Michigan
Creighton
U-M Opens Season with Impressive Win Over Creighton
11/22/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's basketball team opened its 2002-03 campaign with a solid effort as the Maize and Blue led from start to finish and withstood a second-half run by the Blue Jays to post a 75-66 victory tonight (Friday, Nov. 22) in front of 1,101 fans at Crisler Arena. The Wolverines' two-person junior class starred as Jennifer Smith (Lansing, Mich./DeWitt HS) paced the Michigan attack with 21 points on 7-11 shooting while Stephanie Gandy (Detroit, Mich./Northern HS) provided a spark off the bench and totaled 13 points.
| | Smith |
Smith, who shot 6-9 from the field in the first half for 16 points, tallied eight points during the Michigan run, while freshman point guard Mie Burlin (Challotenlund, Denmark/BMS Herleb) did a nice job handling the Bluejays' full-court pressure and handed out two of her five first-half assists. The Wolverines shot a sizzling .583 (14-24) from the field in the first half, maintaining a double-digit lead for much of the frame.
Creighton guard Dayna Finch, who set a Crisler Arena record with seven three-point field goals, personally kept the Blue Jays in the game in the first half, connecting on 4-7 from the beyond the arc and accounting for five of Creighton's nine field goals in the first half. With the exception of Finch, the Wolverines put together a good half of basketball on the defensive end and held Creighton to a .290 (9-31) mark from the field on their way to a 39-26 lead at the intermission. Gandy also played a key role in Michigan's early lead, scoring 11 first-half points on 3-3 shooting, including 1-1 from three-point range.
One of the primary reasons for Michigan's first-half success was the ability of its freshmen guards, Burlin and Niki Reams (Jenison, Mich./Jenison HS), to handle the constant full-court pressure by Creighton. However, that pressure began to take its toll early in the second half as Michigan turnovers helped Creighton start the second half on a 12-3 run and trim the gap to four points (42-38) at the 15:57 mark. It was the closest the Blue Jays had been since trailing 8-5 with nearly 15 minutes remaining the first stanza. Nine of Creighton's 12 points during the run came from behind the arc, including two more treys from Finch.
With Creighton on the verge of taking control of the game, Michigan head coach Sue Guevara inserted Lauren Andrews (Houston, Texas/Klein Forest HS), another of the prized freshman guards, and she immediately came up with a steal and conventional three-point play to put the Wolverines back in front 48-42. Andrews remained on the floor for the final 12 minutes as she calmly ran the Michigan offense, scored eight points and committed just one turnover while helping the Wolverines keep Creighton at bay.
Aided by a couple key hoops from fifth-year senior Raina Goodlow (Detroit, Mich./Dominican HS), Michigan maintained a lead between five and nine points over the final 10 minutes, with Creighton's best threat coming with a little over two minutes remaining. The Bluejays cut the Michigan lead back to six (69-63) and had the ball, but several opportunities at the basket came up short, including a Finch triple that went in and out before the Wolverines secured a defensive board and Bies dropped in a pair of free throws to give Michigan plenty of breathing room over the final minute. The Wolverines eventually pushed the lead to 12 (75-63) before a late Creighton trifecta made the final tally 75-66.
The Wolverines now prepares for their second stiff test when they face 25th-ranked and defending Big West champion UC Santa Barbara on Monday (Nov. 25, 7 p.m.) at Crisler Arena.
Contact: Rich Marion (734) 763-4423
