Michigan
Michigan State
Michigan Overtaken by No. 17 Michigan State's Late Run
2/12/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's basketball team suffered a 59-54 loss to Michigan State (No. 17 AP, No. 15 ESPN/USA Today) Thursday evening (Feb. 12) at Crisler Arena. The Wolverines (11-14, 4-8 Big Ten) led the contest from the opening tip until just over three minutes remained but could not withstand a late rally put together by the Spartans. Three Wolverines reached double digits as Michigan nearly pulled off its first upset of a ranked team this season in front of 4,611 fans, which is a Crisler Arena record crowd for women's basketball.
| | Gandy tied for game-high honors with 17 points while playing the entire contest. |
Junior Tabitha Pool (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS) also put up 15 points, came up with two steals, handed off three assists, and brought down six rebounds. Freshman guard Kelly Helvey (Toledo, Ohio, Central Catholic HS) turned in another complete performance, dishing out a career-high eight assists and grabbing five rebounds.
The Wolverines took command at the outset of the first half and did not look back through the entire first frame. Gandy set the tone with an electric triple to kick off the contest and give Michigan a 3-0 lead. Both teams had to look to other sources for points in the first half, as the leading scorers from each side were held to just nine combined points. Smith was able to put together six while MSUs Lindsay Bowen mustered up just one triple for the half.
The Spartans were not helping themselves, making just one shot from the field for the first 5:20 of play. MSU's starting center, Kelli Roehrig, finally broke the silence with two points to bring the Spartans within three (7-4). That small margin would be the closest Michigan State would get to catching the focused Wolverines in the first half.
Michigan expanded its lead thanks to hustle on defense as it pressed the Spartans at half court, forcing 14 first-half turnovers. With 14:26 on the clock, the Wolverines went to work, putting up a quick seven points to extend their lead to 10 (14-4). Gandy continued her sharpshooting, hitting another three as well as dishing off an assist to Smith.
After Pool hit a three-point basket to give the Wolverines a 17-9 lead, the Maize and Blue began to increase the distance from the Spartans. With 8:50 remaining in the half, Michigan put together a seven-minute, 17-5 run to give it a commanding 33-16 lead. Gandy added to her point total with three buckets and three free throws to give her a team-leading 15 for the half.
Defense continued to do it for Michigan, with Pool grabbing two steals and Gandy and Sierra Hauser-Price (Van Nuys, Calif./Notre Dame Prep HS) each coming up with one to help keep the run alive. Helvey put together a good half as well, dishing off five assists. After the first 20 minutes of play, the two teams went into the locker rooms with the Wolverines in control of the scoreboard, 33-20.
It took Michigan awhile to warm up after halftime as Michigan State held the Wolverines scoreless for the first 4:30 before Smith broke through with back-to-back buckets in the paint, with both assists coming from Pool. Unlike the first half, part two of the contest featured the regular scoring leaders from each team. After the first nine minutes of the second frame, Smith had accounted for seven of Michigan's 11 points, while Bowen was responsible for nine of MSU's 15. With 11 minutes to go in the contest, the Wolverines still held their ground 44-35.
Michigan State began to crawl back into it, outscoring Michigan 10-3 in a 2:30 span to put the Spartans within just five (50-45). With 7:30 minutes remaining in the contest, Michigan State's zone defense began to present problems for the Wolverine offense.
Michigan held on to its lead with a bucket from sophomore forward Niki Reams (Jenison, Mich./Jenison HS) and two free throws from Helvey, but the Wolverines' six-point lead (54-48) was dwindling fast and the Wolverines would not score over the final 4:17.
At 3:09, MSU caught and passed U-M for the first time, hitting a triple to give the Spartans a 55-54 lead. The Wolverines would not recover as Michigan State put away two more buckets to ice a 59-54 win.
Michigan's next contest will take it to Penn State on Sunday (Feb. 15, 2 p.m.) to face off against the eighth-ranked Nittany Lions.
Contact: Rich Marion (734) 763-4423
