Michigan
Minnesota
Michigan Buries Golden Gophers in Three-Point Flurry
2/1/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's basketball team extended its winning streak as it buried the University of Minnesota in a barrage of three-point baskets Thursday (Feb. 1) in front of 1,212 fans at Crisler Arena. Four Wolverines scored in double digits as Michigan outlasted the Gophers 69-51 and won its fifth straight game.
Junior guard Alayne Ingram (Lansing, Mich./Waverly HS) got the Wolverines on the board with a three-point basket, and fellow junior Heather Osterele (Mason, Mich./Mason HS) followed with a three of her own. The stingy Wolverine defense kept Minnesota scoreless for the first five minutes of the game, while the Maize and Blue gathered up a 10-0 lead. Minnesota (8-12, 1-8 Big Ten) finally got on the board and closed the lead to six.
Michigan (14-7, 7-4 Big Ten) regained a substantial lead on Minnesota, with a trey from sophomore Infini Robinson (Detroit, Mich./Oak Park HS). The Gophers dug back out of their hole, closing the lead to two with one minute remaining in the period. The Wolverines quickly responded and went into halftime holding a 27-21 edge.
Ingram scored eight points in the first half to lead the way for the Wolverines. Closely behind Ingram were Robinson and junior forward Raina Goodlow (Detroit, Mich./Dominican HS), who each accounted for six. Michigan's defense forced 15 Gopher turnovers, which the Wolverines turned into 15 points.
Both teams came out strong in the second half. The Gophers tied the score, deadlocking the teams at 34, before Goodlow broke the tie. The game became an exchange of buckets until Michigan answered with two threes by Robinson and Ingram.
Michigan held the Gophers scoreless for nearly five minutes while the Wolverines embarked on an 8-0 run, accompanied by a flurry of three-point buckets. Michigan finished 10-of-19 from beyond the arc.
The Maize and Blue defense proved deadly for the Gophers, recording 13 steals and causing 29 Minnesota turnovers. Sophomore LeeAnn Bies (Lakeview, Mich./Lakeview HS) led the Wolverines in steals with seven. Ingram led the team with 17 points, while Robinson (14), Goodlow (12) and Oesterle (12) also reached double digits.
The Wolverines will hit the road as they head to West Lafayette, Ind., on Sunday (Feb. 4) to face No. 6-ranked Purdue University, the only remaining undefeated team in the Big Ten. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. This will mark the Wolverines' first visit to Mackey Arena since Feb. 7, 1999, when U-M fell 70-64.
N O T E S
The Wolverines tied a school record with 10 three-point buckets.
Alayne Ingram set a new career high with eight assists and tied her career best with five triples.
Infini Robinson earned new career highs in both three-pointers (four) and points (14), while LeeAnn Bies set a career high with seven steals.
Q U O T E S
U-M Head Coach Sue Guevara
On the game overall ... "Our inside has been carrying us all season, but tonight that just didn't work for us. Tonight our outside game stepped up. You haven't seen us shoot 53 percent from outside the arc all season. Minnesota plays a lot of zone defense, so we had to prepare for that."
On the rest of the season ... "Tonight gave us a lot of momentum. We have to use this game to get us ready for Purdue. We are going into a critical stretch of the season. I think we are peaking at just the right time. We need to balance our inside and outside games in sync."
Sophomore Guard Infini Robinson
On the game ... "The inside game was not working for us so we had to move to the outside game. I just let the shots come. Tonight was a fun game."
Contact: Rich Marion (734) 763-4423
