Michigan
Michigan State
U-M Recovers from Slow Start, Wins at Michigan State
1/25/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's basketball team won its third straight road game in the Big Ten Conference with a 58-49 win over Michigan State on Thursday (Jan. 25) in front 7,323 fans at the Breslin Center. Michigan center LeeAnn Bies (Lakeview, Mich./Lakeview HS) was once again a major factor in the second half as she scored 13 of her team-best 16 points in the period and finished with a game-high 11 rebounds.
Michigan (12-7, 4-4 Big Ten) opened the scoring with a triple from junior Heather Oesterle (Mason, Mich./Mason HS). However, that was the only hoop Michigan scored in the first six minutes of the contest as the Spartan zone frustrated the Wolverines in the half-court. A score in the paint by Bies broke the Wolverine dry spell, and after a triple from Alayne Ingram (Lansing, Mich./Waverly HS), the Maize and Blue held a 9-7 lead.
However, Michigan State (8-10, 2-4 Big Ten) answered with 8-0 run as Michigan went scoreless for the next seven minutes. A short baseline jumper from freshman Stephanie Gandy (Detroit, Mich./Northern HS), back from a two-game absence due to injury, stopped the Wolverine drought at the 4:36 mark. The Gandy jumper cut the lead two at 13-11.
In the final 4:36 of the first half, all Michigan could manage was a triple from Anne Thorius (Horsholm, Denmark/Rungsted Gymnasium) and a split at the free throw line from Bies. As a result, the Wolverines scored a season-low 15 first-half points and took a 21-15 deficit into the locker room. The Wolverines shot just .217 (5-23) from the field and were out-rebounded 22-14 as Michigan State generally limited U-M to just one shot on the offensive end.
Like the first half, Michigan opened the scoring in the second half, this time on an offensive rebound and putback by Bies after short jumper from Ingram rolled off the rim. Following a jumper in the paint by Goodlow, the Wolverines cut the lead to two (21-19) at the 17:36 mark and forced a Michigan State timeout. Another jumper in the lane by Goodlow gave Michigan its first lead (25-24) of the second half at the 13:45 mark as Michigan completed a 10-3 run to start the final 20 minutes.
The Spartans regained the lead, but Ingram answered with her second triple of the game to give Michigan the lead back at 34-33 with just over eight minutes remaining in the contest. After Michigan State grabbed a 36-33 lead, Michigan came back with a 7-0 run paced by two hoops in the paint from freshman center Jennifer Smith (Lansing, Mich./DeWitt HS) to go up four (40-36). Michigan eventually pushed its lead to six at 45-39 following a steal and layup by Ingram.
Michigan State cut the lead to three (48-45), but Oesterle rebounded the second straight miss at the charity stripe by Bies and fed Goodlow for a layup to give Michigan a 50-45 lead with less than a minute and a half remaining. Clutch free throw shooting down the stretch from Bies and Thorius helped Michigan ice the 58-49 victory.
After the pitiful shooting display in the first half, the Wolverines shot an impressive 59.1 percent (13-22) from the field in the second period. Raina Goodlow (Detroit, Mich./Dominican HS) scored all 11 of her points in the second half, and Ingram also reached double digits with 10 points, including two three-pointers.
Having completed a three-game road swing with three victories, the Wolverines will return home to face Northwestern on Sunday (Jan. 28) at 2 p.m. The game will be preceded by a basketball clinic conducted by Detroit Shock All-Star Wendy Palmer. The clinic will run from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Cost is $10, which includes admission to the game, and pre-registration is required. To register of for more information, contact Mary Rogers of the Detroit Shock at (248) 377-8768.
N O T E S
LeeAnn Bies' 16 points and 11 rebounds is her sixth double-double this season and 10th of her career. Bies also has now scored in double figures in 13 straight contests.
Q U O T E S
U-M Head Coach Sue Guevara
On the game overall ... "Going into the locker room at the half, I thought, 21-15 is a high school score. However, we came out and scored 43 points in the second half and our kids did a nice job of adjusting and getting the ball inside in the second half."
On the play of U-M's Lansing-area products ... "Alayne Ingram is a great competitor and she hates to lose, and I think you saw that tonight. Heather Oesterle came up with some huge hustle plays for us down the stretch."
Contact: Rich Marion (734) 763-4423
