Michigan
Minnesota
U-M Downs Gophers, Advances to Big Ten Quarterfinals
2/26/1999 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Site:Â Indianapolis, Ind. (RCA Dome)
Event:Â Big Ten Tournament (First Round)
Score:Â Michigan 74, Minnesota 55
Records:Â Michigan (17-10), Minnesota (7-20)
Next U-M Game:Â Saturday, Feb. 27 -- vs. Illinois (Indianapolis, Ind.), 7 p.m.
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- For the second straight year, the University of Michigan women's basketball team will see action in the Big Ten Tournament's quarterfinals. The Wolverines recorded their 17th win of the season with a 74-55 victory over the University of Minnesota in first-round action Friday (Feb. 27) in the RCA Dome.
Now 17-10, Michigan will face No. 3 seed Illinois on Saturday (Feb. 27) on Fox Sports Chicago. The game will tip off at approximately 7 p.m. Minnesota's season came to an end with the loss as the Gophers finished 7-20 overall.
Michigan got off to a fast start in the first half, holding the Gophers scoreless until 17:10 on a Tweet Blevins bucket (6-2). Freshman Alayne Ingram (Lansing, Mich./Waverly HS) sparked the Wolverines with two left-wing three-pointers, handing the Maize and Blue a 17-2 lead at the 13:14 mark. A Stacey Thomas (Flint, Mich./Southwestern Academy) basket pushed Michigan's lead to 19-2.
With the third official timeout at 7:57, Michigan found itself with a 25-6 lead. At that point, just two Gophers had scored, while six of Michigan's 10 players were on the board. Minnesota made a run though, scoring eight unanswered points to come within 11 with 5:33 left in the half. Ingram again came through, stopping the run with a basket to end nearly three scoreless minutes for Michigan. From there, Minnesota outscored the Wolverines 14-7 to close the half down by just seven points, 35-28.
Early in the second session, Minnesota cut the deficit to five and kept it in single digits until an Ann Lemire (Fairgrove, Mich./Frankenmuth HS) free throw pushed it back up to 10, 50-40. That would be as close as it would get for the Gophers as Lemire went on to score all 12 of her points in the second half. Thomas added six crucial points in an eight-point Wolverine run to put Michigan up by 15, 67-52, at 2:21. The contest concluded with a triple from Lemire, a layup from Katie Dykhouse (Grand Rapids, Mich./Christian HS) and an Anne Thorius (Horsholm, Denmark) jumper.
For the game, Michigan shot 43.8 percent from the floor, 33.3 percent from three-point range and just 68.2 percent at the line. The Wolverines led the Big Ten in free throw shooting with 74.6 percent accuracy. At the other end, Minnesota shot 39.1 percent, 18.2 percent for triples and 81 percent from the foul line.
The Wolverines outrebounded Minnesota 42-31 while posting four players in the double-digit scoring column. Thomas led the team with 18 points, adding seven rebounds, while Ingram scored 14 points, Lemire 12 and Thorius 10.
NOTES
• Michigan will face third-seeded Illinois in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals 25 minutes following the conclusion of the 4:30 p.m. game featuring No. 2 seed Penn State and No. 7 seed Michigan State. In first-round action, No. 9 Northwestern defeated No. 8 Iowa 75-71 in the first game, while Michigan State advanced to the quarters with an 88-69 win over No. 10 seed Indiana.
• With three steals, Stacey Thomas moved into ninth place on the Big Ten career steals list with 260. She now needs seven more steals to set Michigan's career record, currently held by Lori Gnatkowski (266). Thomas' 18 points also pushed her into 11th place in Michigan history at 1,071.
• Also with three steals, Ann Lemire moved into a tie for 12th place on Michigan's all-time list with 121 career steals.
• Anne Thorius recorded six assists against Minnesota, giving her 125 on the year. That total ranks in a tie for fifth place in Michigan's single-season record book. Her 130 as a freshman is fourth. The two-year tally of 255 is ninth in Michigan's all-time book, four behind Wendy Bradetich (259) in eighth place.
• Michigan has now won seven of its last eight games against Minnesota. In three seasons, coach Sue Guevara is 6-1 against the Gophers, with the lone loss coming on Jan. 10, 1999.
QUOTES
Michigan Coach Sue Guevara
"The kids came out with a lot of intensity. We talked at the half that the bench needed to produce. (Ann) Lemire had no points in the first half and got all 12 in the second. I'm just glad to get this (first game) over for the freshmen. The tournament atmosphere is just so different, they didn't know what to expect. Alayne (Ingram) got off in the first half, but I was very pleased to see five players score in double figures."
On facing Illinois Saturday ... "We'll have our hands full with Illinois. We split with them this year. We lost in overtime in Champaign and then came back from 18 to win in Ann Arbor. We match up well with them. We'll have to quicken our tempo, probably press again, that's not a secret. Our bench will have to contribute early."
On losing a substantial first-half lead vs. Minnesota ... "I never really thought we were going to lose it. I was more upset with the way our level of play dropped when we made substitutions. Anne (Thorius) finally started attacking the basket and started to score. We ran our 1-4 low for her."
U-M Freshman Alayne Ingram
"I felt relaxed, ready to play. In the locker room (before the game), Coach 'G' was giving her pregame talk. I was moving around a lot, I was just nervous, excited. Before we got here, I was asking people what the tournament was like, if it was fun. Now that I'm here, I'm excited to play. I'm glad we came out on top."
U-M Junior Captain Stacey Thomas
On playing Illinois ... "We just have to stay focused, not let the pressure get to us, and have fun. We have to play like we have nothing to lose."
