2006-07 BKW vs. Dartmouth -- Notes & Quotes
12/16/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
N O T E S
With tonight's win, Michigan improves to 7-5 on the season and surpasses its overall win total from 2005-06 (6-23).
Tonight was the first meeting between the two teams and just Michigan's second opponent from the Ivy League in the history of the program.
Michigan used its seventh different starting lineup this season, as Jessica Minnfield, Janelle Cooper, Stephany Skrba, Carly Benson and Krista Phillips began the game against the Big Green. It was Benson's first start of the season and the 23rd of her career.
Janelle Cooper went 2-of-4 from three-point range against the Big Green, marking the ninth game out of 12 this year that she has hit at least one triple and the sixth game she has hit multiple three-pointers.
Krista Clement recorded season-highs in points (seven) and assists (four), and matched season-best totals in rebounds (two) and steals (two). She played a season-high 23 minutes.
Kelly Helvey scored a season-best 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting. She also set season highs in rebounds (six) and blocks (two), as well as matched season highs in assists (four) and free throws made (two). Helvey played a season-high 35 minutes.
Kelly Helvey recorded her first double-digit scoring game of the season and the 10th of her career.
With two blocks tonight, Kelly Helvey tied Sandy Svoboda (1983-86) for 12th place on Michigan's all-time blocks list with 49.
Ta'Shia Walker finished the game with a team-high 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting. She also added a season-best five rebounds, as well as matched season highs in free throws made (four). Walker played a season-high 33 minutes.
Ta'Shia recorded her third double-digit scoring game of the season and the 31st of her career. Walker becomes the second player this year to score at least 20 points in a game (Krista Phillips).
With 20 points tonight, Ta'Shia Walker moved into sole possession of 32nd place on Michigan's all-time scoring list with 657 points. She needs one point to tie Jen Nuanes (1990-93) for 31st place (658).
Ashley Jones matched a career high with two steals and matched a season high with two assists. She played a season-high 31 minutes.
Ashley Jones pulled down a team-high seven rebounds, marking the second time in her career that she has had at least seven boards in a game.
Melinda Queen's game-winning three-pointer was her second of the season and the fifth of her career. She is 3-of-4 on the season (.750) and 5-of-11 (.455) for her career from behind the arc.
Melinda Queen's triple at the buzzer was the first time Michigan has won a game in the final seconds since Dec. 6, 2004, when Kelly Helvey scored two inside with six seconds left to lift the Wolverines to a 45-43 home victory over UNLV.
Michigan matched a season-high with 16 assists against Dartmouth.
U-M's field-goal percentage of .490 was the second-highest this season (.508 at Miami of Ohio).
The Wolverines surrendered season highs in three-pointers made (11) and attempted (26).
Michigan set a season low in turnovers with 12.
U-M gave up a season-low six steals.
Michigan's bench outscored its opponent's reserves for the eighth time in 12 games this season, this time by a 48-3 margin.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Cheryl Burnett
On tonight's game ... "It feels good to get the win. Our team played incredibly in terms of the last three possessions without a timeout. We've actually worked a lot these past couple of weeks on what we call "special situations" at the end of the game. We played that out pefectly. Melinda (Queen) had the open shot. It looked good when it left her hand, and thank goodness we ended up with a victory. You have to give a lot of credit to Dartmouth. Ashley Taylor and Koren Schram did a great job of dribble penetrating and getting to the free throw line. We had prepared for the kind of players they were, but they just shot the ball incredibly well to keep Dartmouth in it. Their post players played very hard and rebounded well. We had a real nice mix of young kids and our veterans. Our veterans were exceptional in terms of execution. They executed extremely well against the zone and really got some great inside looks for us. We know that Ta'Shia Walker is going to do a great job when she gets the ball down in the block. Kelly Helvey created a lot for us defensively, and she had a lot of confidence in hitting a late shot that we needed. Our kids stayed focused and stayed determined until the buzzer."
On the job Michigan's bench did tonight ... "We felt like we needed a little more confidence and energy. We're very comfortable subbing. Krista Clement gives us a lot of confidence. She executes well and talks extremely well. She's been a captain for three years now. Inserting her in, especially against a zone, gives us a lot of confidence to execute. Kelly Helvey of course has the great experience and really makes a lot of things happen for us. Ta'Shia Walker is another experienced scorer. I thought Ashley Jones came in with great confidence also. That confidence factor was huge for us tonight."
U-M Senior Kelly Helvey
On her impressions of the game ... "We were just looking to bring energy to the team. We had the right people in there at the right time. Ta'Shia (Walker) came in a did an excellent job down in the post and took advantage of her size. Jessica (Minnfield) distributed the ball great. Overall, the offensive execution and the movement of the basketball was something that Dartmouth couldn't keep up with. We knew that we had a defense and that we'd be able to come out and run for the entire game. We had the legs and we had the bench. The confidence that everybody brought into the game was what made the difference tonight."
