Michigan
Central Michigan
Wolverines Cruise Past Chippewas for Fifth Straight Victory
12/4/1998 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Site:Â Ann Arbor, Mich. (Crisler Arena)
Score:Â Michigan 103, Central Michigan 40
Records:Â U-M (5-1), CMU (1-4)
Next U-M Game:Â Sunday, Dec. 6 -- at Cincinnati (Cincinnati, Ohio), 3 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- In a game that was slow getting started offensively, the University of Michigan women's basketball team finally found its game and handed Central Michigan University a 103-40 loss on Friday (Dec. 4). The 63-point win is the largest margin of victory over an NCAA Division I school in the program's history.
The Wolverines held the Chippewas to 14 points in the first half and 28.1 percent shooting overall. For the third time this year, six Wolverines reached double figures in scoring, led by game-high scorer Ann Lemire (Fairgrove, Mich./Frankenmuth HS), who scored 20 points and added eight rebounds, four assists and three steals.
It was slow-going in the first half as Michigan managed just six points in the opening 5:11. Central Michigan did not get on the board until 14:39 on a Vershaun Jones jumpshot. The Chippewas scored just eight more points in the ensuing nine minutes, while Michigan took a 33-12 lead with 5:08 left in the half. Freshman forward Ruth Kipping (Quincy, Ill./Quincy HS) netted four straight free throws in the final minute and Michigan closed the half with a 48-14 advantage.
Michigan jumped out to a 41-point lead in the early minutes of the second half with five of the seven points compliments of Stacey Thomas (Flint, Mich./Southwestern Academy). The Wolverines gradually extended their lead, going up by 65 on a jumper from Lemire with 30 seconds left in the game. Central's Rory Wendt scored on a layup from Alicia Rozak to close the scoring.
Joining Lemire in double figures were Thomas (15), sophomore Anne Thorius (Horsholm, Denmark) (12), freshman Alayne Ingram (Lansing, Mich./Waverly HS) (17), Kipping (12) and Mandy Stowe (Ludington, Mich./Ludington HS) (11).
Michigan hits the road for its next four games, starting with a Sunday (Dec. 6) game at the University of Cincinnati. Game time is 3 p.m. at the Myrl Shoemaker Center. The Wolverines' next home contest will be Jan. 3, when they host Michigan State at 2 p.m.
NOTES
• Sophomore forward Mandy Stowe recorded her first double-double for Michigan with 11 points and 10 rebounds in 21 minutes of action. She sank 5-of-5 field goals and converted her only trip to the line. Stowe was the only player to reach double digits in the rebounding column.
• Michigan's 63-point win over Central Michigan was its largest against an NCAA Division I team. Its only larger margin of victory came in 1980, when the Wolverines handed the University of Windsor (Ontario) a 126-60 loss.
• The Wolverines shot 55.2 percent from the floor (37-67) and 82.4 percent from the line (28-34). Entering Friday night's game, Michigan was second in the Big Ten Conference in free throw shooting (.715), with Alayne Ingram second in the league (.933) and Anne Thorius third (.909). Thorius went 3-for-3 against CMU, raising her season percentage to .920, while Ingram went 5-for-7 and is now at .864 for the season.
QUOTES
Michigan Coach Sue Guevara
"It's great that we had so many kids contribute. We established an inside game and an outside game. We're making better shot selections. This team has a lot of potential. We were picked to finish fourth (in the Big Ten), but our minimum is third. We can compete with the big teams."
"It's tough when you have such a big lead, you tend to let up on defense. We're not big so we have to create the tempo and you do that with defense. You want to come out and be aggressive."
U-M Senior Ann Lemire
On coming off the bench ... "I know when I get in there I have to have quality minutes and work hard. I try to contribute anyway I can. I try to make the players around me better."
U-M Junior Captain Stacey Thomas
"These games are stepping stones for us. We're ready to play with the big dogs. We're ready for anyone."
Central Michigan Coach Fran Voll
"Michigan is obviously a good team. Unfortunately, we didn't contest them. I thought we'd do a better job. It wasn't a situation where we didn't play hard, and that's been a concern as of late, so I can't be unhappy about that. For some reason, we had a problem with our halfcourt game, offensively and defensively. We were getting good looks, but we might not be getting the ball into certain people's hands. We're a young team, and the young kids had a tough time here."
"I don't think we're better than Michigan, but we're better than this."
