Michigan
New Mexico State
U-M Hammers New Mexico State in Rice Invitational
12/3/1999 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Michigan jumped out to an early 19-8 lead as Alayne Ingram (Lansing, Mich./Waverly HS) added eight early points, including a pair of threes. Michigan took a 50-28 lead heading into halftime as Bies and Ingram led all scorers with 11 first-half points. Bies was 3-of-6 from the floor and 5-of-5 from the charity stripe, while Ingram shot 4-of-5 from the floor, including a 3-for-3 effort from three-point land.
The Wolverine defense held New Mexico State to 35.5 percent (11-of-31) shooting in the first half. U-M also added six blocks and nine steals. Bies had three blocks in the first half, while senior forward Stacey Thomas (Flint, Mich./Southwestern Academy) had four steals.
The second half saw more of the same from Michigan. The Wolverines shot 61.9 percent (13-of-21) and played solid defense. For the game, U-M held New Mexico State to 32.8 percent (22-of-67) shooting. NMSU also committed 28 turnovers as the Wolverines racked up 19 steals.
Michigan, which played its entire roster, was led by Thomas with a game-high 18 points. Three other Wolverines scored in double figures -- Ingram (15 points), LeeAnn Bies (13) and freshman guard Infini Robinson (Detroit, Mich./Oak Park HS) (10). Bies also added a season-best six blocks.
Junior forward Carrie Saidat led New Mexico State with 10 points and eight rebounds. She also added three assists, two steals and one block.
Michigan (6-0) will face the winner of the UMass/Rice game in the championship round of the Gene Hackerman Rice Invitational tomorrow (Saturday, Dec. 4) at 7 p.m. CST.
N O T E S
Michigan broke the school record for blocks in a game that has stood for more than 20 years, posting 16 against New Mexico State. The previous mark was 14 boards, set against Indiana on Jan. 13, 1979.
Michigan senior forward Stacey Thomas finished with a season-high 18 points. Thomas was 8-of-12 (.667) from the floor and 1-of-2 from three point land. She also added eight steals in the win. The eight steals are tied for the second-best single-game effort.
Michigan's 6-0 record to begin the season is tied with the 1989-90 team as the best start in school history.
Q U O T E S
Head Coach Sue Guevara
On today's game ... "I'm very happy with this win. We shot 61 percent in the second game and finished shooting 56 percent for the game. We also shot 70 percent from three-point land, and added 23 assists and 19 steals. We were able to play everyone on the roster and that should help us in the game tomorrow. This is our third win on the road and it's tough to win on the road. One of our goals in coming down here was to win the championship. It is going to be difficult, but this team is ready for the challenge."
Contact: Becky Olsen (734) 763-4423
