Michigan
Ohio Legends (ex)
Walker Paces U-M in Exhibition Win Over Ohio Legends
11/6/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's basketball team capped off its exhibition season with a 71-63 victory over the Ohio Legends Sunday afternoon (Nov. 6) at Crisler Arena. Trailing by one point at halftime, the Wolverines connected on 10-of-11 from the charity stripe in the second half to preserve a Michigan victory.
Sophomore Ta'Shia Walker (Lansing, Mich./J.W. Sexton HS) led all scorers with 24 points in addition to posting eight rebounds and one steal in 30 minutes of action for the Wolverines. Freshmen Stephany Skrba (Richmond Hill, Ontario/Langstaff Secondary School) and Jessica Minnfield (Toledo, Ohio/Central Catholic HS) chipped in 10 points apiece.
Minnfield notched the first points of the afternoon in the opening minute with a three-point bomb from the top of the key. Following the trey, both teams looked sharp offensively while trading buckets throughout the first four minutes of the game. Walker looked exceptionally good, connecting on two buckets to put Michigan in the lead, 9-7, going into the game's first timeout at 15:45.
Walker continued her hot play, as Minnfield found her streaking for a fast break layup, stretching the Wolverines' lead to 15-10 at the 12-minute mark. The Ohio Legends clawed back, however, cutting the U-M advantage to 17-16 before a series of Minnfield free throws and a Jessica Starling (Tallahassee, Fla./Amos P. Godby HS) layup pushed Michigan's lead back to six (22-16), with just over nine minutes to play in the first half.
Skrba and Walker combined for the Wolverines' next eight points, as Walker's two free throws kept U-M up 30-26. A Starling three-pointer gave Michigan its biggest lead of the first half at 33-26 before Ohio Legends closed out the first half with an 8-0 run to gain a 34-33 advantage.
Coming out of the locker room, the Wolverines relied on Walker as she combined with frontcourt mate freshman Carly Benson (Carney, Mich./Carney-Nadeau Public School) for eight points to regain the lead at 41-40 with 16:09 remaining in the second half.
Michigan continued to go shot for shot with the Ohio Legends until a Skrba jumper pushed the U-M lead to seven, 51-44, with just over 13 minutes to play. The Legends responded quickly, going on a 12-4 run to regain a 56-55 advantage. That would be Ohio Legends' last lead, as a 6-0 U-M run, featuring buckets by Skrba and Walker, put Michigan in the driver's seat for the rest of the contest.
The Wolverines will begin their regular season on the road, traveling to Eugene, Ore., to battle Temple in the Women's Sports Foundation Challenge on Friday (Nov. 11). Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. PST at McArthur Court.
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
