Michigan
Toledo
Wolverines Use Second-Half Surge to Top Toledo
12/16/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Senior guard Anne Thorius (Horsholm, Denmark/Rungsted Gymnasium) scored all of her team-high 14 points in the second half to lead the University of Michigan women's basketball team to a 77-71 home victory over Toledo on Saturday (Dec. 16) at Crisler Arena. Thorius capped her afternoon with a key three-pointer with 1:26 to play that helped stave off a Rockets comeback attempt.
Thorius, who tied a season high with eight assists, led a group of five Wolverines who scored in double figures to help overcome a 29-point performance by the Rockets' Kahli Carter. LeeAnn Bies (Lakeview, Mich./Lakeview HS) and Heather Oesterle (Mason, Mich./Mason HS) each tallied 13 points off the bench, while Jennifer Smith (Lansing, Mich./DeWitt HS) added 11 and Raina Goodlow (Detroit, Mich./Dominican HS) had 10. Bies led all players with eight rebounds.
The Wolverines (7-3) jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead on the strength of Smith's three-point play followed by a layup from Stephanie Gandy (Detroit, Mich./Northern HS), but Toledo (5-3) answered with the next seven points. Oesterle's three-pointer with 10:39 left in the half gave U-M a 21-16 advantage, but Carter then scored seven points during a 12-1 run that gave the Rockets their biggest lead of the game, 28-22 with 5:17 on the clock.
Infini Robinson (Detroit, Mich./Oak Park HS) hit a three-pointer to stop Toledo's run and jump-start a 7-0 U-M burst. The teams traded leads five times in the last four minutes of the half, with the Wolverines taking a 34-32 edge into the break. Oesterle hit 4-of-5 from the field, including 3-of-4 from long range, for a team-high 11 points in the opening period.
The game remained close during the first 10 minutes of the second half, with neither team leading by more than five. After Carter's trey with 9:56 to play put Toledo up 54-53, the Wolverines embarked on an 11-0 run that was capped by Alayne Ingram's (Lansing, Mich./Waverly HS) three-point play on a layup, foul and free throw.
The Wolverines appeared to have the game well in hand when Oesterle's layup gave U-M its biggest lead, 70-58 with just under four minutes to play. However, Toledo cut the lead in half and got back within six with 1:57 remaining before Thorius' three-pointer put the Wolverines back up by nine and helped them hang on for the victory.
Michigan is off until Thursday, Dec. 28, when it opens Big Ten Conference play with a 7 p.m. CST game at Illinois.
Q U O T E S
U-M Head Coach Sue Guevara
On the game overall ... "We did a good job of stepping up in the second half. If you noticed, our run in the middle of the second half was keyed by our defense. We did not play very good defense for the majority of the game, but when we had our spurt to go up by 10, it was because we played good half-court defense and got our transition game going."
On Michigan's guards ... "I felt Anne Thorius played an excellent second half of basketball. She was frustrated in the first half, but she was our leader in the second half. I also thought Infini Robinson gave us some very solid minutes off the bench, which we needed."
Senior Guard Anne Thorius
On the upcoming Big Ten Conference season ... "I think we are excited about the start of the Big Ten season, but we have a lot of work to do. We start out with Illinois, Purdue and Wisconsin, which is a tough stretch to open the season with."
Contact: Rich Marion (734) 763-4423
