great about the team.
We’re definitely coming for
that regular season title.”
JOSH TAUBMAN
Daily Sports Writer
SAM BERNARDI
For The Daily
JACK KINGSLEY
Daily Sports Writer
MILES MACKLIN/Daily
The Michigan women’s basketball team lost to Rutgers, 62-41, on Sunday.
Hutchins hoping for improvement
Michigan is perfect — in
record, at least.
The Wolverines are 9-0,
ranked No. 8 in the country and
have outscored their opponents
by a total of 25 runs. Three
of the nine wins have come
against ranked opponents. At
first glance, the numbers are
impressive; signs of a team
playing elite softball, even
against high tier opponents.
But it’s not good enough.
Not
for
coach
Carol
Hutchins.
The team needs to improve.
And it has plenty to improve
upon, according to its coach.
“I didn’t think we were
very sharp,” Hutchins said.
“We missed at least four or
five opportunities that were
all but routine pop flys. And
bunts. We made a couple errors
there.”
The
miscues
were
mainly attributed to lack of
communication and lack of
experience. Michigan has a
new catcher, a new second
baseman, a new first baseman
and a new third baseman. On
top of that, juniors Lou Allan
and Taylor Bump are splitting
time at first and third base.
The only returning starting
infielder is junior shortstop
Natalia Rodriguez.
The
remedy
to
the
inexperience: live situations.
Hutchins noted that live
drills have been an integral
part of practice this week to
address the errors in the field.
They forced the players into
communicating and making
plays together, gearing them
up for the upcoming weekend.
While fighting through the
growing pains, the infield has
looked to Rodriguez, its pillar
of consistency.
“I’m going to have a lot of
voice in the infield,” Rodriguez
said. “Taking charge on plays
and stuff like that. Some of
my teammates say I’m like a
common presence, so I try to
maintain that on the field.”
As a member of Hutchins’s
designated leadership team,
this is expected of Rodriguez.
Notching nine putouts and 11
assists in Michigan’s first nine
games with a 1.000 fielding
percentage, she leads through
her play as well
as
her
voice.
Knowing
this,
Rodriguez
takes it upon
herself to help
her teammates
improve.
“I
look
to
push
my
teammates,”
Rodriguez said.
“It’s good for a
competitive drive. I want the
people next to me to excel in
their game.”
While
Rodriguez
helped
to answer the team’s fielding
problems, Hutchins was also
working on the other side of
the ball.
“I think offensively we keep
trying to get better,” Hutchins
said. “I don’t think we’re
hitting as well as we need to
hit. We let a lot of pitches get
away from us.”
The struggle has led to run
droughts and close games for
Michigan. Four of its nine
wins were only by one run.
One of those was a 1-0 win
against Fresno State in the
ninth inning, a game that could
easily have been lost without
dominant performances from
junior
left-hander
Meghan
Beaubien
and
sophomore
right-hander Alex Storako.
Hutchins
believes
the
Wolverines
need to improve
every
pitch.
She’s
preached
her
one
pitch
mentality to her
team the entire
season.
She’s
materialized
the mentality in
practice, having
the batters take single pitch at
bats. A ball or a hit? You win.
Anything else? You’re out.
The Wolverines are staring
down the pipe at matchups
against five top 25 teams in the
next two weeks, including the
No.1 and No. 2 teams — UCLA
and Washington, respectively.
As Hutchins sees it, Michigan
will have to be better.
The path to this improvement
is known throughout the team.
“You’ll hear Hutch say it over
and over again,” Bump said.
“One pitch softball, one pitch
softball, one pitch softball.”
NICHOLAS STOLL
Daily Sports Writer
ASHA LEWIS/Daily
Sophomore Maddie Mariani earned a career-best 9.900 on the beam Friday night, helping Michigan defeat Iowa.
We’re definitely
coming for that
regular season
title.
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Attackman Bryce Clay tied a Michigan record with six goals in Tuesday’s win.
A couple good
rides were
able to fuel the
offense.
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Junior shortstop Natalia Rodriguez is Michigan’s only returning infield starter.
You hear Hutch
say it over and
over again. One
pitch softball.