Michigan
New Hampshire
Pool Nets Career-Best 21 as Michigan Tames Wildcats
11/23/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
DURHAM, N.H. -- The University of Michigan women's basketball team (No. 19 AP, No. 18 USA Today/ESPN) won its second consecutive road game, overcoming a 42-40 halftime deficit to beat New Hampshire 81-61 in front of 1,163 fans at Lundholm Gymnasium. Making her first career start, freshman Tabitha Pool (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS) dropped in 21 points to go with six boards and three steals as the Wolverines shot a season-best .542 (32-59) from the field and dished out 23 assists.
Michigan jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead, aided by a jumper from Pool. However, when the first media timeout rolled around at the 15:25 mark, New Hampshire had used an 11-3 run to take an 11-9 lead into the break. The Wildcats' lead eventually grew to eight at 19-11 with 12:33 remaining in the first stanza before Pool made her presence felt with a pair of steals and four more points on layups.
Pool's steals allowed the Wolverines to get out in transition and Michigan began to find a rhythm over the next six minutes. During that time Raina Goodlow (Detroit, Mich./Dominican HS) found a comfort level in the paint and on the perimeter as she drilled her first triple of the season after head coach Sue Guevara went to a big lineup, moving Goodlow out to the wing. Over that stretch, the Wolverines turned an eight-point deficit into a four-point lead (28-24) after going on a 17-5 run.
New Hampshire immediately answered the Michigan run with a pair of triples, and the Wildcats shot .471 (8-17) from beyond the arc in the first half and took more shot attempts from three-point range (17) than from inside the arc (14). Led by its perimeter shooting New Hampshire regained the lead and took a 42-40 advantage into the intermission despite the Wolverines' shooting .593 (16-27) from the field. Pool led Michigan with 11 points, while Goodlow added nine, but the bigger Wolverines owned just a 14-13 lead on the glass after 20 minutes.
Senior Susana Jara (Quito, Ecuador/Tustin HS, Calif.), making her second career start in place of Alayne Ingram (Lansing, Mich./Waverly HS), who sat out tonight's game for violation of a team rule, opened the second half with a triple as Michigan regained the lead at 43-42. With New Hampshire leading 47-45, Pool again led a Michigan rally by scoring six of the next eight Michigan points as the Wolverines played their best basketball of the night during a 15-3 run to lead 60-50 at the 9:41 mark.
Like the spark Goodlow provided in the first half, Jennifer Smith (Lansing, Mich./DeWitt HS) came off the bench in the second half, scoring six straight Wolverine points at one point as the lead grew to 14 (66-52). Another key to the Michigan rally was on the defensive end after being torched from the three-point line in the first frame. Led by Jara and Pool Michigan controlled the Wildcats on the perimeter and forced several turnovers in the second half. Jara finished with a career-best five thefts, while Pool added three and both helped the Wolverines hold New Hampshire to a .280 mark from the field in the second half.
Michigan also turned it up on the offensive glass and held a 24-12 lead on the boards in the second half as the Wolverines outscored New Hampshire 41-19 in the second half for the 81-61 win. Goodlow led the Wolverines with seven rebounds and a career-best six assists to go with 15 points. Smith also chipped in 15 points to go with four boards.
The Wolverines close out their Thanksgiving weekend trip on Sunday (Nov. 25) with a 2 p.m. contest against Syracuse at Manley Fieldhouse in Syracuse, N.Y. Following this road trip, Michigan opens its regular-season home schedule on Nov. 29 (7 p.m.) at Crisler Arena vs. Marquette University.
N O T E S
Michigan senior guard Susana Jara made just the second start of her career tonight. Jara set career highs with 31 minutes played, five points, four rebounds, four assists and five steals.
Freshman guard Sierra Hauser-Price (Van Nuys, Calif./Notre Dame Prep) and freshman forward BreAnne McPhilamy (Portage, Mich./Northern HS) made their collegiate debuts this evening. Fellow freshman Katrina Mason (Detroit, Mich./Murray-Wright HS) scored her first points as a Wolverine tonight, hitting a pair of free throws.
Michigan's 23 team assists this evening are a season best. Seven different Wolverines delivered at least two assists.
Tonight's victory is Michigan's 300th all-time.
Q U O T E S
U-M Head Coach Sue Guevara
On the game overall ... "I have to give New Hampshire a lot of credit because there was a target on our back and they came out shooting in the second half. Although New Hampshire was making tough shots, I was disappointed in our defense in the first half. In the second half we did a better job and that allowed us to get out in transition, which is something we did well in this game. When you have players like (Tabitha) Pool and (Stephanie) Gandy getting out on the break, good things are going to happen."
On what she said at halftime ... "I did not rant and rave or anything like that. I just said we need to close the gap on their perimeter shooters and we need to keep getting good shots on offense. I definitely thought our defense, especially forcing 12 turnovers, was the key to our second-half surge."
Contact: Rich Marion (734) 763-4423
