Michigan
Illinois
Thorius Keys Second-Half Comeback Against Illinois
2/3/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- For the first 20 minutes it looked as if the University of Michigan women's basketball team was still sleeping. However, the Wolverines roared out of the locker room after halftime, outscoring Illinois 41-26 en route to a 70-59 win over the No. 23-ranked Fighting Illini on Thursday evening (Feb. 3) at Crisler Arena.
It is the third time this season that Michigan has beaten a ranked opponent. The Wolverines also beat then No. 12 Purdue 74-67 on Jan. 8 and then No. 13 Illinois 86-69 on Jan. 17.
Junior point guard Anne Thorius (Horsholm, Denmark/Rungsted Gymnasium) sparked the Wolverine comeback, posting 23 second-half points. Thorius, who had just one assist and one board in the first half, scored nine of her 23 points in the first six minutes after the break in helping Michigan erase a 33-29 halftime deficit to pull ahead 46-42 with 13:18 to go.
Michigan shot 50 percent (13-of-26) from the floor in the second half, while holding Illinois to just 29.6 percent shooting (8-of-27). U-M came out of the locker room and went on a 17-9 run to go up 46-42 at the 13:18 mark of the second half. It was in this run that Thorius recorded nine points and Stacey Thomas (Flint, Mich./Southwestern Academy) posted four points and three assists.
The Wolverines opened up the leads to nine, 59-50, on a three-pointer by Thorius at the 7:45 mark and extended the lead to 13, 65-52, on a jumper by Thorius at 4:28. Thorius scored Michigan's last nine points.
In the tale of two halves, it was Illinois which led by as many as 11 points in the first half, including a 27-16 lead just 13 minutes into the contest. Tauja Catchings helped the Fighting Illini cause, adding her fifth double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 boards in the first half alone.
The Wolverines closed the first half on a 13-5 run to help close the gap to four, 33-29. Sophomore guard Alayne Ingram (Lansing, Mich./Waverly HS) added four of her six points in the run, while Thomas added five points.
Illinois (16-8, 6-4 Big Ten) had three players score in double figures. Susan Blauser led the Fighting Illini with 16 points, while Catchings and Allison Curtin added 14 points apiece. Catchings also finished with 11 boards.
Thorius led the Wolverines with 23 points and Thomas added 20. Raina Goodlow (Detroit, Mich./Dominican HS) recorded 11 points for her 12th game of double-figure scoring in the last 13 outings.
Michigan (15-6, 7-3 Big Ten), which shares second place in the Big Ten with Purdue, heads to Ohio State on Sunday (Feb. 6) for a 4 p.m. tip-off with the Buckeyes. Ohio State dropped a 75-52 decision at Purdue on Thursday evening.
N O T E S
Michigan recorded the season sweep of Illinois for the first time since the 1989-90 season and just the third time in school history. Illinois leads the all-time series, 27-14.
What a difference a half made for Anne Thorius. First half: one assist, one rebound in 15 minutes. Second half: 23 points, including 7-for-7 efforts from both the floor and free throw line.
Anne Thorius tied her career high with 23 points. She also scored 23 against Wisconsin on Feb. 28, 1998.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Sue Guevara
On the difference between the first and second halves ... "Obviously, this was a game of two halves. We went into the locker room at halftime and we talked about how it appeared that Illinois wanted it a little more than we did. We challenged some people for the second half. I couldn't be more proud of this team. They responded to the challenge."
On being in second place in the Big Ten ... "We are in the race. We can't worry about what anyone else does. We control our own destiny."
Junior Guard Anne Thorius
On scoring 23 points in the second half ... "Our first half was not a good performance. We went into the locker room and we were not satisfied with our game. We knew what had to be done (in the second half). I've never had a half like that. I felt like everything was falling. Coach (Sue Guevara) told me to look at the basket and shoot. I had a couple of good drives to the basket."
Illinois Head Coach Theresa Grentz
On the difference between the first and second halves ... "We ran into a dry spell in the second half and we just couldn't get the offense going. We need to play well as a team. We can't have an individual who plays well. Everyone must play as a team."
Contact: Becky Olsen (734) 763-4423
