Michigan
Drake
Wolverines Dig Hole Early, Drop Road Game at Drake
12/5/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
DES MOINES, Iowa -- The University of Michigan women's basketball team fell behind by 15 points in the first half and was only able to play Drake to a standstill in the second half as the Wolverines fell 70-55 this evening (Friday, Dec. 5) at the Knapp Center. Senior center Jennifer Smith (Lansing, Mich./DeWitt HS) saw her streak of 20-plus point efforts snapped at five but still paced the Wolverines with 17 points, while Tabitha Pool (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS) pulled down a game-best 10 boards.
The Wolverines (5-4) could not overcome a sluggish first half in which they turned the ball over 13 times, shot just .385 (10-26) from the field and went over six minutes without scoring a point as a one-point lead turned into a double-digit deficit. The Wolverines played a much better second half, particularly on the defensive end, but managed just .294 shooting in the second frame. U-M was able to cut the lead to 11 with 4:20 left but could not get any closer.
The Wolverines were sluggish starting out the first frame, turning the ball over on their first three possessions and falling behind 4-0, but they appeared to snap out of it while taking off on an 8-0 run that was keyed on the defensive end. Sophomore Niki Reams (Jenison, Mich./Jenison HS) converted a steal into a conventional three-point play on the other end. Reams continued her solid play early with a triple and assist on a post feed to Smith as the Wolverines pushed their lead to six, 13-7 at the 14:34 mark.
That was as big as the Michigan lead would get, however, as Drake proceeded to go on a 20-3 run in front of the home crowd over the next 6:53 for a 27-16 lead. Linda Sayavongchanh gave the Bulldogs a big lift off the bench from her guard position, contributing seven points, three assists and four steals. While Drake played very well during this stretch, Michigan was its own worst enemy, racking up several of its 13 first-half turnovers while going stone cold from the field. Drake's sagging man-to-man defense did not completely shut down Smith, who entered the game as the Big Ten's leading scorer (25.1), but it kept the 6-4 senior in check. The Wolverines gave no reason for Drake to come out on the perimeter defensively, missing open look after open look during the run. The Wolverines shot just .385 (10-26) from the field for the half and went over six minutes between hoops as Drake grabbed the lead and extended it to double digits.
Michigan freshman Kelly Helvey (Toledo, Ohio/Central Catholic HS) converted an offensive board and put-back to trim the lead back to single digits (27-18) at the 5:27 mark, but Drake continued to make life difficult on the Maize and Blue with a first-half shooting mark of .581 (18-31) and went into the break with a 15-point advantage (39-24). Smith led Michigan with seven first-half points but only attempted five field goals, and the Wolverines made just three trips to the charity stripe.
Michigan came out of the locker room and made a much more concerted effort to attack the basket offensively and was rewarded with six early trips to the stripe and an inside bucket from Smith to cut the lead to 11 (41-30) with 16:55 left. Michigan's surge was short-lived, however, as Drake answered with a 12-0 run that pushed the lead to a game-high 23 (53-30) with under 13 minutes remaining. Smith broke the run with her eighth point of the half.
The Bulldogs still led by 20 (57-37) a couple minutes later when the Michigan bench provided a spark and cut the lead down to 11 (62-51) with Pool as the only Wolverine starter on the floor. Helvey, Lauren Andrews (Houston, Texas/Klein Forest HS) and BreAnne McPhilamy (Portage, Mich./Portage Northern HS) each entered the scoring column as the Wolverines used a 14-5 run to trail by just 11 with 4:20 remaining after Helvey drilled her only trifecta of the contest.
In the end, however, 19 turnovers and a shooting percentage of just .333 (20-60) were too much for the Wolverines to overcome.
The Wolverines conclude their two-game road stretch against Missouri Valley Conference opponents with a 3:05 p.m. CST contest Sunday (Dec. 7) at Creighton in Omaha, Neb.
N O T E S
Kelly Helvey collected a career-best four steals in 20 minutes of action.
BreAnne McPhilamy's five rebounds in just 10 minutes of action are a career best.
Tabitha Pool's 10 rebounds mark her team-best third game this season with at least 10 caroms.
Jennifer Smith became just the ninth Wolverine to reach 600-rebound plateau in a career after grabbing four boards this evening. She now has 601 career rebounds and is the only the seventh Wolverine with 1,250 career points and 600 rebounds.
Q U O T E S
U-M Head Coach Cheryl Burnett
On the game in general ... "I did not feel we did what we needed to do on the defensive end. There are always stretches when you are going to struggle on the offensive end, but that is when you need to really toughen up and play great defense. For some reason, we do the opposite and tend to struggle defensively if we are not scoring on the other end. I was really pleased with how those kids played off the bench in the second half and brought us back into the game. On the other hand, I knew what type of performance Drake was capable of and I have to give them credit for playing so hard and doing a good job of executing."
Contact: Rich Marion (734) 763-4423
