2005-06 BKW vs. Toledo -- Notes & Quotes
11/26/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
N O T E S
Michigan played its first overtime game of the season after playing in just one overtime game all last season.
In each of the past two seasons the Wolverines have started off the first five games with a 2-3 record.
With the score 24-23 in favor of Toledo, the Wolverines went into halftime trailing for the third time this season. U-M is 0-3 after trailing at the half.
Kelly Helvey recorded her 41st career blocked shot, tying her for 15th place on Michigan's career list with Jennifer Smith (2000-04).
Ta'Shia Walker was the team's leading scorer for the third straight game. Walker posted nine points and pulled down a career-best 10 rebounds.
Michigan is 6-2 in games played directly after Thanksgiving, with the other loss being 74-61 to then No. 5-ranked Texas Tech on Nov. 28, 2003.
U-M drops to 9-7 in the all-time series against Toledo. This was the first meeting between the Rockets and Wolverines since the 2001-02 season, when Michigan won 74-46 in Toledo, Ohio (Dec. 1).
Carly Benson posted career highs of two blocks and two steals. She tied a career high with eight points, which she first posted on Nov. 20 against Miami (Ohio).
After shooting 62.5 percent (10-of-16) from the charity stripe against Toledo, Michigan has shot over 60 percent from the free throw line in four of five games this season.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Cheryl Burnett
Opening statement ... "Toledo played hard. We always want our defense to create something for us. Toledo executed extremely well offensively, they broke us down and hit some big shots in the end. We weren't making the big shots in the end and our coaches got a technical in a critical time. I felt that Ta'Shia (Walker) got hacked there on a critical possession, and I take responsibility for getting an ill-advised technical. During the course of the game, we had some pretty open shots that we missed. We were getting the ball to the right people in the right places, and they'll hit them probably 75 percent of the time. We had a great look at the end of regulation. I thought our kids looked like we didn't have lively legs and I'll take responsibility for that for whatever reason. We just need to step up and be more competitive. We didn't execute very well against Toledo's zone. Our defense wasn't creating much offense for us. I thought Toledo was very well prepared for everything that we do."
On Michigan's offensive struggles ... "I thought a quite a few of them were really good shots. We have players who can make those shots, so we have to keep shooting them. I thought Toledo did a great job of eliminating any easy opportunities, but we still are not doing a good job of understanding when to make a pass or when to penetrate. I think zone offense is really easy but we seem to make it very hard. We know that our post needs to get the basketball and I thought our kids adjusted well to that early in the second half. Our post started to get more looks. But you have to hit that outside shot to pull the zone out so that the inside can be open. Our team is an interesting combination of players who can shoot the ball but maybe aren't as good on the defensive end. We just have to commit ourselves to being more competitive and consistent with our work ethic. We're going to have to manufacture our own offense, there is no question about that. For us to finish the game without a player in double figures is pretty indicative of our lack of offensive ability."
On U-M's troubles near the end of the game ... "I thought that we had some pretty good opportunities at the end of regulation. We executed pretty well on a couple possessions. We just simply missed the shots. I never blame a kid for missing a shot, I want them to shoot again. When our defense is not creating offense and we have to be a half-court team, I think it's harder to be excited to play at the defensive end. I've often found in my experiences that when your defense is not creating your offense, then your offense is not going to create your defense. We started playing looser on the defensive end and not as aggressively."
