Michigan
Wisconsin
Michigan Winning Streak Stopped by Wisconsin
1/31/1999 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Site:Â Ann Arbor, Mich. (Crisler Arena)
Score:Â Wisconsin 70, Michigan 46
Records:Â U-M (13-7, 5-5 Big Ten), Wisconsin (10-11, 5-6 Big Ten)
Next U-M Game:Â Friday, Feb. 5 -- at Minnesota (Minneapolis, Minn.), 7 p.m. CST
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- After upsetting 19th-ranked Ohio State University on Friday night (Jan. 29), the University of Michigan women's basketball team had its four-game winning streak snapped with a disappointing 70-46 loss to the University of Wisconsin on Sunday (Jan. 31). The Wolverines, now 13-7 and 5-5 in Big Ten Conference action, scored just 46 points on 29.6 percent shooting, while the Badgers (10-11, 5-6) scored 48 in the second half to overcome a two-point halftime deficit.
Michigan featured just one player in double digits, with sophomore point guard Anne Thorius (Horsholm, Denmark) tallying 14. The Badgers were led by Tamara Moore's 18-point performance, along with three other double-digit scorers.
Michigan took a seven-point lead, 11-4, in the early minutes of the game, but the Badgers responded with seven unanswered points to tie it up at 11. They enjoyed a brief lead before Michigan bounded back to take a 19-13 advantage at the 7:04 mark. Up by six with less than five minutes in the half, Michigan allowed Wisconsin to creep within one point on a Moore layup. A free throw from Michigan forward Alison Miller (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven HS) gave the Wolverines a 24-22 halftime lead.
At the half, Michigan led in the battle of the boards, 26-18, while just barely outshooting the Badgers, 29 percent to 28.6 percent.
In the second session, Wisconsin ultimately went on to score more points than Michigan managed in the entire game, outscoring the Wolverines 48-22 after intermission. Michigan held onto the lead for the first two minutes of second-half action and then regained it at 14:19 on a layup from Miller.
But then the Badgers took over, going on an 11-1 run, highlighted by back-to-back three-pointers from Kyle Black. With her second trey, Wisconsin claimed a 12-point lead, 55-43, that would eventually balloon to 24 in the remaining 6:42 of play. In the closing 5:30, Michigan managed just one basket, a layup from Thorius. The Badgers outscored Michigan 24-6 in the last 10 minutes of the game.
Wisconsin ended up out-rebounding the Wolverines 40-36 while shooting 43.9 percent from the field, 41.7 percent from beyond the arc and 68.2 percent at the line. Though Michigan shot 75 percent from the foul line, it closed the game shooting 29.6 percent overall and 16.7 percent from three-point range.
The Wolverines hit the road next weekend with games at Minnesota (Feb. 5) and second-ranked Purdue (Feb. 7). The Purdue game will be featured as the Fox Sports Chicago Big Ten Game of the Week.
NOTES
• For the third time this season, Michigan scored fewer than 50 points, and each of those games resulted in a loss. The Wolverines opened 1998-99 with a 57-45 loss at then No. 20 Vanderbilt (Nov. 13) and lost 54-47 to Minnesota (Jan. 10) before the 70-46 loss to Wisconsin.
• Anne Thorius tied a career high and set a season high with six rebounds. All of them were on the defensive end.
QUOTES
Michigan Coach Sue Guevara
"We went in at halftime shooting 29 percent; thank goodness Wisconsin was shooting 28 percent. I thought we couldn't shoot any worse. Defensively, we were getting our hands on a lot of balls in the first half. ... Wisconsin took their frustration out on us, and we took our frustration out on ourselves. We're better when we're the aggressor. We just didn't play aggressively today. Everyone in the country knows Kyle Black is a three-point shooter. I told the team they couldn't hedge against her, so she got two threes in a row and then a third one."
On Michigan's poor shooting ... "I felt terrible for Alayne (Ingram). She had one heck of a night Friday and then goes 1-for-10 today. (Ann) Lemire went 2-for-12. Kenisha (Walker) had some great penetrations but missed some of those layups. I can handle poor shooting, but I can't handle poor defense."
U-M Sophomore Guard Anne Thorius
"Basically we need to look at our scouting reports more and take away the things they're (the opponent) good at. ... It's always frustrating not being able to score. We had good looks at the basket, but we just couldn't score. Our defense was horrible."
Wisconsin Coach Jane Albright-Dieterle
"This is a classic example of that we caught them on a good night, and they caught us on a bad night. Fortunately for us, we capitalized on that. We played probably our best half on the road. This wasn't a statistical game for us. Our kids have had a frustrating season, after setting high expectations. We haven't been able to do what we can. We stepped up mentally today, more than physically. The challenge is to keep the intensity and rhythm."
"Michigan has a great team here. Stacey Thomas is one of the best players in the conference. Most of it is just catching them at the right time."
