Michigan
Iowa
Iowa Runs Cost Wolverines in Road Loss to Hawkeyes
1/26/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
IOWA CITY, Iowa -- The University of Michigan women's basketball team let an eight-point lead slip away late in the first half and never quite recovered in a 69-58 loss to Iowa this afternoon (Sunday, Jan. 25) at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Despite early foul trouble plaguing Jennifer Smith (Lansing, Mich./DeWitt HS) and limiting her to six minutes of action in the first half and 20 minutes for the game, the conference's second-leading scorer still managed a game-high 17 points.
Michigan's bench held up for a while without Smith, actually staking the Wolverines to an eight-point lead late in the first half, but the Wolverine eventually wore down as Iowa closed the first half on a 16-3 run and opened the second frame with an 8-0 charge for a double-digit lead from which the Wolverines could not recover.
Both teams opened the game similarly, getting pretty good looks at the basket with limited success knocking down shots. Michigan, in particular, was getting the ball in the post to Smith relatively easily, but the Big Ten's No. 2 scorer uncharacteristically had a couple shots pop out. With the Wolverines trailing 6-2, Smith finally got a post move to fall, and then after Tabitha Pool (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS) tied the score at six, Smith stepped behind the arc and drained a triple for a 9-6 Michigan lead.
Perhaps the first half's key play then occurred with Smith picking up her second foul of the half away from the basketball on the defensive end at the 13:58 mark and forcing Michigan coach Cheryl Burnett to delve even deeper into her bench. The Michigan bench had been outscored in six straight games and in 17 games this season, but this afternoon junior BreAnne McPhilamy (Portage, Mich./Northern HS) answered the call in Smith's stead, besting her career high with seven points in the first half alone as the Wolverine bench owned a 9-6 advantage over Iowa's reserves in the first 20 minutes.
Thanks to the contributions of McPhilamy and Niki Reams (Jenison, Mich./Jenison HS) off the bench as well as two key triples from Stephanie Gandy (Detroit, Mich./Northern HS), Michigan actually expanded its lead to as much as eight (25-17) on Gandy's first trifecta at the 4:55 mark. Iowa responded to its eight-point deficit with its best offensive spurt of the first half, displaying good balance inside and outside en route to a 12-0 run and a 29-25 lead with 1:51 left in the frame. Gandy's second triple stemmed the tide for a short time, but Iowa scored the final four points of the half to take a 33-28 advantage into the locker room.
Iowa's late first-half momentum carried over early in the second frame as the Hawkeyes scored the first six points of the frame and stretched their lead to a game-high 13 points (41-28), forcing Burnett to use a couple timeouts early in the second half. More trouble loomed for the Wolverine during the opening minutes of the second when Smith was again whistled for a foul away from the ball for her third at the 19:11 mark.
Michigan responded to Burnett's second timeout with a Pool triple and then the Wolverine pressure converted a steal into a layup to trim the deficit back to five (41-36). After a Gandy jumper seconds later made the scored 44-38, Michigan went cold offensively and connected for just one field goal on a conventional three-point play from Smith over the next 6:33 as the Iowa lead ballooned to as much as 19 (62-43) with under five minutes left in the game. Michigan's reserves finished the game strong with Mie Burlin (Skovlunde, Denmark/BMS) hitting a triple and a breakaway layup from Kelly Helvey (Toledo, Ohio/Central Catholic HS) providing the final points in the 69-58 loss.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Coach Cheryl Burnett
On the game overall ... "The first thing I evaluate is how we did on the defensive end, and I felt we gave Iowa too many easy looks during stretches. We had a good game plan and I think our kids did a good job of staying with that game plan, but we allowed too many easy looks. Obviously, our offensive struggles had something to do with that, and with Jennifer Smith out of the game, we lose our best offensive weapon. We need somebody to step up and make shots without Jen, but we did not and part of that was because our shot selection was poor at times."
N O T E S
Jennifer Smith's 20 minutes played is her lowest total of the season.
Smith's 17 points led Michigan in scoring for the 15th time this season.
Stephanie Gandy's six assists are a season high.
Michigan shot a season-low .474 from the free throw line (9-19).
Contact: Rich Marion (734) 763-4423
