Michigan
6-9 (0-3)
Iowa
9-5 (2-1)
Michigan Drops Conference Home Opener to Hawkeyes
1/5/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's basketball team suffered a 77-63 defeat at the hands of the Iowa Hawkeyes Thursday night (Jan. 6) at Crisler Arena. The Wolverines (6-9, 0-3 Big Ten) could not shake off early foul trouble, which led to 20 Iowa free-throw attempts compared to Michigan's nine.
Despite the Wolverines' 38 percent shooting from the field as a team, sophomore Ta'Shia Walker (Lansing, Mich./J.W. Sexton HS) led all scorers with 24 points on 10-of-19 shooting. Walker's eight rebounds, including five on the offensive glass, put her over 200 boards for her young career.
Two other Wolverines scored in double digits against the Hawkeyes, as freshman Jessica Minnfield (Toledo, Ohio/Central Catholic HS) scored 11 points, including three-of-three shooting beyond the arc, and sophomore Katie Dierdorf (St. Louis, Mo./Visitation Academy) netted 10 points while gathering four rebounds.
The opening minutes of the first half featured a battle between sophomore Janelle Cooper (Detroit, Mich./Renaissance HS) and Iowa's Krista VandeVenter. Cooper connected on a three-pointer for Michigan's first points of the ballgame and followed it up with a pair of free throws to cut an early Hawkeye lead to 8-5 with 15:44 left in the first half. VandeVenter collected the game's first six points, connecting on a couple low-post buckets for the Hawkeyes.
Iowa's Megan Skouby was responsible for five of the Hawkeyes' next seven points, including three baskets inside the paint. A Minnfield three-pointer at 13:40 kept the Wolverines afloat, however, before freshman Stephany Skrba (Richmond Hill, Ontario/Langstaff Secondary School) drained a long jumper to trim the Iowa advantage to 15-10 with 12:34 left before halftime.
For the next couple minutes Michigan traded baskets with Iowa, including two hoops by Walker to keep the Wolverines within five points, before a 7-2 Hawkeye run increased the Iowa lead to 28-18 with just under nine minutes remaining before the break.
Following the Iowa run, a pair of Krista Clement (St. Ignace, Mich./LaSalle HS) field goals brought the score to 32-25. The Michigan deficit was then cut to six (34-28) following a Walker free throw with just over two minutes left in the half. Walker connected on one more basket before the horn, leading U-M in first-half scoring with 13 points on five-of-10 shooting from the field. Despite Walker's efforts, the Wolverines trailed 42-32 at the halftime break.
A Minnfield triple brought Michigan to within three, 45-42, at the 16:44 mark of the second half. That would prove to be the closest the Wolverines would get for the rest of the contest. Clement found Walker twice for baskets in the next seven minutes, the only U-M points during the span, leading to a 53-46 score.
Dierdorf made her presence felt later in the second half by posting eight straight points for the Maize and Blue, but the Wolverines still trailed 63-54 with just over six minutes to play. The Hawkeye defense continued to present problems for the Wolverines, and Iowa eventually extended its insurmountable lead to 13 near the two-minute mark.
Michigan returns to Crisler Arena this Sunday (Jan. 8) to take on 14th-ranked Purdue. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
