Weekly Release #2

Upcoming Schedule
Friday, Nov. 17 -- vs. Louisiana Tech (Crisler Arena), 7 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 19 -- vs. Washington (Crisler Arena), 7 p.m.
Fri-Sun., Nov. 24-26 -- at Asahi Rainbow Classic (Honolulu, Hawaii)
   Nov. 24 -- vs. Arkansas, 11:10 a.m. HST
   Nov. 25 -- vs. N.C. State or Northern Illinois, 9 a.m. or 3:30 p.m. HST
   Nov. 26 -- Championship Round, TBA

Opening Tip
The University of Michigan women's basketball team opens its 2000-01 season with a pair of home contests at Crisler Arena this weekend. The Wolverines host Louisiana Tech (No. 8 ESPN/USA Today, No. 9 AP) on Friday (Nov. 17) at Crisler Arena. Two days later on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. the Maize and Blue hosts Washington in front of the home crowd. This is the first time Michigan has played Washington since the 1991 season, while the Wolverines are facing Louisiana Tech for the third straight campaign.

Scouting Louisiana Tech
Louisiana Tech enters Crisler Arena on Friday (Nov. 17) with a 2-0 mark on the season after defeating Tennessee-Chatanooga (69-52) and Rice (85-54) at home in the first two rounds of the preseason WNIT, and will play Virginia on Sunday (Nov. 19) in the WNIT semifinals in West Lafayette, Ind. The Lady Techsters are led in scoring (19 ppg) and rebounding (11.5 rpg) by 6-2 junior center Ayana Walker. Louisiana Tech is shooting .452 (57-126) from the field in its first two contests, while holding its opponents to a mark of .287 (29-101).

   All-Time Series: LTU leads, 2-0
   Last Meeting: LTU won, 84-64 at Ruston, La. (12/13/99)

Scouting Washington
Washington opens its season on Friday (Nov. 17) at Indiana before traveling to Ann Arbor to face Michigan on Sunday (Nov. 19). Washington was 2-0 in exhibition play, defeating Bay Area Pro-Am (102-68) and RTU Clondica, Lativa (98-84). Starting forward Kellie O'Neil collected a team-best 17 points and 10 boards in the win over RTU. In the win over Bay Area, starting guard Megan Franza dropped in 23 points on 9-16 shooting, including 2-5 from beyond the arc. Washington was 8-22 overall in 1999-2000 and finished ninth in the Pac-10 with a mark of 4-14.

   All-Time Series: UW leads, 1-0
   Last Meeting: UW won, 67-62 at Seattle, Wa. (12/27/91)

A Year Ago
Michigan's game vs. Louisiana Tech on Friday (Nov. 17) is a rematch of a tight battle between these teams one year ago in Ruston, La. Paced by 20 points from departed forward Stacey Thomas (1997-2000), the Wolverines jumped out to a 10-point lead (36-26) with 2:16 remaining in the first half and took a 39-36 lead into intermission. Current junior Raina Goodlow (Detroit, Mich./Dominican HS) collected 16 points, but the Wolverines were not able to hold on for the victory as the Lady Techsters pulled away for the 84-64 victory.

Wolverines Close Preseason with Exhibition Win
Michigan won its final tune-up prior to the regular season with an 86-74 win over the Houston Jaguars on Monday (Nov. 13) at Crisler Arena. Junior guard Alayne Ingram (Lansing, Mich./Waverly HS) led Michigan to its second win in as many exhibition contests with a team-best 22 points on 9-16 shooting, including 3-7 from the three-point line. Sophomore center LeeAnn Bies (Lakeview, Mich./Lakeview HS) contributed 18 points and a team-high eight rebounds.

Dishing It Out
In its two exhibition victories, Michigan has collected 41 assists (20.5 apg), including 11 assists (5.5 apg) from senior point guard Anne Thorius (Horsholm, Denmark/Rungsted Gymnasium). Junior forward Heather Oesterle (Mason, Mich./Mason HS) has followed Thorius' lead with eight assists (4.0 apg) in the two Michigan wins. In addition, Thorius' backcourt mate, Alayne Ingram, who led Michigan in scoring (19.5 ppg) in the two exhibition games, has handed out six assists without a turnover.

Versatility
Junior forward Heather Oesterle has been one of the more versatile Michigan performers in its two exhibition victories. Oesterle is second on the team in rebounding (7.0 rpg) and in assists (4.0 apg), while also averaging 11.5 points on 8-16 shooting.

Light Out
Sophomore center LeeAnn Bies has picked up where she left off in her freshman campaign. Through two exhibition games, Bies is shooting a sizzling .857 (12-14) from the floor and averaging 16.5 ppg. Bies is also leading the Wolverines off the glass with 7.5 rpg. Bies is getting help in the paint from freshman Jennifer Smith (Lansing, Mich./DeWitt HS), who is shooting .684 (13-19) and averaging 13.5 ppg.

Michigan and Big Ten Milestone Looming
Anne Thorius begins her last Wolverine season needing 14 assists to become the Wolverines' all-time assist leader. Lori Gnatkowski (1980-84) holds the record with 402. Thorius became the first U-M player to post 100 or more assists in three consecutive seasons in 1999-2000. As a freshman, the Horsholm, Denmark, native totaled 130 assists and followed that up with a 145-assist season as a sophomore. Last year, Thorius recorded 114 assists. Thorius needs 111 assists in her senior campaign to become the 12th player in Big Ten history to reach 500 for her career.

Quotes from Head Coach Sue Guevara
On the win over Houston ... "Again I was happy with our ball movement and I thought we did some nice things offensively against the zone. However, we need to work on our defense on the perimeter, but that is what these games are for. Now we have three days to correct what we need to correct to play a good team like Louisiana Tech."

On the home opener vs. Louisiana Tech ... "I am excited and I know our kids are excited. Louisiana Tech presents us with a great challenge and I enjoy the fact we are opening our season with a big-time game."

Preseason Recognition
Michigan received votes in both the Associated Press preseason Top 25 poll as well as in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches preseason Top 25 poll. The Wolverines received 35 points in the AP poll, which was the 36th highest total of the teams receiving votes. In the ESPN/USA Today poll, Michigan received 18 points, which was the 41st highest total of teams receiving votes in the coaches poll.

"I like the fact that we are gaining some recognition on a national level, but I am more anxious to see where we finish in March," said head coach Sue Guevara. There are four Big Ten teams represented in the top 25 of the coaches poll -- Purdue (6), Penn State (10), Wisconsin (23) and Illinois (24) -- while Iowa is two spots ahead of Michigan, with 23 points received. In the AP poll there are three Big Ten teams represented in the Top 25 -- Purdue (4), Penn State (13) and Wisconsin (18) -- with Illinois joining Michigan in the others receiving votes category, with 79.

Big Ten Preseason Stuff
Despite finishing runner-up in the Big Ten with a school record 13-3 conference mark in 2000 and returning four players with starting experience, Michigan was left out of the Big Ten preseason poll by both the coaches and the media. Both polls, which include only the top three teams, had Purdue as the preseason Big Ten favorite, followed by Penn State in second and Illinois and Wisconsin tying for third. The Wolverines were not represented on either Big Ten preseason All-Conference team, while Purdue senior Katie Douglas was the pick for preseason Player of the Year by both the media and the coaches.

Guevara Enters Fifth Season
Head coach Sue Guevara enters her fifth season at the helm of the Wolverine program. In her first four years, Guevara compiled a 74-41 overall mark. The 74 wins rank second all-time in school history, while her 64.3 winning percentage ranks first. Guevara opens the 2000-01 campaign needing 20 wins to become the winningest coach in Michigan women's basketball history. Bud VanDeWege (1984-92) won 93 games as U-M coach.

The media honored Guevara as the Big Ten Coach of the Year in 1999-2000 after she led the Wolverines to a school-record 13 Big Ten victories and a second-place finish in the league, the team's best-ever showing. U-M advanced to the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament and made the NCAA Tournament field for the second time under Guevara.

In the Role
Sue Guevara is joined on the bench by fifth-year assistants Yvette Harris and Eileen Shea, and first-year assistant coach Ron Mott. Yulonda Wimbish-Gay, who previously served as an assistant coach, moves over to the Director of Basketball Operations position.

The Schedule
Michigan faces a challenging and demanding schedule in 2000-01, playing 13 opponents that made postseason appearances in either the NCAA Tournament or the WNIT. Included is NCAA Women's Final Four participant Penn State, WNIT champion Wisconsin and NCAA Elite Eight finisher Louisiana Tech.

U-M opens its schedule facing Louisiana Tech at Crisler Arena on Nov. 17, and will face Pac-10 member Washington at Crisler on Nov. 19. Michigan begins Big Ten play on Dec. 28 with a road game at Illinois. The Wolverines will not have to travel far for the 2001 Big Ten Tournament, which will be held March 1-4 at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich.

WOLVERINE ROSTER (Stats from 1999-2000)

POSSIBLE STARTERS Yr. Ht. PPG RPG Other F 30 Heather Oesterle Jr. 6-0 4.1 2.3 .414 3FG F 32 Raina Goodlow Jr. 6-2 9.6 4.7 .518 FG C 44 LeAnn Bies So. 6-3 10.1 6.0 .494 FG G 24 Anne Thorius Sr. 5-11 9.6 4.0 3.9 apg G 40 Alayne Ingram Jr. 5-7 12.4 2.5 2.4 apg OFF THE BENCH F 10 Christie Schumacher Fr. 5-11 --- --- --- F 42 Katie Dykhouse Sr. 6-2 0.5 0.6 .273 FG C 54 Jennifer Smith Fr. 6-3 --- --- --- G 5 Michaela Leary Fr. 5-8 --- --- --- G 31 Infini Robinson So. 5-9 2.1 0.3 7.0 min ALSO AVAILABLE OFF THE BENCH F 33 Stephanie Gandy Fr. 5-10 --- --- --- G 4 Susana Jara Jr. 5-7 0.7 0.5 2.7 min