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12/2/05-
Fear and Loathing in Ann Arbor
Michigan women’s
basketball had gotten off to a decent start in 2005-06, with two
wins in their first four games. Both losses were away from home
against ranked teams, so although there was the usual disappointment
in falling short at least the Wolverine women were able to keep
things close with quality opponents. A win at home over Miami of
Ohio gave the Maize and Blue some momentum which they looked to
capitalize on in another home game against Toledo. An added
storyline here being the presence of two Toledo natives, Kelly
Helvey and Jessica Minnfield, on the Michigan roster.
Michigan looked quite good in the early going against Toledo, as
Helvey blocked the Rockets’ first shot attempt. Melinda Queen
tallied the first points of the game, then Ta’Shia Walker and Krista
Clement gave the Wolverines a 7-5 lead. Katie Dierdorf and Carly
Benson joined in the scoring and soon it was a ten point lead for
the home team.
Toledo rallied to take the lead, and the score remained close for
the rest of the half. When the buzzer sounded it was the visitors by
a 24-23 count.
Michigan seized the momentum as the second half began, with Stephany
Skrba and Walker leading the way. Clement also contributed, as did
Melinda Queen. Things seemed to be going just fine and dandy for
Michigan and with a little over five minutes to go, Janelle Cooper
boosted the lead to seven points.
It was then that the Bad Craziness began for the Wolverines. The
scoring well ran almost completely dry for the last five minutes,
Toledo took the lead, and Michigan’s offense failed on several last
second shots that could have settled the matter in regulation time.
And so the contest went to overtime.
Michigan’s shooting woes were also evident in the extra session, as
they made el zippo field goals in five attempts. The only thing that
saved them from el zippo overtime points was the free throw shooting
of Helvey and Jessica Starling. Bottom line…a 61-55 win for Toledo
and a loss for Michigan that they could ill afford.
Michigan shot an ice cold 32 percent from the field and no Wolverine
managed to reach double figures in the scoring column. Ta’Shia
Walker was tops (if you can call it that) with nine points and she
also had 10 rebounds. Kelly Helvey had six assists, two blocks and
three steals. But all things considered, the Michigan side of the
box score looks pretty ugly in this case.
Cheryl’s Crew remained at home for their next game, also against a
Mid American Conference team. In this case it would be the Chippewas
of Central Michigan.
The Chips, as they are also sometimes known, got off to a fast start
and led 7-2 and 15-9. Michigan then surged ahead with Helvey,
Dierdorf, and Cooper doing the most damage. Benson also got in on
the act and Michigan found themselves with a 20-17 advantage.
The momentum went back and forth the rest of the opening half, with
CMU and Michigan taking turns holding the lead. When the curtain
finally fell on Act I, it was the ladies from Mount Pleasant ahead
by two points.
Michigan needed to start strong after the break, but sadly this did
not happen. Instead of rallying to regain the lead, the Wolverines
fell further behind and trailed by 11 points with five minutes gone
in the second half. Bad Craziness once again set in, with its
typical symptoms of missed shots, defensive lapses, and just general
desperate and sloppy play.
In the end it was another painful loss to a MAC team, as Central won
by a whopping 22 points.
Once again, inconsistency on offense was a big problem. Michigan
scored only 57 points which is not going to be enough in many cases
to win. They shot well in the first half (42 percent from the field)
but could not hit the proverbial broadside of the barn in the second
half (a paltry 27 percent).
Although Michigan held an overall rebounding edge for the game,
there were several times when they allowed CMU to get multiple
offensive rebounds and, therefore, additional chances to score.
Michigan’s “offense,” such as it was, was led by Walker and Clement
with 10 points each. Meanwhile, Central had five players in double
figures. This, folks, is how a Big Ten team gets whipped by a MAC
team.
Jessica Starling was the top rebounder with nine, and Stephany Skrba
had a pair of blocked shots.
With this loss, Michigan falls to 2-4 on the 2005-06 season. It is
still early and there is plenty of time to get things righted, but
at this point it is obvious that this team has A LOT to work on and
A LOT of improvement to make. No offense to Toledo and Central
Michigan, but they are MAC teams and Michigan is a Big Ten team. If
Michigan can’t beat MAC teams (and gets blown out by one of them)
how are they going to compete with the likes of Ohio State, Michigan
State, and Purdue to mention just three of the Big Ten teams who
they will have to face soon?
The next few games will be critical in my opinion. Michigan needs to
build momentum and confidence and get their record over .500 heading
into conference play. I believe that the coaching and player talent
is there. The coaches need to make some adjustments and the players
need to play better. These things will determine whether tangible
progress is made over last season.
Vince Prygoski
prygoski@umflint.edu
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Vince Prygoski, is the Women's
basketball columnist for UMGoBlue.com. He's been a fan of Michigan
sports for as long as he can remember.
He has written a book on the history of Michigan women's
basketball that will be published soon.
Full Bio
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