Michigan
1-0
Arkansas-Pine Bluff
0-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas-Pine Bluff | 20 | 30 | 50 |
| Michigan | 41 | 39 | 80 |
Michigan Opens Season With Victory Over UAPB
11/11/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Score: Michigan 80, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 50
Records: U-M (1-0), UAPB (0-1)
Next U-M Event: Monday, Nov. 13 -- vs. Ball State (Crisler Arena), 7:00 p.m.
Michigan Opens Season With Victory Over UAPB
Event Recap| Boxscore| Postgame Notes| Photos
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's basketball team opened the 2006-07 regular season with a resounding 80-50 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff Saturday night (Nov. 11) at Crisler Arena. With the win, the Wolverines (1-0) claimed their first season-opening triumph in three seasons.
Junior Janelle Cooper (Detroit, Mich./Renaissance HS) picked up right where she left off last season, finishing with a game-high 18 points and adding four rebounds, three assists and three steals. Junior Ta'Shia Walker (Lansing, Mich./J.W. Sexton HS) chipped in 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting off the bench, while freshman Krista Phillips (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan/Aden Bowman Collegiate HS) contributed nine points and six boards in her first career game.
The Wolverine defense limited the Lady Lions to just 14-of-58 (.241) shooting in the game, forcing 26 turnovers.
Neither team was able to find a rhythm in the opening minutes of the game. The Michigan defense caused Arkansas-Pine Bluff to misfire on its first 11 attempts from the field while creating seven early Lady Lion turnovers. The Wolverines didn't fare much better on the offensive end, going 0-for-6 with four turnovers.
Michigan's only point in the first 5:27 of the game came on a Kelly Helvey (Toledo, Ohio/Central Catholic HS) free throw at 16:50. U-M's first field goal came off a short jumper from the wing by Walker at 14:33. Walker later added a triple from the top to put the Wolverines ahead 6-0.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff continued to struggle on offense over the two minutes of play, while Michigan pushed its lead to 14-3 thanks in large part to Cooper and Phillips, who combined for seven of U-M's next eight points.
The Lady Lions finally knocked down their first field goal of the game, a three-pointer, at the 11:40 mark. Freshman Sireece Bass (Detroit, Mich./Pershing HS), however, answered right back with a triple of her own on the next possession to keep the Michigan lead in double digits.
The Wolverines scored their next seven points from the free throw line to sustain a 24-11 advantage with 6:57 remaining until halftime. Michigan used a 14-7 run in the final minutes of the first half, highlighted by an old-fashioned three-point play by Phillips and a pair of triples from sophomore Carly Benson (Carney, Mich./Carney-Nadeau Public School) and freshman Kalyn McPherson (Traverse City, Mich./West HS), to take a commanding 41-20 lead into the locker room.
Michigan continued to find its touch from behind the arc in the early minutes of the second half. A three-pointer by sophomore Jessica Minnfield (Toledo, Ohio/Central Catholic HS) and three straight triples from Cooper allowed the Wolverines to extend their lead to a game-high 30 points at 63-33 with 10:15 to go on the clock.
U-M never let the lead dip below 23 points the rest of the way, as the Maize and Blue ran away with the 30-point victory.
The Wolverines return to Crisler Arena this Monday (Nov. 13) to host Ball State. The game is scheduled for a 7:05 p.m. start and will be televised by Comcast Local. The game can also be heard on WLBY (AM 1290).
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
