Michigan
20-15
UCLA
18-18
Michigan Sees WNIT Run End with Semifinal Loss to UCLA
4/1/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
April 1, 2015
• Box Score | Notes | Photo Gallery 
| WNIT Bracket
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Crisler Center)
Event: WNIT Semifinals
Score: UCLA 69, Michigan 65
Records: U-M (20-15), UCLA (18-18)
Next U-M Event: Season Complete
• Kornacki Postgame Feature: Senior Class Keys Postseason Run, Elevation of Program
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's basketball team saw its postseason run end on Wednesday (April 1), falling to UCLA, 69-65, in the WNIT Semifinals at Crisler Center. The Wolverines end their season with a 20-15 record, their fourth straight season with at least 20 wins.
The game was tied at 63-all with 1:39 to go, before the Bruins took a two-point lead, and despite a good look, freshman Katelynn Flaherty's go-ahead three-point attempt did not fall. UCLA then hit its free throws to seal the victory.
The Wolverines were paced by their three seniors, who, in their final game, combined to score 47 of the team's 65 points. Shannon Smith led all scorers with 20 points, while Nicole Elmblad added 16. Cyesha Goree added a double-double -- her 18th of the season -- with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Flaherty came off the bench and contributed 14 points.
UCLA led early on, going up, 12-8, with 12:21 left in the first half, but the Wolverines responded with a jumper from sophomore Danielle Williams and a triple from Flaherty to take a 13-12 lead with 11:06 to go. Goree's basket in transition gave the Maize and Blue a 15-12 lead with 9:12 left. That was part of a 9-0 run that was capped by Smith's pull-up in transition with 8:29 left, giving the Wolverines a 19-12 lead and forcing the Bruins to call timeout. Michigan led by as many as eight points in the first half as a Smith layup with 6:41 put U-M up 23-15. The Bruins answered with a 7-0 run and tied the game at 27 with 2:25 left in the stanza.
UCLA scored on its final possession of the half to hit the locker room with a 32-31 lead. The Maize and Blue shot 38.2 percent (13-of-34) in the first half as Smith, Elmblad and Goree each had eight points. Each team had 19 rebounds in the first 20 minutes, and Michigan forced UCLA into nine turnovers.
With seven ties and five lead changes, the second half was a back-and-forth affair, but every time Michigan made a push, UCLA answered. Smith scored six of Michigan's first eight points in the second half, as her jumper at the 16:27 mark put U-M up 39-38. The two teams traded field goals until a Nirra Fields jumper gave the Bruins a 58-53 lead with 5:55 left. Flaherty hit a triple to cut the lead to two (60-58) at the 4:46 mark, but the Bruins' Kari Korver answered right back to bring the lead back to five. The Wolverines actually scored the next five points -- all on free throws -- to tie the game at 63-63 with 1:39 to go.
After Fields gave the Bruins the lead on the ensuing possession (65-63), Flaherty tried to respond and had an open look, but her shot rimmed off. Michigan put UCLA on the free throw line trying to extend the game, and though the front end of the one-and-one was missed, UCLA managed to grab the offensive rebound and hit its next two free throws to make it a two-possession game. With one last chance, Smith was actually fouled on a three-point attempt but only converted on two of the free throw attempts, once again cutting the lead to two. UCLA inbounded the ball and was immediately fouled, but it hit both free throw attempts to make it a four-point game with only three seconds left.
Communications Contact: Sarah VanMetre (734) 763-4423
