Michigan
Purdue
Michigan Bounced From Big Ten Tournament by Purdue
3/7/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- The University of Michigan women's basketball team's bid to make even more noise as the 11th seed at the Big Ten Tournament ended Friday night (March 7) with a 72-50 loss to third seed and No. 12-ranked Purdue in quarterfinal action. Playing for the second straight night at Conseco Fieldhouse, the Wolverines were paced by Jennifer Smith (Lansing, Mich./DeWitt HS) with 15 points while Stephanie Gandy (Detroit, Mich./Northern HS) chipped in with 11. Niki Reams (Jenison, Mich./Jenison HS) and Tabitha Pool (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS) each grabbed a team-high nine boards.
Unlike the previous night against Illinois, the Wolverines struggled out of the gate on the offensive end but remained in the game on the strength of Gandy's play at both ends of the floor. The 5-10 junior scored Michigan's first two points on a baseline jumper, which afforded her the confidence to score 10 of the Wolverines' first 16 points. She continued to be aggressive on the offensive end and defensively turned her own steal into a breakaway layup.
With the Wolverines trailing 13-10, however, Purdue took off an on 16-6 run over the next six minutes to balloon its lead to 13 (29-16) at the 5:58 mark. Smith stopped the Boilermaker run with a conventional three-point play and then LeeAnn Bies (Lakeview, Mich./Lakeview HS) found a cutting Pool to keep the deficit at 10 (31-21) with just over four minutes left in the half.
Despite the efforts of Gandy and Smith, the Wolverines failed to knock down some pretty good looks late in the first half and as a result missed an opportunity to really cut into the lead. Pool scored on a jumper in transition at the 2:49 mark but that was Michigan's last hoop of the half as the Wolverines took a 12-point deficit (35-23) into the intermission. The story of the first half amounted to Michigan's difficulties putting the ball in the basket as evidenced by its .313 (10-32) shooting percentage. Gandy, who had not scored in double figures for the Wolverines since a 10-point effort vs. Penn State on Jan. 26, kept the Wolverines within striking distance with 10 points in the first frame. Smith added seven and Pool grabbed a game-best seven first-half boards to highlight the Wolverines' efforts.
The first five minutes of the second half are vitally important when one takes a double-digit deficit into the intermission, and unfortunately for the Wolverines it was Purdue that opened up the second half strongly, pushing its lead to 16 (40-24) and forcing head coach Sue Guevara to call a timeout at the 18:08 mark. Purdue continued to answer every Michigan surge. Smith scored four straight points in the post and then Pool drilled a jumper from the elbow to bring the Wolverines back within 12 (42-30), but the Boilermakers came back with a 7-0 run for a 19 point lead (49-30) at the 13:03 mark.
Playing back-to-back nights for the first time since late December, the Wolverines were unable to muster up another run and Purdue methodically closed out a 72-50 victory. Michigan's season is over at 13-16 overall.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Sue Guevara
On the game overall ... "Tonight was an indication of the inconsistency that we struggled with all season. We have trouble scoring on a consistent basis, so some of it tonight was us struggling and some of it was Purdue because they did a nice job defensively. They were very physical with our post players. The positive we can take from this is our young players got a chance to see what is necessary to compete night in and night out at this level and they can start that process next week."
N O T E S
Jennifer Smith closed the season with eight straight games of double-digit scoring.
Niki Reams matched a career best with her nine rebounds.
This marked the third straight season the Wolverines were knocked out of the Big Ten Tournament by Purdue.
Contact: Rich Marion (734) 763-4423
