Michigan
6-11, 0-5
Ohio State
12-2, 3-1
Michigan Drops Road Game at No. 8-Ranked Ohio State
1/15/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The University of Michigan women's basketball team dropped a 62-34 decision to No. 8 Ohio State Sunday afternoon (Jan. 15) in front of 7,180 fans at Value City Arena. The Wolverines (6-11, 0-5 Big Ten) outplayed the Buckeyes (13-2, 4-1 Big Ten) in the early stages and held a five-point lead 13 minutes into the contest, but Ohio State closed the first half with a 14-2 run and never looked back to earn its seventh straight victory in the series.
Sophomore Katie Dierdorf (St. Louis, Mo./Visitation Academy) led the Wolverines in scoring for the second straight game with 10 points. Freshman Stephany Skrba (Richmond Hill, Ontario/Langstaff Secondary School) chipped in nine points and a team-high seven rebounds. Jessica Davenport and Marscilla Parker led a quartet of OSU double-digit scorers with 15 points apiece.
Neither team was able to find the bottom of the basket until Davenport scored the game's first points with a bucket inside at 16:06. Michigan's first points did not come until the 13-minute mark, when Dierdorf scored two of her team-high six first-half points to cut the Ohio State lead to 4-2. The U-M defense allowed just one Buckeye field goal over a six-minute span while the Wolverines began to find their rhythm on offense. Sophomore Ta'Shia Walker (Lansing, Mich./J.W. Sexton HS) scored her first two points on a put-back before feeding a cutting Ashley Jones (Southfield, Mich./Martin Luther King HS) for a layup to trim the OSU lead to 7-6. Two Janelle Cooper (Detroit, Mich./Renaissance HS) free throws gave Michigan its first lead of the game, 8-7, at 8:52 of the first half.
The Wolverines continued to build on their lead, as Dierdorf reentered the game and knocked down a long jumper. After Skrba pulled down an offensive board and scored two in traffic, Dierdorf drilled another shot from the exact same spot as she did before to put Michigan ahead by five points, 14-9, with 6:51 left in the first half.
A pair of Walker free throws would be U-M's only points in the remaining minutes of the half, as Ohio State went on a 14-2 run to gain a 23-16 advantage heading into the break. Michigan shot just 21 percent (6-of-28) in the first half compared to Ohio State's 41 percent (9-of-22). U-M's 12 first-half turnovers led to 11 Buckeye points.
Dierdorf recorded two more on a put-back in the opening minute of the second half to bring the Wolverines within five points, but Ohio State responded with a 17-2 run over the next seven minutes to move its lead to 40-20 with 12:36 left on the clock. A long jumper from the wing by sophomore Krista Clement (St. Ignace, Mich./LaSalle HS) was Michigan's first field goal in four minutes and cut the Buckeye lead to 19 points.
That would be a close as the Wolverines would come the rest of the way, as Ohio State built its lead to as many as 31 points. Michigan finished the game shooting 25 percent (14-of-56) en route to its 22nd loss in 24 all-time meetings in Columbus.
Michigan will look to earn its first Big Ten Conference victory this Thursday (Jan. 19) when it hosts No. 17 Minnesota at Crisler Arena. The game is set to start at 7 p.m. and will be televised by Fox SportsNet North.
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
