Michigan
Penn State
Michigan Suffers Last-Second Setback to No. 13 Penn State
1/26/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's basketball team fought back to tie the game inside of the final minute, but a Tanisha Wright field goal with five seconds on the clock allowed Penn State to take a 72-70 victory this afternoon (Sunday, Jan. 26) at Crisler Arena. Michigan (11-6, 2-4 Big Ten) had its two-game Big Ten Conference win streak halted with the loss, while Penn State (16-5) improved to 6-1 in conference play.
The Wolverines had a balanced offense, featuring six different players scoring in double digits but could not find an answer for PSU junior Jess Brungo, who scored a game-high 25 points. LeeAnn Bies (Lakeview, Mich./Lakeview HS), Tabitha Pool (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS) and Jennifer Smith (Lansing, Mich./DeWitt HS) were the Maize and Blue's top scorers with 11 point apiece, and three other Wolverines tallied 10 points each. Freshman point guard Rachael Carney (Flint, Mich./Powers Catholic HS) had a strong game, scoring a career-high seven points and tying a career best with five assists.
Michigan opened up an eight-point lead on merit of a 13-2 run over a five-minute stretch starting with 14:43 left in the first half. Smith contributed nine points during the Wolverine surge, including a three-pointer at 11:02 to punctuate the run and make the score 21-11.
A triple from Stephanie Gandy (Detroit, Mich./Northern HS) at 9:03 answered a quick six-point flourish from the Nittany Lions and put the score at 24-17. A second Gandy score 20 seconds later allowed the Maize and Blue to recoup its early nine-point cushion.
PSU cut its deficit to as little as three with a redshirt sophomore Jennifer Brendan and Brungo converting on four consecutive three-pointers in the 12-4 run, however, successful trips to the line from Bies and Nikki Reams (Jenison, Mich./Jenison HS) and a quick outlet pass from Carney to Pool kept U-M in front 32-23 at 6:38.
The two teams traded baskets to close out the half, with Michigan taking a 38-29 halftime advantage. The Wolverine offense was spurred on by 10 first-half assists, four of which came from Carney.
Michigan was able to weather the Nittany Lion storm to begin the second half, finding an answer for each PSU score to retain its nine-point lead at the 15-minute mark, 48-39. The Wolverines made their first run of the half with Pool's bucket at 13:56. Carney then helped Michigan take the run to 6-0 with a basket of her own followed by an assist to Gandy in the 12th minute.
Penn State persisted, however, and rallied for nine points of its own to close within four at the halfway point. Strom continued her hot second frame, connecting on her third triple in just four second-half attempts at 9:14 to bring the score to 56-52.
Kelly Mazzante extended the run to 14-0, which tied the game at 56. During the run Michigan was held without a field goal for over eight minutes. Following a Michigan free throw, Penn State took its first lead since the first half on a hoop from Brungo with 6:03.
Carney and Raina Goodlow (Detroit, Mich./Dominican HS) hit consecutive threes, at 4:25 and 3:47, to help the Wolverines knot the game 64-64. A pair of free throws from Reams leveled out a Wright field goal, as the teams remained deadlocked moving into the game's final two minutes.
Pool secured a crucial rebound with U-M down by two and then scored on a layup on the other end of the floor to tie the game again, this time at 68 with only one minute remaining. Unable to find an answer for Brungo, the Wolverines yielded another field goal to the PSU forward but again countered with a pair of Reams free throws with 22.6 seconds on the clock.
Wright provided the final strike with time winding down, hitting a mid-range jumper inside the paint with only five seconds remaining to give the Nittany Lions the 72-70 lead. Michigan could not earn the last-second tie as Reams' last-second attempt was off the mark.
The Wolverines are on the road at Michigan State on Thursday (Jan. 30) for an 8 p.m. tip at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Mich. The game will be televised by Fox Sports Net in Chicago and Detroit.
N O T E S
Freshman Rachel Carney tied a career high with five assists against Penn State. Her seven points was also a career-best total and included the first successful three-pointer of her career.
This was the first time Michigan has featured six players scoring in double-digits all season. Tabitha Pool, LeeAnn Bies and Jennifer Smith each scored 11, while Niki Reams, Stephanie Gandy and Raina Goodlow added 10 apiece.
Michigan held Kelly Mazzante without a triple to break her string of 30 straight games with a trifecta.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Sue Guevara
On the game overall ... "Needless to say it is a very tough loss. In the second half, I thought Penn State did a nice job of rebounding the offensive glass. I know we shot 81 percent for the game from the free throw line, but we had some big misses at key times. You have to make your free throws and you have to control the boards. I thought the kids played really hard and this is a game we have to come back from and get ready to play Michigan State on Thursday."
On the play of Rachael Carney ... "She played a pretty solid game. She made a big three and knocked down some free throws in addition to playing good defense at the point in the zone. She had a good, all-around game."
On Niki Reams' last-second shot ... "Carney got the ball up floor to Reams on the lefthand side of the floor and she got a good shot off. Had we called a timeout and set something up, I would have been happy with that shot."
Penn State Head Coach Rene Portland
On the game overall ... "We are thrilled with the win and we had to fight hard to get out of here with a win. In the end it was clutch shooting and some discipline down the stretch. We had people step up and we are glad this week is over because we had to play four game this week."
On the comeback in the second half ... "We went to a zone and we fronted the post. I thought going to the zone helped us close things off inside and then they missed some shots. Offensively, we stuck with the same play late in the game because it kept working and our kids never quit. Even when we were trailing our huddles were very vocal and there was great enthusiasm. Today was about our team and this was a great team win."
Contact: Rich Marion (734) 763-4423
