Michigan
Iowa
Freshman Smith Sends Wolverine Seniors Out in Style
2/15/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's basketball team closed out its 2000-01 regular-season home schedule with a thrilling second-half comeback against No. 25-ranked University of Iowa on Thursday (Feb. 15). Jennifer Smith (Lansing, Mich./DeWitt HS) gave Senior Night a freshman touch, accounting for 26 points in the Wolverines' last-minute, 80-78 victory in front of 1,706 fans at Crisler Arena.
The Wolverines began the evening by saluting their senior class -- forward Katie Dykhouse (Grand Rapids, Mich./Christian HS) and guard Anne Thorius (Horsholm, Denmark/Rungsted Gymnasium) -- after Dykhouse performed the national anthem.
Michigan (16-9, 9-5 Big Ten) got on the board first with a triple from Thorius. Turnovers proved costly to the Wolverines in the first half. Iowa (14-9, 9-4 Big Ten) took the lead from Michigan and quickly drew it out, using three-pointers to embark on a 17-0 run. Iowa accounted for 14 points from 12 first-half Michigan turnovers. Raina Goodlow (Detroit, Mich./Dominican HS) stopped the onslaught of Hawkeye points by sinking two baskets, the first Wolverine points in five minutes.
Michigan slowly cut into Iowa's lead, pulling the lead within 10 with 1:25 left in the half. Iowa connected on the last basket and took a 40-28 lead into the locker room at halftime. Smith led the Maize and Blue in first-half scoring with 12 points, the only member of either team to reach double digits.
Michigan came out of halftime and hit its first two threes. The Wolverines quickly worked on the scoring gap and used a 13-2 run to pull within two points, 53-51 with 11:23 left to play. Iowa attempted to pull away again, but the Wolverines answered and kept the lead to three. Thanks to two free throws from Smith the Wolverines were down by only one with four minutes remaining.
Smith gave the Wolverines the first lead of the night with 3:20 left in the game off of two more free throws. The Wolverines retained the lead, although the Hawkeyes got within one with less than two seconds left in regulation. After Thorius was fouled, she sank the first free throw, then purposely missed the second, giving Iowa only one last heave as time expired.
The Wolverines travel to Bloomington, Ind., on Sunday (Feb. 18) to take on Indiana University. The game, the only regular-season meeting between the teams this season, is slated for a 2 p.m. start in Assembly Hall.
N O T E S
With 1,053 points and 505 assists, Anne Thorius is the first member of the women's basketball program and only the fourth U-M player -- man or woman -- to reach 1,000 points and 500 assists in a career, joining Rumeal Robinson (1987-90, 1,446 points, 575 assists), Gary Grant (1984-88, 2,222 points, 731 assists) and Antoine Joubert (1983-87, 1,594 points, 539 assists).
Jennifer Smith had a career-high night, scoring 26 points. She achieved her previous high of 18 on two occasions -- vs. Western Michigan (12/3/00) and at Illinois (12/28/00).
The Wolverines converted their first 16 attempts from the free throw line, and even with Anne Thorius' intentional miss at the end of the game, U-M finished 19 of 21 for a season-best .905 mark from the stripe.
Anne Thorius had made 24 straight free throws before intentionally missing her final attempt in the Iowa game. Her last previous miss was vs. Purdue on Dec. 30 when she went 0-1.
The victory over the No. 25-ranked Hawkeyes makes Michigan 3-2 this season against teams in the Associated Press Top 25. The Wolverines' other wins over ranked teams came at home against No. 8 Louisiana Tech (11/17/00) and No. 13 Penn State (1/11/01).
Stephanie Gandy hit the first three-point basket of her Michigan career.
Q U O T E S
U-M Head Coach Sue Guevara
On the game overall ... "This was a huge character game for us tonight. You saw us fight. You saw us come back. They were composed and that was huge for us. No matter what happened they stayed composed. They didn't give up. They fought. We pulled out this game against a very tough Iowa team. That in itself is all about character."
On the difference in the game ... "Our defensive and offensive execution was the difference, particularly in the second half. We ran our set and stopped turning the ball over, which allowed us to get the ball in the post."
On Michigan's guards ... "I thought our guards, Anne Thorius and Alayne Ingram, did a great job of making plays on the offensive end down the stretch. They were very aggressive on the offensive end and created very well with the dribble and then they knocked their shots down."
Senior Guard Anne Thorius
On getting her 500th assist ... "Statistics are never something that is on my mind, but that is something I am proud of because it means I consistently contributed to this program for four years. What these four years have meant for this program and coach (Sue) Guevara is what I am most proud of."
Contact: Rich Marion (734) 763-4423
