Weekly Release #7
12/22/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Upcoming Schedule
Thursday, Dec. 28 -- at Illinois (Champaign, Ill.), 7 p.m. CST
Saturday, Dec. 30 -- vs. Purdue (Crisler Arena), 2 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 4 -- vs. Wisconsin (Crisler Arena), 7 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 7 -- at Iowa (Iowa City, Iowa), 2 p.m. CST
| Michigan (7-3) at Illinois (4-6) | |
| When | Thursday, Dec. 28, 2000 (7 p.m. CST) |
| Site | Champaign, Ill. (Huff Gym/3,300) |
| Television | none |
| Radio | WDWS AM-1400 (Champaign) |
| Series Record | Illinois leads, 27-14 |
| Last Meeting | Michigan, 70-59 (2/3/00 in Ann Arbor, Mich.) |
| Coaches | Michigan -- Sue Guevara (Saginaw Valley, 1982) Overall: 81-44 (5th year); at U-M: same Illinois -- Theresa Grentz (Immaculata College, 1974) Overall: 560-211 (26th year); at Illinois: 103-62 (6th year) |
| Michigan (7-3) vs. #8 Purdue (10-3) | |
| When | Saturday, Dec. 30, 2000 (2 p.m.) |
| Site | Ann Arbor, Mich. (Crisler Arena/13,562) |
| Television | CBS (national television) |
| Radio | WTKA-1050 AM |
| Series Record | Purdue leads, 29-12 |
| Last Meeting | Purdue, 74-59 (3/4/00 at Big Ten Tournament, Indianapolis, Ind.) |
| Coaches | Michigan -- Sue Guevara (Saginaw Valley, 1982) Overall: 81-44 (5th year); at U-M: same Purdue -- Kristy Curry (Northeast Louisiana, 1988) Overall: 31-11 (2nd year); at Purdue: same |
Complete Release in PDF (10 pages, 61 KB)
Opening Tip
The University of Michigan women's basketball team, which is 7-3 overall, opens Big Ten action this week with a pair of tilts against teams picked among the top four in the conference preseason rankings. The Wolverines open up Big Ten action at Illinois on Thursday, Dec. 28 (7 p.m. CST) at Huff Hall in Champaign, Ill. Less than 48 hours later, Michigan faces eighth-ranked Purdue in front a national television audience on CBS on Saturday, Dec. 30 (2 p.m.) at Crisler Arena. The Wolverines return four players with starting experience from a team that finished a program-best second in the Big Ten last season.
On the Air
The Michigan-Illinois game (Dec. 28) is being aired on WDWS AM-1400, the Fighting Illini's flagship radio station in Champaign, Ill., with the broadcast being streamed on Illinois' website. In addition to national television coverage by CBS, the Michigan-Purdue (Dec. 30) contest will also be available via radio on WTKA AM-1050 in Ann Arbor as well as on the Internet at MGoBlue.com.
Scouting the Opponents
Illinois: Illinois is 1-2 at home this season ... the game vs. Michigan is Illinois' only home game played at Huff Gym this season ... After losing four straight, Illinois has won two of its last four, including a 92-74 win over Missouri in its last game ... Illinois has four players averaging double figures with Iveta Marcauskaite leading the way (12.0 ppg) ... Illinois on the Internet -- www.fightingillini.com.
Purdue: Purdue is 3-1 on the road this season ... Purdue is 2-3 vs. ranked opposition -- beating No. 14 Stanford and No. 25 Boston College and losing to No. 11 Louisiana Tech, No. 4 Notre Dame and No. 20 LSU ... Katie Douglas is Purdue's top scorer (15.3 ppg) and is a returning Kodak All-American from last season ... Purdue on the Internet -- www.purduesports.com.
The Last Time I
The last time Michigan and Illinois met was on Feb. 3, 2000, and the Wolverines defeated the then-No. 23 Fighting Illini 70-59 at Crisler Arena to give Michigan a season sweep of Illinois. Michigan senior point guard Anne Thorius (Horsholm, Denmark/Rungsted Gymnasium) matched her career high with 23 points on 7-11 shooting, including 2-2 from the beyond the arc. The Wolverines also defeated then-No. 12 Illinois 86-69 earlier in the 1999-2000 campaign at Champaign, Ill., for just the second time since 1990. Michigan's season sweep of Illinois a year ago was its first since 1990.
Goodlow Likes Illini
Michigan junior forward Raina Goodlow (Detroit, Mich./Dominican HS) enjoyed a pair of solid outings in Michigan's two wins over Illinois last season. In the two wins, Goodlow averaged 14 ppg and 7 rpg, including a season-best 17-point, 6-rebound effort in the win at Assembly Hall on Jan. 17, 2000. Michigan's win over Illinois that day was also aided by a career-best 12-rebound effort from then-freshman center LeeAnn Bies (Lakeview, Mich./Lakeview HS). Bies also netted 16 points, primarily due to 12-14 shooting from the charity stripe.
The Last Time II
Michigan's last meeting vs. Purdue was a 74-59 loss in the semifinals of the 2000 Big Ten Tournament. Anne Thorius led the Wolverines in the loss with 16 points, six rebounds and four assists. Michigan was held to just .290 (9-31) shooting in the first frame and was unable to recover. Michigan forward/guard Heather Oesterle (Mason, Mich./Mason HS) came off the bench to score 10 points and spark a Wolverine run that cut the lead to six (50-44), but that was as close as Michigan would get.
The Last Time III
Michigan and Purdue are meeting in front of a national television audience on CBS at Crisler Arena for the second consecutive season. On Jan. 8, 2000, the Wolverines defeated the then-No. 12 Boilermakers 74-67 behind an 18-point, five-rebound, four-assist effort from Anne Thorius. Four different Wolverines scored in double figures as Stacy Thomas (13), Raina Goodlow (10) and Alison Miller (12) joined Thorius in the double-digit scoring column. Thorius averaged 17 points, 5.5 rebounds and four assists in Michigan's two meetings vs. Purdue last season.
Another Ranked Foe Goes Down
In addition to Michigan's win over Louisiana Tech on Nov. 17, 2000, being its first ever over a Top-10 opponent, it also marked the 10th time Michigan has defeated a ranked opponent in its history. Eight of Michigan's 10 wins over ranked teams have come under coach Sue Guevara and since 1998, her second season at Michigan.
Michigan's All-Time Wins Over Ranked Foes
| 1/19/86 | 58-56 | vs. Iowa (17) |
| 2/18/90 | 70-68 (ot) | at Northwestern (15) |
| 1/9/98 | 67-59 | vs. Purdue (23) |
| 2/8/98 | 62-60 | at Purdue (23) |
| 2/28/98 | 79-70 | vs. Wisconsin (24) |
| 1/29/99 | 85-71 | vs. Ohio State (19) |
| 1/8/2000 | 74-67 | vs. Purdue (12) |
| 1/17/2000 | 86-69 | at Illinois (13) |
| 2/3/2000 | 70-59 | vs. Illinois (23) |
| 11/17/2000 | 69-66 | vs. Louisiana Tech (8) |
Hitting Their Mark
Michigan is on pace to set a school record for free throw percentage in a season. More than one-third of the way through their regular-season schedule, the Wolverines are shooting at a rate of .766 (183-239) from the charity stripe. The Michigan record for team free throw percentage in a single season is .739 and was set in 1985-86. Last season's Michigan squad is third on that list with a mark of .731. Michigan's mark of .766 is ranked second in the Big Ten, while junior guard Alayne Ingram (Lansing, Mich./Waverly HS) leads the conference with a percentage of .880 (22-25). Ingram's backcourt mate, Anne Thorius, is 12th in the conference with a mark of .788 from the charity stripe.
Michigan vs. 2000 NCAA Tournament Field
Illinois and Purdue mark the fourth and fifth Michigan opponents this season that participated in the 2000 NCAA Tournament. Michigan is 2-1 vs. 2000 NCAA Tournament opponents.
| 11/17 | vs. Louisiana Tech | W, 69-66 |
| 11/26 | vs. Stephen F. Austin | W, 74-49 |
| 12/10 | at Marquette | L, 58-67 |
Ingram Moves into Top 5
Junior guard Alayne Ingram leads the Wolverines with 14 three-point field goals this season and has moved up to No. 4 on Michigan's career three-point field goals list. Ingram now has 95 career three-point field goals.
U-M's Career Three-Point Field Goals Leaders
| 1. | Molly Murray (1994-98) | 134 |
| 2. | Jennifer Keifer (1993-94, 1995-97) | 102 |
| | Amy Johnson (1993-97) | 102 |
| 4. | Alayne Ingram (1998-current) | 95 |
| 5. | Jen Nuanes (1989-93) | 85 |
Settling In
Michigan freshman center Jennifer Smith (Lansing, Mich./DeWitt HS) has scored in double figures in five straight games and in six of seven since being inserted into the starting lineup vs. Northern Illinois in the fourth game of the season (Nov. 25). Since being inserted into the starting lineup Smith has averaged 11.6 pgg and 5.4 rpg. Smith's string of five consecutive games scoring in double figures is the longest such streak by any Wolverine this season.
Wolverines Return to Winning Ways
Following its 67-58 loss at Marquette on Dec. 10, which snapped a four-game win streak, the Wolverines got back on the winning track with a 77-71 win over Toledo at Crisler Arena on Saturday, Dec. 16. The Wolverines took a 34-32 lead into the intermission and extended their lead to double figures in the second half before holding off a late Toledo surge. Anne Thorius led the Michigan charge with 14 points -- all in the second half -- and a season-best tying 8 assists.
Thorius Sets School Record
Anne Thorius collected six assists in the win over Northern Illinois on Nov. 25 at the 2000 Asahi Rainbow Wahine Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii, to become the new Michigan career assists leader. Thorius broke the old mark of 402, which was set by Lori Gnatkowski from 1980-84. Thorius leads the Wolverines with 50 assists (5.0 apg) this season and now has 439 assists for her career. Thorius needs 61 more assists this season to become just the 12th player in Big Ten history to reach the 500-assist plateau.
Thorius Chases 1,000 Points
Anne Thorius is also inching close to becoming the first Wolverine to score 1,000 points and dish out 400 assists in a career. Thorius, who is averaging 8.5 ppg this season, has scored 949 points in her career and needs just 51 to reach that milestone. Thorius is currently 14th on Michigan's all-time scoring list.
Double Trouble
Michigan centers Jennifer Smith and LeeAnn Bies registered double-doubles in points and rebounds in the Wolverines' win over Western Michigan on Dec. 3 at the Women's Basketball Showcase in Grand Rapids, Mich. Smith set career highs with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Bies collected 14 points and a personal season-best 10 boards.
Second-Half Domination
During Michigan's four-game win streak from Nov. 25-Dec. 7, the Wolverines were at their best coming out of the locker room in the second half. Michigan outscored its opponents by an average of 42.3-25.0 in the second half during the win streak, including doubling up the second-half outputs of New Hampshire (52-26) and Western Michigan (46-23).
Wolverines Place Fifth at Wahine Classic
Michigan went 2-1 and placed fifth at the 2000 Asahi Rainbow Wahine Classic at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu, Hawaii, from Nov. 24-26. Michigan opened up with a 78-67 loss to Arkansas, before earning wins over Northern Illinois (78-57) and Stephen F. Austin (74-49) to garner fifth place. Junior guard Alayne Ingram led Michigan with a team season-best 21 points in the loss to Arkansas. Michigan was outscored 24-3 in three-pointers in the loss. Four Wolverines scored in double figures, led by 15 from Raina Goodlow on 7-7 shooting, in the win over Northern Illinois. Freshman Stephanie Gandy led Michigan with 17 points to go with a career-best 8 rebounds in the win over Stephen F. Austin.
All-Tournament Recognition
Junior shooting guard Alayne Ingram was the lone Wolverine representative on the 22nd Annual Asahi Rainbow Wahine Classic All-Tournament Team. Ingram led the Wolverines in scoring (14.0 ppg) in the three-game tournament, while also shooting .400 (4-10) from the three-point line. In addition, Ingram was second in assists (3.66 apg) for the tournament.
Block Party
Michigan's 11 blocks recorded in the win over Stephen F. Austin is a season best and is tied for the sixth most ever collected by a Wolverine team in a single game. Sophomore center LeeAnn Bies led the Wolverines with a team season-best four blocks. Here are Michigan's top six team block performances:
| 16 vs. New Mexico State | 12/3/99 |
| 14 vs. Indiana | 1/13/79 |
| 13 vs. Old Dominion | 12/30/92 |
| 13 vs. Adrian | 12/18/78 |
| 12 vs. Wayne State | 1/30/82 |
| 11 vs. Notre Dame | 1/20/79 |
| 11 vs. Stephen F. Austin | 11/26/00 |
First-Ever Win Over Top-10 Opponent
Michigan opened its 2000-01 season with its first-ever win over a Top-10 opponent as the Wolverines took down then-No. 8 Louisiana Tech on Nov. 17 in front of the home crowd at Crisler Arena. The Michigan win was paced by junior forward Raina Goodlow, who led the Wolverines with 17 points. Michigan' victory was also aided by a double-double in points (14) and rebounds (10) from senior point guard Anne Thorius. The Wolverines out-shot La. Tech 28-14 from the free throw line and held the Lady Techsters to just .385 (25-65) shooting from the field. The highest ranked team Michigan had defeated prior to La. Tech was No. 12 and defending national champion Purdue 74-67 at Crisler on Jan. 8, 2000.
Career Best
Anne Thorius's 10 boards recorded in the win over Louisiana Tech was a career high for the senior point guard. Her previous best was eight, which she recorded in Michigan's 81-74 loss to Stanford in the first round of last season's NCAA Tournament.
Guevara Enters Fifth Season
Head coach Sue Guevara is in 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 opened 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 Final Four participant Penn State, WNIT champion Wisconsin and NCAA Elite Eight finisher Louisiana Tech. 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.
Big Ten Standings (through Dec. 21)
Big Ten Overall Ohio State 0-0 .000 10-0 1.000 Indiana 0-0 .000 9-2 .818 Purdue 0-0 .000 10-3 .769 Penn State 0-0 .000 8-3 .727 MICHIGAN 0-0 .000 7-3 .700 Minnesota 0-0 .000 6-3 .667 Wisconsin 0-0 .000 5-3 .625 Michigan State 0-0 .000 6-5 .545 Iowa 0-0 .000 5-5 .500 Northwestern 0-0 .000 4-6 .400 Illinois 0-0 .000 4-6 .333
WOLVERINE ROSTER (2000-01 Stats)
POSSIBLE STARTERS Yr. Ht. PPG RPG Other F 33 Stephanie Gandy Fr. 5-10 6.3 3.2 --- F 32 Raina Goodlow Jr. 6-2 12.3 4.2 --- C 54 Jennifer Smith Fr. 6-3 9.1 4.7 --- G 24 Anne Thorius Sr. 5-11 8.5 4.3 5.0 apg G 40 Alayne Ingram Jr. 5-7 11.4 2.9 3.6 apg OFF THE BENCH F 10 Christie Schumacher Fr. 5-11 0.9 1.5 --- F 30 Heather Oesterle Jr. 6-0 8.2 3.9 2.6 apg G 5 Michaela Leary Fr. 5-8 2.4 2.0 --- G 31 Infini Robinson So. 5-9 3.1 0.6 --- C 44 LeAnn Bies So. 6-3 10.6 7.1 1.1 bpg ALSO AVAILABLE OFF THE BENCH F 42 Katie Dykhouse Sr. 6-2 1.2 0.5 --- G 4 Susana Jara Jr. 5-7 0.7 1.0 ---
BY THE NUMBERS IN 2000
Home Record 4-1 Road Record 0-1 Neutral Record 3-1 In November 3-2 In December 4-1 In January 0-0 In February 0-0 In March 0-0 In Overtime Games 0-0 When Leading at the Half 6-1 When Trailing at the Half 1-2 When tied at the Half 0-0 When Scoring 60 of Fewer Points 0-1 When Scoring Between 61-70 Points 1-2 When Scoring 71-80 Points 3-0 When Scoring 81-90 Points 3-0 When Scoring 90 or More Points 0-0 When Allowing 60 or Fewer Points 4-0 When Allowing Between 61-70 Points 2-1 When Allowing 71-80 Points 1-2 When Allowing 81-90 Points 0-0 When Allowing 90 or More Points 0-0 When Shooting Higher FG Percentage 5-0 When Shooting 50 Percent or Better 1-0 When Shooting Higher 3-point FG Pct. 7-0 When Shooting 30% or better 3-pt. FG Pct. 5-0 When Allowing 30% or better 3-pt. FG Pct. 1-2 When Outrebounding Opponent 4-1 When Outrebounded by Opponent 2-2 When Recording More Assists 6-0 When Opponent records more assists 1-3 When Blocking More Shots 4-0 When Opponent Blocks More Shots 1-0 When Recording More Steals 3-0 When Opponent Records More Steals 4-2 When Recording Fewer Turnovers 4-1 When Recording More Turnovers 3-2
Contact: Rich Marion (734) 763-4423
