Michigan
Syracuse
Wolverines Use Balanced Attack in Win at Syracuse
11/25/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- The University of Michigan women's basketball team (No. 19 AP, No. 18 USA Today/ESPN) used red-hot shooting and a dominant first half to gain its third straight victory this afternoon (Sunday, No. 25) with an 84-76 win over Syracuse at Manley Field House. Senior guard Alayne Ingram (Lansing, Mich./Waverly HS), who had not hit a triple in Michigan's first three games, came alive today with a Michigan season-best 25 points -- 17 in the second half -- including 5-7 from the three-point land, and the Wolverines shot .620 (31-50) from the field as a team.
Michigan played possibly its best half of the season in the first frame as seven different Wolverines scored at least five points and U-M slowly extended its lead before entering the intermission with a 47-31 advantage. Michigan displayed great balance on the offensive end as they found gaps in the Orangewomen's zone throughout the half. Syracuse grabbed an early lead of 7-5, but Michigan scored the next seven points to take a lead they would expand for the remainder of the half. Susana Jara (Quito, Ecuador/Tustin HS, Calif.) drilled a triple during the run, and after Syracuse cut the deficit to two (14-12), Tabitha Pool (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS) answered with a trifecta of her own.
The Wolverines shot .615 (16-26) from the field in the first half, including 5-7 from beyond the arc. The Wolverine bench helped to stretch the Michigan advantage, particularly Stephanie Gandy (Detroit, Mich./Northern HS), who drilled 4-5 from the field on her way to a game-best 10 first-half points. Jen Smith (Lansing, Mich./DeWitt HS) also contributed six points off the bench, including 4-4 from the charity stripe. As a team, the Wolverines were 10-10 at the free throw line in the first half. The Wolverines were also able to limit Syracuse's second chances and owned an overall edge of 18-10 on the boards. The best indicator of how well the Wolverines played against Syracuse's zone was the 11 team assists, led by four from Jara, compared to just four turnovers.
However, the second half began just the opposite of the first as the Wolverines turned the ball over five times in the first five minutes, allowing Syracuse to cut the deficit to nine (49-40) with over 15 minutes of the second half remaining. Ingram answered that 9-2 Syracuse run with another triple, but the Orangewomen came right back with five straight points to shrink the Maize and Blue lead to seven (52-45) at the 14:30 mark. The seven-point margin was the closest Syracuse had been since the Wolverines led 24-19 with over nine minutes left in the first stanza.
Again, it was Ingram nailing another triple to put the Wolverines back up by 10, and Michigan appeared to be ready to put Syracuse away. Pool and Smith scored four points each to go with 10 from Ingram over an eight-minute stretch during which the Wolverines maintained a lead of at least eight points. Syracuse did manage one more rally as the Orangewomen cut the Wolverine advantage back to seven (67-60) with barely over eight minutes left after converting on a pair of offensive rebounds. Syracuse grabbed seven offensive boards in the second half and 12 for the game compared to just eight by Michigan.
Instead of answering with a triple or pull-up jumper, Ingram came up with a key steal as Syracuse was attempting to come within five of the Wolverines, and she fed a streaking Gandy for a layup. Syracuse's next possession resulted in a Gandy steal and she converted a pair of free throws on the other end to push the lead back to 11 (71-60) and put the Wolverines in control down the stretch. Led by Ingram and Jara, who dished out a team-best six assists, Michigan controlled the ball and the clock, eventually expanding its lead to 14 (78-64) before putting the final touches on an 84-76 victory.
Michigan carries its three-game win streak into its regular-season home opener vs. Marquette University on Thursday (Nov. 29, 7 p.m.) at Crisler Arena.
N O T E S
Michigan's .620 mark from the field matches its fifth-best mark of all-time for a single game. The Wolverines also shot .620 vs. Minnesota on Feb. 16, 1986.
For the second straight game, Susana Jara set a new career high in assists, this time with six. Jara now has 11 assists and just four turnovers in three games played this season.
Alayne Ingram's five three-pointers move her to within just one triple of tying the Michigan record of 134 for a career, which was set by current director of basketball operations Molly Murray from 1995-98.
Michigan again excelled from the free throw line, going 14-15 this afternoon with its only miss coming from Susana Jara on the Wolverines' last attempt of the game.
Q U O T E S
U-M Head Coach Sue Guevara
On the game overall ... "This was another nice win for us on the road against a team that gave us all we could handle in the second half. We did a very good job offensively vs. the zone in terms of our ball movement, which led to open looks from the perimeter and we knocked them down. I am, however, still waiting for us to put two good halves back-to-back this season and maybe when can do that on Thursday. We are now looking forward to opening our home season on Thursday and getting off the road."
On the key to victory ... "I thought the spark Stephanie Gandy gave us off the bench in the first half was excellent. She made some key jumpers and was a presence defensively as well as on the boards. In addition to Gandy, I felt (Susana) Jara and (Alayne) Ingram gave us excellent guard play and that was important against their zone defense."
Contact: Rich Marion (734) 763-4423
