Notes & Quotes: Michigan 63, Kentucky 59
12/8/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
N O T E S
With tonight's win, Michigan improves to 2-1 all-time against Kentucky and 3-13 against opponents from the Southeastern Conference.
The Wolverines used their third different starting lineup this season, beginning the game with Jessica Minnfield, Krista Clement, Janelle Cooper, Carly Benson and Krista Phillips.
Krista Clement scored a season-high 12 points against the Wildcats, marking her seventh career double-digit scoring game. It was her first double-digit scoring performance since Dec. 13, 2005, when she poured in a career-high 14 points in a 98-55 home win over Fordham.
Krista Clement went 2-of-3 from three-point range, marking her 18th career multi-triple game.
Krista Clement grabbed a career high nine rebounds against the Wildcats. Her previous career best was five, set at Northwestern (Jan. 6, 2005) and at Miami (Fla.) (Nov. 19, 2007).
Krista Clement tied for the team lead with three assists. She has led the team in assists a team-high 32 times during her career.
Janelle Cooper scored 10 points against Kentucky, marking her 32nd career double-digit scoring game and her fourth of the season.
Janelle Cooper's 10 points moved her into 31st place on Michigan's all-time scoring chart with 664 points.
Janelle Cooper went 1-of-5 from three-point range. Cooper has hit at least one triple in all eight games this year.
Ta'Shia Walker scored a team-high 13 points against Kentucky, marking the 27th time in her career that she has led the team in scoring. Walker has 40 career double-digit scoring games, including three this season.
Stephany Skrba posted her second career double-double, finishing with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Skrba scored 17 points and grabbed 13 rebounds against Ohio State as a freshman (Feb. 10, 2006). Skrba has 14 career double-digit scoring games and four career double-digit rebounding performances.
Stephany Skrba has led the team in rebounding a team-leading 25 times.
Jessica Minnfield tied for the team lead with three assists. She has led the team in assists 30 times during her career.
Krista Phillips matched a season best with four blocks against the Wildcats. She has led the team in blocks 20 times during her career.
With four blocks tonight, Krista Phillips moved into 14th place on Michigan's all-time blocked shots chart with 50.
Michigan's bench outscored its opponent's for the fifth time in eight games this year, 25-14.
The Wolverines finished the game with four players scoring in double figures for the second time this year. Four players also reached double digits in points in U-M's 65-50 win at Miami (Fla.) (Nov. 19).
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Kevin Borseth
On tonights big win... "The crowd certainly helped. It was a great crowd in obviously a close game -- one we were lucky to pull out, but our kids were really determined and I am happy for them."
On how the team played late in the game... "We played pretty good. We got free throws, we got some key rebounds. We had a tough time with Samantha Mahoney. We had to go to zone to try to take her out of some of her stuff. For the most part, I thought we did pretty well. We put the ball where we had to. Krista Philips had a key rebound down the stretch and a few buckets. We hung around and that's what you have to do in this type of game."
On what the win means for the program... "Any win is a big win. It really is. We've struggled the last couple games and really haven't played very hard. I thought the difference for us tonight was we played hard. We had two great days of practice getting ready for this. We wanted to play with a sense of urgency and I thought defensively we did a pretty good job."
On Krista Clement's play... "The kid was here all summer until 11 p.m. She is in the gym religiously. If anybody deserves to play well, it's Krista. She's such a smart and heady player, a good leader. You knew she would make those free throws at the end. She is a winner. She is the glue for us."
U-M Senior Krista Clement
On the game-ending free throws... "If you saw during the game, everyone was coming around me. They were joking about how ever since I was in first grade I've dreamed about making the game-winning free throws. We were making jokes about it so it was nice to be relaxed when I was up there."
On the home crowd... "The crowd was amazing, the atmosphere was great. Everyone was really excited, they were up on their feet. It was a really fun crowd to play in front of. It almost felt like our first home game because we had been on the road for so long."
On her shooting... "People were really penetrating and kicking a lot more. I've been getting a lot of shots. Coach (Mike) Williams has been getting my base a little wider. I've been making small adjustments.
