Michigan
Purdue
Wolverines Fall 74-59 to Purdue in Big Ten Semifinal
3/4/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- The University of Michigan women's basketball teams ride through the Big Ten Tournament came to an end on Saturday evening (March 4) with a 74-59 loss to the Purdue Boilermakers in the semifinals. In the first semifinal, Penn State knocked off Illinois, 81-74. Purdue and Penn State will play for the Big Ten Tournament Championship on Sunday (March 5), at 7 p.m.
The loss snapped a school-record nine-game winning streak for the Wolverines. Prior to this evening, U-M's last lost was an 85-71 defeat to then No. 7-ranked Penn State on Jan. 27.
Poor shooting hurt the Wolverines all evening. U-M shot just 29.0 percent (9-of-31) in the first half, and just 38.1 percent (24-of-63) for the game. On the other hand, Purdue connected on 41.7 percent (24-of-60) of their shots. The Wolverines, who led the Big Ten in free throw percentage (.741) during the regular season, connected on just 50.0 percent (7-of-14) of their attempts.
Purdue jumped out to a 20-13 lead just 7:04 into the contest. The Wolverines pulled within three (20-17) after a Stacey Thomas (Flint, Mich./Southwestern Academy) driving layup and a pair of free throws by LeeAnn Bies (Lakeview, Mich./Lakeview HS). It would be the closest that Michigan would get the entire game.
The Boilermakers went into the locker room at halftime with a 33-24 advantage. It was the first time that Michigan has trailed at half, since the Feb. 20 game at Michigan State and only the sixth time this season.
The Wolverines came out of the locker room and went on a 12-10 run to start the second half. Sophomore guard Alayne Ingram (Lansing, Mich./Waverly HS) added all six of her points in the run. Twice U-M pulled within six (48-42 and 50-44), thanks in part to the play of sophomore guard Heather Oesterle (Mason, Mich./Mason HS). Oesterle provided a spark for the Wolverines, adding 10 points in the game.
Purdue's Katie Douglass answered with seven straight points to help the Boilermakers regain a 55-44 advantage with 5:57 to play. Douglass and Camille Cooper added 21 points apiece for Purdue. Kelly Komara contributed 10 points for the Boilermakers, who raised their record to 21-7 overall.
Junior guard Anne Thorius (Horsholm, Denmark/Rungsted Gymnasium) added 16 points, six boards and four assists in the loss. Stacey Thomas and Heather Oesterle added 10 points apiece.
The Wolverines (22-7) will have to wait until next Sunday (March 12) to find out their seeding for the 65-team NCAA Championship.
N O T E S
Michigan is now 0-2 in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals. U-M's only other semifinal appearance was on March 1, 1998 - an 87-81 overtime defeat to Penn State.
Sophomore guard Heather Oesterle had a solid Big Ten Tournament. Oesterle finished the two games with 17 points, four assists, six rebounds and one steal.
With four assists, Anne Thorius moved into second place on U-M's all-time assists chart with 386. Thorius surpassed Carol Szczechowski (385, 1987-91), who previously held down second place with 385 career helpers. Lori Gnatkowski (1980-84) is Michigan's all-time leader with 402.
Michigan is now 0-2 in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament. The Wolverines also advanced to the semis in 1998, falling 87-81 in overtime to Penn State.
With her start today, Stacey Thomas moved into a tie for first place on the all-time games played chart at Michigan. With 114 career games played, Thomas shares the top position with Leah Wooldridge and Joan Rieger.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Sue Guevara
"Purdue played a good game, but we had wide open shots that we missed. We had dumps down in the post and we missed those too. I was concerned in the shoot-around when we were missing those shots.
"If we couldn't make shots at the free throw line without anyone guarding us, there's nothing we could do.
"We didn't have everyone step up. We only had two starters in double figures."
Michigan's Anne Thorius
"Purdue is a good team. They knew our offense and how to defend it.
"I think we had good shots at the basket. The shots just didn't go in.
"In order to beat a team like Purdue, you have to have everyone playing well.
"Our focus now is what is next. We don't want to feel like this again after the first game."
Contact: Becky Olsen (734) 763-4423
