Michigan
Michigan State
Cold Shooting Plagues Wolverines in Loss to Spartans
1/18/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's basketball dropped its second straight Big Ten Conference game this afternoon, falling 67-33 to Michigan State (No. 23 ESPN/USA Today, No. 25 Associated Press) at the Jack Breslin Center. A competitive ballgame late in the first half turned into a 17-point (37-20) halftime deficit and the Wolverines never recovered. Tabitha Pool (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS) paced the Wolverines with 10 points and five boards.
The Wolverines started slowly early on, managing just a perimeter jump shot from Sierra Hauser-Price (Van Nuys, Calif./Notre Dame Prep) in the half's first four minutes while Michigan State jumped out to a 10-2 lead. Michigan's best player in the first frame was Pool, who slowed the Spartan run with her first triple and then converted jumper to cut the deficit to seven (14-7) at the 12:48 mark.
The Spartans, however, kept executing on the offensive end and pushed the lead out to 13 (20-7) thanks in large part to a .650 (13-20) shooting percentage in the first half. Down double digits, Michigan coach Cheryl Burnett went to her bench where freshman Kelly Helvey (Toledo, Ohio/Central Catholic HS) provided a much needed spark with a block and a pair of free throws. Pool maintained the momentum provided by Helvey with a jumper which was followed by Jennifer Smith's (Lansing, Mich./DeWitt HS) first hoop of the game as the Wolverines trimmed the lead back to single digits (27-18) with 5:05 left in the first half.
Michigan State separated itself in the final five minutes of the first half by getting to the charity stripe, where the Spartans hit 10-12 (.833) in the first frame while Michigan's offensive flow never quite materialized. The Wolverines managed just a Niki Reams (Jenison, Mich./Jenison HS) hoop in the lane over the final five minutes and took a 37-20 deficit into the locker room.
The first five minutes of the second would be huge to any Michigan attempt to get back into this game, but the Spartans used a 23-3 run opening the half to lead 60-23 and thwart any potential Michigan comeback. With Michigan State collapsing two and sometimes three players on Smith in the post, Michigan tried to get back in the game from the three-point line but knocked down just three for the game and eventually fell 67-33.
Michigan goes back on the road on Thursday (Jan. 22, 7 p.m. CST) with a contest against Wisconsin at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Cheryl Burnett
On the game ... "This program is at a point where we need to stay positive, but I am disappointed that we did not compete better, especially in a rivalry game. Michigan State does not have many weaknesses, and they did a good job of taking Jen (Smith) away from us."
Contact: Rich Marion (734) 763-4423
