Michigan
Wisconsin
Pool, Smith Help Michigan Blow Out Wisconsin at Home
2/8/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's basketball team secured a 75-55 win over Wisconsin this afternoon (Sunday, Feb. 8) at Crisler Arena for its fourth Big Ten Conference win of the season. Playing in front of the fourth largest crowd in school history (4,136), the Wolverines (11-13, 4-7 Big Ten) played solidly on both ends of the floor, shooting .492 (29-59) for the game, including .548 (17-31) in the second half. Defensively, the Wolverines created 10 steals and forced 18 Wisconsin turnovers, which led to 22 Michigan points.
| | Helvey scored a career-high 11 points and added four rebounds and four assists. |
Freshman forward Kelly Helvey (Toledo, Ohio/Catholic Central) had another quality start, playing 32 minutes and recording the first double-digit scoring performance of her career with 11 points. It was an all-around game as she added four rebounds, four assists and one steal to her line. Junior guard Sierra Hauser-Price (Van Nuys, Calif./Notre Dame Prep HS) paced the defensive effort, coming up with four steals that she converted into fast-break layups. She finished the game with eight points as well as three assists.
Michigan controlled the tempo for the majority of the first half by being aggressive and taking the ball to the basket. At the outset of the half, however, it was Wisconsin that grabbed the early lead while connecting on shots from the perimeter as well as in the paint. With 15:52 on the clock, the Maize and Blue was looking at a 10-4 deficit with its only points coming off Smith free throws.
The Wolverines took control and did not look back, going on 10-0 run over the next five minutes, with major contributions coming from Pool and Hauser-Price. Hauser-Price energized the crowd during the run, converting two steals into fast-break layups. At the 11:00 mark, Michigan had worked itself a 17-10 lead over the Badgers.
Wisconsin immediately trimmed the lead to four, but the Wolverines used a balanced attack to re-establish the lead. Smith added four points as well as Hauser-Price once again converting a steal into a layup for a 10-point advantage (31-21) with 2:34 remaining in the first frame.
The Wolverines eventually took a 33-23 lead into the intermission, with both Smith and Pool totaling 10 points, followed by Hauser-Price, who added six points as well as three steals.
The Wolverines maintained their momentum in the second half, never letting their lead drop below nine points thanks to excellent passing and consistent scoring. Michigan finished with 16 assists, which matched its second-best output of the season. The Wolverines secured the win after a 12-2 run that resulted in a 53-34 lead with 11:05 left to play. Smith was the main force in the run, contributing six of the 12 points while Stephanie Gandy (Detroit, Mich./Northern HS) closed out the run with a breakaway layup on a nice feed from Helvey.
Wisconsin trimmed the lead to 14, but Hauser-Price continued to be a spark for the Wolverines, adding her fourth steal-to-layup combination to push the lead back to 16 (58-42) with 7:36 left to play. Led by Pool's perimeter shooting -- 7-9 in the second half -- the Michigan lead ballooned to as much as 22 (71-49) before it put the finishing touches on a 75-55 win.
Michigan will face off against Michigan State for its next contest on Thursday (Feb. 12, 7 p.m.) at Crisler Arena.
Contact: Rich Marion (734) 763-4423
