Michigan
Minnesota
Weary Wolverines Fall to Golden Gophers
1/10/1999 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Site:Â Ann Arbor, Mich. (Crisler Arena)
Score:Â Minnesota 54, Michigan 47
Records:Â Michigan (9-4, 1-2 Big Ten), Minnesota (6-9, 1-4 Big Ten)
Next U-M Game:Â Friday, Jan. 15 -- at Wisconsin (Madison, Wis.), 7 p.m. CST
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Playing its third game in six days and coming off a disappointing loss to fifth-ranked Louisiana Tech a day earlier, the University of Michigan women's basketball team was unable to rebound against the Minnesota on Sunday evening (Jan. 10), falling 54-47 to the Golden Gophers. Minnesota claimed its first win over Michigan in six tries, winning despite a 19-point second-half effort.
The Wolverines shot just 27.9 percent from the floor and 15 percent from long range while sinking 85.7 percent of their shots from the foul line. Michigan did manage to out-rebound the Gophers, 44-39, and forced 23 turnovers. Junior captain Stacey Thomas (Flint, Mich./Southwestern Academy) led all scorers with 18 points, recording her third straight double-double with 10 rebounds.
From the onset, Michigan appeared sluggish, scoring just six points in the opening five minutes. Minnesota went on an 11-0 run to go up 28-12 at the 6:08 mark. Freshman forward Ruth Kipping (Quincy, Ill./Quincy HS) finally stopped the U-M scoring drought with a layup at 5:12. After that, Thomas scored seven of her 18 points to bring Michigan within nine at the half, 35-26.
The Wolverines came out a bit quicker in the second session, scoring four unanswered points to bring them within five, 35-30, on a Thomas jump shot. After a free throw from Alison Miller (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven HS), Michigan was shut out for over four minutes, allowing Minnesota to pad its lead. Theresa LeCuyer's bucket at 12:52 gave Minnesota a 43-31 lead, forcing Michigan coach Sue Guevara to call a 20-second timeout.
Again, Thomas pulled through, this time with a triple. Two more layups from junior Kenisha Walker (Grand Rapids, Mich./Creston HS) and Ann Lemire (Fairgrove, Mich./Frankenmuth HS) brought Michigan back within five, 43-38, but Minnesota's three-point shooting kept pushing it ahead. At 2:02, Lemire brought Michigan within three on three-pointer from Heather Oesterle (Mason, Mich./Mason HS), but six straight Gopher free throws gave them their first Big Ten Conference win of the season and just their sixth victory overall.
Joining Thomas in double figures was Lemire with 10 points. Miller reached double figures on the boards with 11.
NOTES
• Michigan dropped its third straight game after recording nine straight victories. The Wolverines are winless in January 1999.
• Michigan's 47 points was its lowest offensive output since scoring 44 in a loss at Purdue in 1997.
• Stacey Thomas has 18 steals in the last four games (4.5 spg), including seven at Indiana on Dec. 28.
QUOTES
Michigan Coach Sue Guevara
"My worst nightmare just came true. For every tiny step we took forward yesterday against Louisiana Tech, we took 10 steps back today. You want to take your frustrations out on Minnesota from yesterday, but as much as we talked about refocusing on today, we just didn't. You can chalk that up to an immature team. We had players in outer space, in the ozone.
"I tried chewing them out, I tried tough love, I tried changing people. Nothing worked. We were switching everyone except Alison (Miller) so that we could get in the passing lanes to get deflections and steals. We just weren't there."
"I'm really disappointed in this program and the direction we're going."
"I don't think we were physically tired, we were mentally tired. Stacey (Thomas), Anne (Thorius) and Ann (Lemire) played 36-37 minutes last night. I thought, 'Here's a chance for Heather (Oesterle), Alayne (Ingram) and Ruthie (Kipping) to get in and play.' But we don't have any energy coming off the bench."
Minnesota Coach Cheryl Littlejohn
"This is our first conference win, and to get it on the road is exciting for this team. It's a confidence builder. We had time to prepare for this game, and we executed. Our game plan was to keep the ball out of the middle. Michigan does a great job inside and we wanted to keep them off the boards. We also wanted to pressure their guards. We've been having lulls in our offense, so we had to execute on offense tonight and we did."
"I have to give credit where credit is due. Our team did an excellent job. We practiced all week long so we didn't really have time off."
