Michigan
7-3
Canisius
4-6
U-M Suffocates Canisius with Defense, First-Half Barrage
12/19/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 19, 2014
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| Postgame Reaction 
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Crisler Center)
Score: Michigan 79, Canisius 43
Records: U-M (7-3), CC (4-6)
Next U-M Event: Monday, Dec. 22 -- vs. Eastern Michigan (Crisler Center), Noon
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's basketball team forced 21 turnovers and had a 47-26 rebounding advantage en route to a 79-43 win over Canisius Friday night (Dec. 19) inside Crisler Center.
Senior Cyesha Goree recorded her second straight double-double, finishing with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Freshman Katelynn Flaherty went for 18 points, shooting 7-of-11 from the floor and connecting on a pair of three-pointers. Senior Shannon Smith was Michigan's third double-digit scorer as she had 12 points and three assists. Sophomore Siera Thompson was close to a double-double, scoring nine points and pulling down eight rebounds. Classmate Danielle Williams had seven rebounds in her first start of the season, and senior Nicole Elmblad was 4-of-9 from the floor for eight points.
Michigan jumped out to a 9-0 advantage on back-to-back three-point plays from Goree and Smith, followed by a Thompson triple. Following their fourth turnover of the game on their ensuing possession, the Golden Grizzlies took a timeout with 17:38 left in the half.
Canisius scored five straight points out of the timeout to cut the Michigan lead to four, 9-5, but the Wolverines reeled off 11 consecutive points to take a 15-point lead (20-5), capped off by another Thompson triple at the 12:26 mark.
Michigan held Canisius without a point for 4:30 in the first half from 12:06 to 7:36, taking a 35-8 lead off a turnaround jumper to beat the shot clock from freshman Jillian Dunston with 7:58 left on the clock.
The Wolverines hit the break with a 41-17 halftime lead. Michigan shot 42.5 percent (17-for-40) from the floor during the first 20 minutes, compared to 23.8 percent (5-for-21) for the Golden Griffins. Michigan forced 15 Canisius turnovers, leading to 26 points for the Maize and Blue. Eight Wolverines scored in the half, led by nine points each from Goree and Flaherty.
The Wolverines scored the first six points out of the break on back-to-back layups from Elmblad along with a steal-and-score from Williams to force another Canisius timeout with the Wolverines in front 47-17 just 1:09 into the second half.
The Maize and Blue led by as many as 40 points (69-29) in the second half on a Flaherty layup at 7:18 and cruised to the victory. Michigan had 48 points in the paint, 34 points off turnovers and 18 second-chance points.
Michigan concludes the non-conference portion of its schedule on Monday (Dec. 22), hosting Eastern Michigan at noon as part of Kids Day. [ More Information | Tickets ]
Communications Contact: Sarah VanMetre (734) 763-4423
