Michigan
Iowa
Second-Half Surge Not Enough as U-M Falls to Iowa
2/19/1999 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Site:Â Ann Arbor, Mich. (Crisler Arena)
Score:Â Iowa 78, Michigan 75
Records:Â U-M (15-10, 7-8 Big Ten), Iowa (12-13, 7-8 Big Ten)
Next U-M Game:Â Sunday, Feb. 21 -- vs. Indiana (Crisler Arena), 2 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's basketball team's three-game winning streak over the University of Iowa came to a halt Friday evening (Feb. 19) as the Hawkeyes squeaked out a 78-75 victory in Crisler Arena.
Spurred by a barrage of three-pointers from freshman guard Alayne Ingram (Lansing, Mich./Waverly HS), Michigan melted a 14-point deficit down the stretch, coming within one, 67-66, on back-to-back Ingram triples. However, free throws in the waning minutes secured the Iowa win, pushing the Hawkeyes up into a tie with Michigan for seventh place in the conference standings at 7-8.
Michigan (15-10, 7-8 Big Ten) held a brief 6-4 lead to open the game, but Iowa (12-13, 7-8 Big Ten) took over from there. The game remained within four points until the closing five minutes of the half, when Randi Peterson hit the back end of a two-shot foul and Myesha Bledsoe followed it up with a layup for a 26-19 Hawkeye lead. Michigan coach Sue Guevara called a 20-second timeout, but the Wolverines could get no closer than four before ending the half down by nine, 38-29.
Despite 62.1 percent shooting (18-of-29) in the second half and a combined 34 points from senior guard Ann Lemire (Fairgrove, Mich./Frankenmuth HS) and Ingram, Michigan just could not get the lead in its favor. Iowa countered with 50 percent shooting (14-of-28) and 12 free throws in the final 20 minutes.
The Hawkeyes jumped out to a 14-point lead three times in the first three minutes of second-half action. They held on to a double-digit lead until Lemire completed a three-point play at 14:05 to bring Michigan with nine, 55-46. An Amy Herrig free throw pushed it back up to 10, but once again Lemire answered the call, this time with a three-pointer (56-49). A Lemire layup 26 seconds later brought U-M within five, 56-51. A 9-4 Iowa run quelled the Wolverine threat to give the Hawks a 67-57 advantage at 7:49.
That's when Ingram took over for Lemire, netting two triples in 28 seconds to bring the deficit down to one, 67-66. Four straight points from Herrig and a Meder free throw gave Iowa a six-point cushion, but Michigan battled back with five straight points from Ingram -- a field goal and another triple -- for a 73-72 score.
Michigan would bring the game back within two points two more times. With 27 seconds remaining, Anne Thorius (Horsholm, Denmark) recorded her first bucket of the game, a layup that cut the score to 77-75. Ingram fouled Meder with 20 seconds on the clock. The freshman sank the first shot, but the missed the second, and the ball wound up in Michigan hands.
With six seconds in the game, Peterson accidentally fouled Ruth Kipping (Quincy, Ill./Quincy HS), who missed the first end of the one-and-one. Iowa grabbed the defensive board, and Lemire fouled Peterson, who proceed to miss both free throws. Lemire grabbed the ball and launched a desperation half-court shot that bounced off the backboard as time expired.
Ingram finished with 22 points, including 20 in the second half, while Lemire tallied 14 of her 19 points after intermission.
Kipping was the only player in the game to record a double-double, with 13 points and 11 boards. It was the third of her career and second against Iowa, following her career-high 19 points and 11 rebounds on Jan. 22 in Iowa City. Also in double figures was Stacey Thomas (Flint, Mich./Southwestern Academy) with 10 points.
Michigan closes out its regular-season schedule by hosting Indiana at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 21, in Crisler Arena.
NOTES
• For the second straight game, Michigan coach Sue Guevara was kept from recording her 50th career victory. She is now 49-31 with the Wolverines, posting 15 victories in her first season, 19 last year and now 15 with at least two more games left in the 1998-99 season.
• With the loss, Michigan dropped into a tie for seventh place with Iowa. The Hawkeyes travel to Illinois for the season finale, while Michigan hosts Indiana at 2 p.m. on Sunday (Feb. 21). Wisconsin is now alone in fifth place at 8-7 and a Sunday game at Minnesota, while Michigan State is sixth at 8-8 and only tournament play remaining.
QUOTES
Michigan Coach Sue Guevara
"We're not good at being the hunted, we're better when we're doing the hunting. We came out with less emotion and intensity than Iowa. It was a disappointing loss. The biggest different was Iowa was very hungry. (Cara) Consuegra, (Lindsey) Meder did a nice job with penetration pull-ups. They were aggressive. We got caught offensively running to spots. Iowa knows where we're running. We need to read the defense and maybe hesitate before going to our spots, and then get there."
"The most disappointing aspect of this game was our lack of defense. We allowed penetration, it didn't matter if it was in the zone or man-to-man. You could see it. We caught them, we're down by two, and we're trading baskets. When one of our shots didn't go in, you could see our body language. All we have to do is go down to the other end and get a stop."
U-M Freshman Alayne Ingram
"It's always frustrating to lose. We started the second half down, and then traded baskets with them. You can't do that when you're down. They capitalized on our lack of defense. We've been talking about making a run for the NCAA Tournament and getting a bye at the Big Ten Tournament, but it comes down to performing well and we haven't. We need to finish on a positive note. The last two losses are what we've been doing to ourselves, not what the other team is doing to us. We're just not geting things done on the defensive end -- steals, fouls, the running game."
Iowa Coach Angie Lee
"We really needed that win. We were embarrassed by Michigan the last time we played (86-67 on Jan. 22). Cara (Consuegra) played a magnificent floor game for us. We had a season-low turnovers (11), and last time we had 22 against Michigan. This time, I decided we were going to go man-to-man. I didn't feel our zone was effective last time. Other than that, there wasn't much difference in our strategy."
On U-M forward Ruth Kipping's play ... "Ruth hurt us in the first half. She runs the floor extremely well. She creates opportunities for herself."
