Weekly Release #6
12/8/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Opening Tip
The University of Michigan women's basketball team (5-5, 0-0 Big Ten) finally gets a breather from its hectic early-season schedule that saw the Wolverines play their first 10 games of the season in just 23 days. The daunting task of playing that many games in such a short time frame is even more difficult when considering a new coaching staff is still trying to teach its system while implementing new things along the way. Michigan's only action this week is its fifth game away from Crisler Arena in its last six with a trip to Seton Hall on Saturday (Dec. 13, 2 p.m.) in South Orange, N.J. Michigan's trip to Seton Hall is the first of an important three-game stretch which closes out the non-conference campaign. A home game vs. 2003 NCAA Tournament team Xavier (Dec. 21) and a road trip to instate rival Detroit-Mercy (Dec. 28) affords the Wolverines an opportunity to regain some momentum heading into Big Ten play beginning Jan. 1. Michigan, which earned a 59-41 win over the Pirates last season at Crisler Arena, will look to snap a two-game skid and get back over the .500 mark behind Big Ten scoring leader Jennifer Smith.
What: Michigan at Seton Hall (Saturday, Dec. 13, 2 p.m.)
Where: South Orange, N.J. (Walsh Gym/2,600)
Radio: none locally/MgoBlue.com will provide a link to Seton Hall's broadcast
Television: none
IN THE PAINT
Jennifer Smith continued her dominating play in the post in Michigan's three games last week, averaging 25.0 points and 8.7 boards. The Big Ten's leading scorer at 23.9 points for the season, Smith has really emerged as one of the elite post players in the country over her last seven games. Beginning with a 32-point, 13-rebound performance in a win over Western Michigan on Nov. 21, Smith is averaging 26.9 points and 8.6 rebounds while shooting a phenomenal .588 (67-114) from the field. Smith is on pace to score a school-record 693 points this season, which would break the Michigan single-season scoring record of 581, set by Peg Harte (1981-83) during the 1982-83 season.
After scoring in double digits for the first six games of the season, junior forward Tabitha Pool slumped through a three-game stretch during which the Ann Arbor native netted just single digits in the scoring column. However, Pool snapped out of that with a 16-point performance against Creighton on Sunday. Despite the three-game lull, Pool remains Michigan's most versatile performer while checking in as the team's third-leading scorer (10.6), second-leading rebounder (7.7) and No. 2 in assists (21).
Following a five-game stretch in which she failed to reach double digits in points, senior Stephanie Gandy, Michigan's second-leading scorer, is averaging 13.7 points over her last three contests and is shooting .531 (17-32) from the field, including .400 (4-10) from behind the arc.
The Wolverines continue to win the battle on the glass, outrebounding their opponents in four straight and six of their last seven contests, with the only losing battle coming against then-No. 5 Texas Tech. For the season, the Maize and Blue is outrebounding its opponents 38.1-35.0, led by Jennifer Smith (7.9) and Tabitha Pool (7.7), who rank No. 3 and No. 4, respectively, in the Big Ten.
Already listing as the Big Ten's No. 1 scorer and No. 3 rebounder, Jennifer Smith is also ranked No. 11 in field goal percentage (.558) and No. 12 in free throw percentage (.830).
Although playing just the sixth-most minutes on the Wolverine roster, freshman Kelly Helvey sets the Michigan standard with 14 thefts this season.
The Opponent
Seton Hall: The Pirates are 2-3 following a 73-64 loss to Fordham on Sunday (Dec. 7) Asia Carroll is the only Seton Hall player averaging in double figures (12.8 ppg) and leads the Pirates with 11 assists through their first four games Seton Hall has lost three straight after opening the season 2-0 and faces Fairfield tonight (Dec. 8) along with Iona on Thursday (Dec. 11) before hosting the Wolverines on Saturday The Pirates use a deep bench with 10 players averaging at least 10.8 minutes of action Seton Hall on the Internet: www.shupirates.com ... Series: U-M leads, 1-0.
Michigan-Seton Hall Rematch
The Wolverines and Pirates met for the first time in women's basketball a year ago when the Wolverines earned a 59-41 win on Dec. 14, 2002, at Crisler Arena. Stephanie Gandy enjoyed one of her best days as a Wolverine in the victory, scoring a game-high 23 points on 10-11 (.909) shooting, which matched a Crisler Arena record and is the second-best shooting day ever by a Wolverine. Tabitha Pool added a double-double with 13 points and 11 boards as the Wolverines outrebounded the Pirates 44-34 and held Seton Hall to .239 (16-67) shooting, which helped the Maize and Blue overcome 26 turnovers.
Familiar Matchup
While Michigan and Seton Hall have met just once before in women's basketball, the schools' respective men's programs have a little more storied history. The men's programs have met just twice, but one of those was for the NCAA national championship on April 3, 1989, in Seattle, Wash. The contest went into overtime before Michigan guard Rumeal Robinson sank two free throws with three seconds remaining to secure an 80-79 victory for the Wolverines' only basketball national title.
Michigan vs. the Big East
Michigan's matchup vs. Seton Hall is its second of the season against a member of the Big East Conference. The Wolverines dropped a 65-50 decision at Rutgers on Nov. 19 in the Preseason WNIT semifinals. Jennifer Smith led the Wolverines with 16 points. Michigan is 15-8 all-time vs. teams in the current Big East and had won its last three before the Rutgers loss. Prior to that Michigan's last loss to a Big East school was an 88-54 decision vs. eventual national champion Notre Dame in the second round of the 2001 NCAA Tournament.
RPI Likes Wolverines
Prior to their two losses over the weekend, Michigan sported an RPI rank of No. 30 nationally and was the second-highest ranked team with three losses in the season's first edition of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) RPI. Three of Michigan's first eight opponents reside among the top 28 teams in the RPI ranking, with Texas Tech checking in at No. 3 followed by Alabama (No. 25) and Rutgers (No. 28). Those three teams represent Michigan's three losses. The Wolverines are one of four Big Ten teams among the top 30, and their strength of schedule ranks No. 70.
Wolverines Among Big Ten's Best
Jennifer Smith paces three Wolverines who are among the conference leaders in scoring. Stephanie Gandy checks in at No. 22 (12.2) and Tabitha Pool lists 30th (10.6). Smith also lists in field goal percentage (11th, .558), free throw percentage (12th, .830) and rebounding (3rd, 7.9). Pool is right on her heels in the rebounding category at No. 4 (7.7) and is posting 0.90 blocks, which is the ninth-best mark in the league. Small forward Niki Reams, who is second on the Wolverines in offensive rebounding, remains one of the Big Ten's best off the glass at No. 18 (5.6), and Gandy is complementing her scoring with solid defense, listing fifth in the conference in blocked shots (1.30).
Different Michigan Team on the Road
Michigan will be looking for its second win away from Crisler Arena this season and its first on an opponent's home court when it faces Seton Hall. The Wolverines are 1-4 away from Crisler Arena while 4-1 at home. The biggest difference is on the offensive end, where the Wolverines are averaging 60.0 points on the road compared to 72.8 at home thanks in large part to a more aggressive offensive attitude. Michigan has attempted just 88 free throws in five games away from Crisler Arena opposed to 126 in five home games. Individually, Stephanie Gandy has been a weapon at home, averaging 15.8 points and shooting .462 from the field, but is averaging only 8.6 points and shooting just .419 away.
Smith Maintains Torrid Start
Jennifer Smith shows no signs of slowing down after averaging 25.0 points and 8.7 rebounds in three games last week. At her current pace, not only would Smith break the school's single-season scoring total, she would move all the way to second place on the Wolverines scoring list. Smith is on pace to score 693 points in a 29-game regular season, which would give her 1,748 for her career and move her into second place on the all-time list behind Diane Dietz (1978-82), who totaled 2,066 points for her career. A 693-point season from Smith would be the sixth-best single-season output in Big Ten history.
Michigan's Career Scoring Leaders
| 1. | Diane Dietz (1978-82) | 2,066 |
| 2. | Trish Andrew (1989-93) | 1,647 |
| 3. | Wendy Bradetich (1982-86) | 1,587 |
| 4. | Stacey Thomas (1996-2000) | 1,556 |
| 5. | Abby Currier (1977-81) | 1,550 |
| 6. | Alayne Ingram (1998-2002) | 1,461 |
| 7. | LeeAnn Bies (1999-2003) | 1,450 |
| 8. | Jennifer Smith (2000-present) | 1,294 |
Big Ten's All-Time Single-Season Scoring Leaders
| 1. | Kelly Mazzante, Penn State (2001-02) | 872 |
| 2. | Anucha Brown, Northwestern (1984-85) | 855 |
| 3. | Kelly Mazzante, Penn State (2002-03) | 837 |
| 4. | Laura Coenen, Minnesota (1984-85) | 708 |
| 5. | Stephanie White-McCarty, Purdue (1998-99) | 707 |
| 6. | Jennifer Smith (2003-04) | 693* |
* projected over 29-game regular season
1-2 Week Slips Wolverines to .500
Michigan opened up its key three-game stretch last week with an important 72-65 win over Charlotte (Dec. 3) on the shoulders of Jennifer Smith's record-setting 37-point performance. However, Michigan's road trip that took head coach Cheryl Burnett and her staff back to familiar territory in the Missouri Valley Conference did not go as well. The Wolverines dug quick double-digit holes in the first half of losses at Drake (70-55, Dec. 5) and at Creighton (82-66, Dec. 7). Smith added team highs of 17 and 21 points, respectively, in both losses, but it was not enough to overcome 43 Michigan turnovers in the two losses.
PLAYER NOTES
Sophomore guard Lauren Andrews received her most extensive action of the season vs. Creighton, logging 28 minutes, including her first significant minutes of the season at point guard. After playing a total of just four minutes through the first six games, Andrews is averaging 17.5 minutes in her last four.
Starting small forward Niki Reams collected just two rebounds vs. Creighton, which snapped a string of six consecutive games where the 6-0 sophomore grabbed at least five boards, and it was the first time she was held without an offensive board since the season opener on Nov. 15. Reams also maintains the team lead in assists (25) and assist-turnover ratio (1.3).
Jennifer Smith, Tabitha Pool and Sierra Hauser-Price are the only Wolverines to start all 10 games this season.
Kelly Helvey came off the bench in her last two games to match her career best with four rebounds at Drake and then set a new career high with five boards at Creighton.
BreAnne McPhilamy entered her junior season with 16 career rebounds, but she has already tallied 13 this season, including nine in her last three games.
RECORD/MILESTONE WATCH
Jennifer Smith has 1,294 career points and is just six points shy of becoming the eighth player in Michigan history to 1,300 career points.
Stephanie Gandy has 442 career boards and is 11 rebounds of shy of surpassing Shimmy Gray (1992-94) for 18th place on the school's career list.
Tabitha Pool is one rebound away from becoming the 26th player in Michigan history to reach the 400-rebound plateau.
Niki Reams' next rebound will be the 150th of her career.
SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
Preseason WNIT
Michigan opened the Cheryl Burnett era with a bang, defeating Miami (Ohio) 79-68 on Nov. 15 and then earning a 73-69 victory over Cincinnati on Nov. 17 to advance to the Preseason WNIT semifinals in the Wolverines' initial tournament appearance. Michigan's bid for a title game appearance was thwarted by a 65-50 loss at then-No. 15 Rutgers on Nov. 21 in the semifinals. Stephanie Gandy led the way during Michigan's three-game run, averaging 18.0 points and 6.0 rebounds. Jennifer Smith totaled 17.0 points and 6.3 rebounds for the Wolverines.
Out of the Gate Quickly
Stephanie Gandy opened the season with back-to-back 23-point efforts in Preseason WNIT wins over Miami (Ohio) and Cincinnati. Gandy's consecutive outings of 20-plus points were the first of her career and helped land her on the Preseason WNIT All-Tournament team.
Smith Garners Weekly Honor
Jennifer Smith earned the first Big Ten Player of the Week honor for the 2003-04 season and the first of her career on Nov. 17 after compiling 24 points and eight rebounds while notching a career best with 10 makes at the charity stripe. Smith also chipped in with a career-best four steals as Michigan opened up the Cheryl Burnett era with a 79-68 win over Miami (Ohio) in the Preseason WNIT first round.
Smith Puts on a Show
Jennifer Smith's then career-high 32 points in the win over Western Michigan made her the first Wolverine to score more than 30 points in a game since LeeAnn Bies tallied 31 in a 75-64 loss at Xavier on Dec. 8, 2002.
Smith All-Tournament
Jennifer Smith netted her second career game of 30 or more points with a 30-point performance against then-No. 5 Texas Tech at the SMU Hoops for the Cure Classic on Nov. 28 in Dallas, Texas. She followed that up one night later with a 24-point effort in a win over Texas-Arlington to garner all-tournament recognition.
Busy Month
Michigan's 68-51 win over Texas-Arlington on Nov. 29 concluded the busiest November in school history. The Wolverines went 4-3 in November, including a run to the semifinals of the Preseason WNIT, after having never before played more than five games in the season's opening month.
Contact: Rich Marion (734) 763-4423
