Michigan
Penn State
Wolverines Pull Off Trifecta with Win Over Penn State
3/2/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's basketball team pulled off a sports rarity this afternoon (Friday, March 2) with its third win of the season over nationally ranked Penn State, beating the Nittany Lions 66-60 in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament at Van Andel Arena. Paced by junior forward Raina Goodlow (Detroit, Mich./Dominican HS), who delivered her second career double-double with 17 points and a career-best 14 boards, the No. 5-seeded Wolverines advanced to the Big Ten semifinals for the second straight season.
Penn State (No. 18 ESPN/USA Today, No. 19 AP), the tourney's No. 4 seed, got on the board first on a triple from Ashley Luke. The Wolverines (18-10) struggled from the field in the first four minutes, scoring just four points despite several good looks at the basket. Michigan trailed 7-4 at the 15:57 mark but came back to take its first lead of the game (8-7) at the 13:21 mark on a pair of free throws from Alayne Ingram (Lansing, Mich./Waverly HS). Penn State, however, answered with a 8-0 run to take its biggest lead of the game at 15-8.
The Nittany Lions (19-9) eventually pushed their lead to eight (20-12) before Michigan made an 8-0 run of its own to tie the score at 20 with less than five minutes remaining in the first half. Michigan's 8-0 run was keyed by freshman center Jennifer Smith (Lansing, Mich./DeWitt HS), who came off the bench to drill a jumper from the high post and a pair of free throws.
Penn State came right back with four straight points, but a perimeter jumper from Michigan senior guard Anne Thorius (Horsholm, Denmark/Rungsted Gymnasium) sent Michigan into halftime trailing by just two (24-22) despite shooting a paltry .273 (9-33) from the field. The Wolverines were also 0-6 from behind the arc. Penn State's 11 first-half turnovers helped keep the Wolverines in the game. LeeAnn Bies (Lakeview, Mich./Lakeview HS) led Michigan with six points in the first frame, while Thorius dished out four assists.
Michigan came out of the gate strong in the second half, scoring the first six points, including four from Raina Goodlow (Detroit, Mich./Dominican HS) to take a 28-24 lead. A triple from Thorius helped Michigan run its lead to a seven (34-27), but five straight points from Penn State cut the lead to four (36-32) with 15:00 remaining in the game. Another triple from Thorius and a baseline jumper from Ingram with the shot clock winding down gave the Wolverines a 41-32 lead.
Buoyed by three jumpers from freshman Stephanie Gandy (Detroit, Mich./Northern HS), Michigan maintained its lead, although Penn State cut the gap to four (45-41) with less than nine minutes still on the clock. A steal and fast-break jumper by Ingram was followed by a put-back by Goodlow as the Wolverines lead grew to 11 at 59-48 at the 6:42 mark. Penn State made one final run, outscoring Michigan 11-3 over the next five minutes to trim the deficit to three (62-59) with 1:46 left.
After each team split on its next two trips to the charity stripe leaving Michigan in front 63-60 and in possession of the ball. As the shot clock neared zero and with 23 ticks left on the clock, Thorius drained her third triple of the game to ice the 66-60 Wolverine win.
The Wolverines atoned for their poor first-half shooting by making 18 of 26 from the field (.692) in the second half. Thorius finished with 15 points and a game-high nine assists. Gandy (12 points) and Bies (10) also scored in double figures.
Michigan advances to the semifinal round to face No. 8-ranked Purdue, the tournament's top seed, at 4 p.m. Saturday (March 2). The Boilermakers cruised past No. 8 seed Ohio State, 81-61, in the second quarterfinal Friday.
N O T E S
The win gives U-M head coach Sue Guevara 92 career wins, just one shy of matching the all-time Michigan record of 93, which was set by Bud VanDeWege from 1984-92.
Raina Goodlow's 17 points match a season best and her 17-point, 14-rebound effort is the second double-double of her career.
Michigan's win today gives the Wolverines their first-ever three-game season sweep of Penn State.
Michigan has now won five games vs. ranked opponents this season, which is an all-time single-season high.
The Wolverines is now 10-0 when Anne Thorius scores in double figures.
Q U O T E S
U-M Head Coach Sue Guevara
On the win ... "Obviously, this is a huge win for us and we look forward to a rematch with whoever we play tomorrow. I felt lucky to be only down two at the half considering how poorly we shot the basketball. But we just kept fighting like we have all year and now go back to battle tomorrow."
On the play of Anne Thorius ... "She played a great game and when she is aggressive offensively we are a better team."
Senior Guard Anne Thorius
On the play of Michigan's post players ... "We have post players that can score in the paint and step and knock down shots from the high post, and I think you saw that today."
Contact: Rich Marion (734) 763-4423
