Texas A&M

Michigan lost 69-41 against 12th ranked Texas A&M. Lots of problems all the way around for the Wolverines - 33 turnovers versus only 5 assists, they shot 30.8% from the floor and only 11% from 3 point range, and Texas A&M shot 47.5%.

From the Michigan Daily:

"We threw the ball away 40 times," Michigan coach Kevin Borseth said. "We couldn't get to the basket. We really couldn't get much of anything going. That was really frustrating."

More from mgoblue.com and the Dallas News.

Another Road Game

Tonight's game is another on the team's road swing, this time in College Station against Texas A&M. From the Michigan Daily:

"...the 15th-ranked Aggies' defense is what could give the Michigan women's basketball team the most trouble.

"They're all up in you," Michigan coach Kevin Borseth said. "They don't let you run what you want to run. They just make life very, very difficult for you."

The Aggies (4-1) return five impact players from last year's Big 12 Conference Championship team, four of whom started 20-plus games.

Texas A&M's physicality could give the Wolverines trouble. Though Michigan (4-1) can counter with center Krista Phillips, the Aggies are faster and more athletic than the Wolverines.

"We saw the things that they do on videotape," Borseth said. "We have to be able to play at a very elevated pace for an extended period of time against a very physical and mature team."

Iowa State & Belmont articles

The Michigan Daily has a recap of the Iowa State loss:

"...the Wolverines will learn a lot from Friday's tournament-opening loss to Iowa State.

Michigan not only lost by 24 points, it set season lows in five major offensive categories - including field-goal percentage and points scored - and in rebounds and steals.

"Not hitting shots was a really big deal," sophomore Krista Phillips said of the team's 35.6 shooting percentage. "If we're not hitting shots, we really have to work hard in the post. We really didn't do either really well."

Another one of the Wolverines' problems was containing Cyclone guard Alison Lacey. The sophomore scored 35 points, shooting 13-for-20 from the field and 9-for-13 from behind the arc"

And the Detroit Free Press:

The University of Michigan women's basketball team saw its three-game winning streak come to an end Friday with a 67-43 loss to Iowa State in the opening round of the Vanderbilt Thanksgiving Tournament in Memorial Gymnasium. The Wolverines (3-1) fell victim to the three-point shot the entire game, as the Cyclones (3-0) drained 12 triples (12-of-32), compared to U-M's three (3-of-12).

The Daily on the Belmont game:

Junior Jessica Minnfield led Michigan against Belmont with 18 points, shooting 6-for-9 from the floor. But Minnfield had a poor game against the Cyclones, tallying no points and three rebounds. Michigan coach Kevin Borseth believed her improved play was the big difference between the two results.

"She got engaged a little bit better in the offense," Borseth said. "That allowed her to take some better shots."

Minnfield was not the only Wolverine to rebound from Michigan's defeat. Junior forward Carly Benson bounced back from a one-point performance on Friday to score 11 against Belmont.

"We had more rhythm," Borseth said. "We did screens very well, which was something we spent a little time on (Saturday). That was the difference offensively."

The Free Press:

Jessica Minnfield scored 18 to lead Michigan to an 80-43 victory over Belmont Sunday in the consolation game of the Vanderbilt Thanksgiving Tournament.

Stephany Skrba scored all 11 of her points in the first half, and Carly Benson posted season bests of 11 points and eight rebounds.

The Wolverines (4-1) exploded for a 19-0 run midway through the first half to extend their lead to 32-7 with 4:32 to play in the half. They controlled the pace for the remainder of the half and took a 38-14 lead into the locker room.

Belmont

A lopsided win over an over matched opponent, 80-43. Everyone got playing time and ten players scored. The schedule gets tougher, with upcoming games against Texas A&M (road), Notre Dame (road), Kentucky (home) and Southern Cal (home).

Iowa State Game

First loss of the season. Iowa State jumped out to an early lead behind the three point shooting of Alison Lacey, who ended up with 35 points.

Michigan cut the lead to 10 at one point, but couldn't get any closer. Krista Phillips had a big game (21 points), but most of the rest of the team couldn't really get untracked. Poor shooting all around (53% from the free throw line, 25% from 3 point range and 35% overall) pretty much kept the Wolverines from having any chance to make up the early deficit.

Toss in being out rebounded 37-27 and you've got the ingredients for a tough night.

Another Iowa State Preview

From the Des Moines Register:

Michigan, 10-20 last season, is 3-0 for the first time in five seasons. The Wolverines' new coach is Kevin Borseth, formerly of Wisconsin-Green Bay. They are led by forward-center Ta'Shia Walker, who averages 12 points per game. They receive 10.7 points per game from 6-foot 6-inch center Krista Phillips, who started last season but is a reserve in Borseth's system, which features more 3-point shooting.When Phillips plays, Iowa State could counter the Wolverines' height using centers Nicky Wieben and Jocelyn Anderson in a double post.

"We practice that every day," Fennelly said. "The problem is you have to be careful that you don't get too concerned about matching up size for size and it hurts you in other areas. We can go with a big lineup, but our ball-handling suffers. Sometimes you have to pick and choose."

Iowa State

Next up is Iowa State in the first round of a tournament hosted by Vanderbilt in Nashville. The Michigan Daily article mentioned below has a small preview:

Thanksgiving action: The Wolverines travel to Nashville, Tenn., for the Vanderbilt Thanksgiving Tournament. Michigan will first take on Iowa State Friday and either face Belmont or Vanderbilt Sunday.

Against the Cyclones, the Wolverines will need to find a way to stop junior Heather Ezell. The recently named Big 12 Player of the Week scored 32 points in 27 minutes in a dominating win over Sacramento State.

The winner of Friday's game will likely face No. 19 Vanderbilt for the tournament title. The Commodores boast a young, athletic team. Senior center Liz Sherwood posted a double-double in a win over Clemson. Vanderbilt has out-rebounded their opponents and shoots .525 from the field.

From the Iowas State web site:

Iowa State travels to Nashville, Tenn., for the Vanderbilt Thanksgiving Tournament this week. The Cyclones face Michigan in the first round of the tourney on Friday at 4 p.m. (CST) and will take on either 19th-ranked Vanderbilt or Belmont on Sunday at either 12 p.m. or 2 p.m.

Iowa State is 2-0 for the 14th time in school history. The Cyclones have started 3-0 just eight times in their 34-year history. ISU has won its last eight straight games at home, dating back to last season.

The Cyclones defeated Pepperdine in the season opener and took down Sacramento State, 99-45, on Sunday behind 17 three-pointers. Heather Ezell led the way with a school-record 10 threes and finished with a career-high 32 points.

Overview of the young season

Today's Michigan Daily has an article about the season so far, noting areas the team needs to work on (including rebounding and play in the second half) and areas the team has improved on (cutting personal fouls and more assists).

On Krista Clement:

Like Steve Nash: Senior Krista Clement is an assist machine.

In Michigan's past two games, Clement averaged seven assists and just 1.5 turnovers. She is the first Wolverine since March 2006 to put up more than five assists in two consecutive games. After coming off the bench last season, the now-starting guard has emerged as the Wolverines' top distributor.

Playing just 168 minutes in 21 games last year, Clement tallied 20 assist and 22 turnovers. The St. Ignace, Mich., native now takes the court for more than 30 minutes per game with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.0. While she hasn't exactly found her stroke - 3-for-16 on the year, all from behind the arc - the four-time captain has made her leadership present on the court.

More on the Miami game

Stories on the game can be found in the Michigan Daily, Detroit Free Press, the Miami Herald .

Mlive's article is now available.

A win at Miami

Another win - 2 road wins already this season after only 3 all of last season. The offense has certainly improved. 3 point shooting and an improved turnover/assist ratio has really helped. "Official" recap can be found here.

Miami

Michigan's next game is tomorrow night at the University of Miami - part of the inaugural Women's Big Ten-ACC Challenge. Last year the two teams played in Ann Arbor and Michigan came out on top 60-55. Miami is 1-1, having beaten Florida Atlantic and lost to Jacksonville.

Miami was 11-19 last year, 2-12 in the ACC. This seems like a fairly even match up, a game Michigan should have a decent shot of winning if they play well.

A preview from the Miami sight can be found here.

Jamillya Hardley

A nice profile of Jamillya Hardley on mlive:

"I was recruited by Ball State, Indiana State and the (Mid-American Conference) schools, like Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan, but when I went to Michigan, they showed me a good time, and they are ready for my style of play," Hardley said. "Michigan fits my style of play. I'm a transition player. I get the ball and go with it."

Hardley, who is 5-foot-10, averaged 14.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.5 steals per game last season.

"I think I have developed more of the mental part of the game," she said. "I had the physical game."

She plans to study sports medicine at Michigan and hopes to become an athletic trainer.

"They told me that if I go down there and work hard, I should get some playing time," Hardley said.

Hardley's game apparently developed significantly over the summer.

Michigan Daily Article

Today's Michigan Daily has an article about the team and their 2-0 start. It also has a bit about Krista Phillips:

Sophomore Krista Phillips has been playing better off the bench this season. Against Cincinnati, Phillips had what Bearcats coach Kelley Hall called a "monster game."

Cincinnati was the victim of Phillips's 17-point, six-rebound and four-block performance in 22 minutes. She was efficient from the field (7-for-10) and consistent from the charity stripe (3-for-3), as well as active on the defensive end, (four blocks).

"We put Krista (Phillips) in the game - she's obviously a natural post player," Borseth said. "We were able to get it to her for the score, which was the difference for us. She gave us an inside presence."

National Letter of Intent Signing Day

Today was the first day of the "early signing" period where recruits could make their commitments official. Carmen Reynolds, Jamillya Hardley and Courtney Boylan are officially Wolverines. More on mgoblue.com:

"Jamillya gives us depth at the perimeter position," said Borseth. "She's very strong, athletic and skilled in addition to having great knowledge of the game. We can use Jamillya at a couple different perimeter positions. She can handle the ball at the point or play at the No. 2 or No. 3 position. She's very multi-talented."

"Carmen is a kid who grew on me over the summer when I watched her," said Borseth. "If you had to pick a player that would best suit me as a coach, that player would be Carmen Reynolds. She can do it all. She can handle the ball, she can shoot it and she can post up. Carmen is a very skilled lefty who has a great understanding of the game."

"Courtney is a floor general, an elite guard who demands a lot of respect," said U-M head coach Kevin Borseth. "She's got a ton of skill and she makes the players around her better. Courtney is very driven, a real tough kid. We're extremely excited to have her."

Janell Smith is also a verbal commitment for Michigan, but will be a preferred walk-on, as she already has a scholarship. (Hat tip to mzonefan on umgoblue.com):

KALAMAZOO -- As a point guard, Janell Smith's job is to see the whole court, make sound decisions and attack the basket.

As a Loy Norrix High School senior with a bright future, Smith is taking it upon herself to see the big picture, make

informed choices and go after her goal -- to one day play major-conference

Division I basketball.

Smith is in line to do just that, after verbally committing to the University of Michigan, where she will be a preferred walk-on in the 2008-09 season.

Smith will not be on athletic scholarship, so she will not sign a national letter-of-intent. But she is a 100 percent qualifier for The Kalamazoo Promise, meaning her tuition will be covered at U-M.

Mlive article on last nights game.

Found here.

The Bearcats (0-1) led 34-31 when Michigan went on a tear by scoring its next 12 points on 3-pointers. Clement canned two of them to bookend a 12-5 run, and the Wolverines never trailed again.

For the game, the Wolverines sank 11 of 29 3-pointers, while the Bearcats shot just 3-of-20 from beyond the arc.

And the game was even mentioned in "The Diag" blog.

More on the Cincinnati Game

The Michigan Daily has a write up:

But Phillips provided a double remedy to Michigan's interior defense and post scoring. She shot 7-of-9 from the floor to finish with 17 points. Philips also picked up six rebounds and swiped three steals in just 20 minutes of play.

"She played a monster game," Cincinnati coach Kelley Hall said. "She gave them a defensive presence inside and altered some of our shots - if she didn't block them."

but there are still some issues on defense:

The Wolverines may have opened up the season with two wins, but Borseth doesn't think this team's mentality will change for a long time.

"We're getting caught so many times in the old mode, and they were getting lay-ups and wide open shots," Borseth said.

More in the Detroit Free Press.

First Road Win

Looks like strong three point shooting and reduced turnovers in the second half helped Michigan win their first road trip. Krista Phillips had a strong game off the bench (17 pts, 6 rebounds, 4 blocks). Janelle Cooper had 12 points. Mgoblue.com has an write up here.

Cincinnati

Tonight is the first road game of the season, against the University of Cincinnati. Both teams have new coaches and there isn't too much to go on with the Bearcats:

The Bearcats were 12-4 at home last year and likely won't top that mark this season with a first-year head coach and second-team All-Big East guard Treasure Humphries' graduation. Shelly Bellman (10.6 ppg, 6.4 rpg in '06-'07) leads a Cincinnati squad that returns just three of six players who started at least 19 games last year.

Because of that, Michigan doesn't have much to work with for preparation.

"New coach, no videotape," Michigan coach Kevin Borseth said. "We don't know a lot about them other than the coach was at Lafayette last year, and maybe some of the stuff he did there will carry over to this game."

This is the first of six straight road games for the Wolverines.

Akron

I ended up not making it to the game after all. ("Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans"). The michigandaily has two articles about the game (here and here) and mlive had a write up as well. The "official" page can be found at mgoblue.com with a boxscore and photos.

A win is always nice. The free throw shooting woes from the exhibition game seem gone and the field goal percentage (44%) is ok. Turnovers (19) are still a huge concern and 3pt shooting in the 2nd half (10%) obviously needs to be better. The rebounding margin (+3) against a smaller team is a worry as well.

Ta'Shia Walker (17 points and 9 rebounds) and Stephany Skrba had very good games (9 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocks).

The big question is - will the team continue to improve? They'll need to play better as the schedule gets tougher.

Akron

I had hoped to do a bit of a preview for the Akron game tonight, but I have been beyond busy. I'm still planning on making it to the game. In the meantime, the Michigan Daily did do a preview article, which can be found here. This should be a bit tougher test than Lake Superior, but it is still a game that Michigan should win. Akron wasn't a very strong MAC team last year, and they lost a number of players to graduation and transfer. They do have sophomore Sarah Tokodi, who averaged 12.6 points a game as a freshman.

Michigan is bigger, more experienced and playing at home. Let's hope for a solid effort to start the season.

Mgoblogs on girls basketball clinics

mgoblue.com has a added "mgoblogs" with entries for various sports. From a brief look around the site, I haven't seen any sort of general blog index or page. Todays entry is about the Women's Basketball Team and specifically the girls basketball clinics that they put on every year.

More from the Detroit News

From "2-minute drill: Michigan":

Well, shoot

 "There will be two things we're going to have to be able to do," Borseth said. "We're going to have to handle the ball and hit perimeter shots because teams will put pressure on us and we'll face a lot of zones. "If the Lake Superior victory is any indication, Janelle Cooper and Carly Benson are up to the challenge. Cooper (Detroit Renaissance) scored 19, making 7 of 12 shots, including 3-of-5 3-pointers. Benson had 15 points (6-for-7 shooting) and six rebounds.

Detroit News Preview

An article in todays Detroit News profiles the four division one coaches in new positions - Kevin Borseth, Suzy Merchant(MUS), Sue Guevara (CMU) and AnnMarie Gilbert (EMU). On Coach Borseth:

Kevin Borseth, U-M

He's had a very busy summer and fall, one he'd love to discuss in detail if he could remember it all.

It's not that Borseth, 51, isn't a details person. But try house hunting and moving a young family of five children from Green Bay to Ann Arbor, hosting basketball camps, hitting the road to recruit and getting used to the politics of a new workplace.

And do it all in a few months.

"It's been intense, but everything I hoped it to be," said Borseth, who left Wisconsin-Green Bay to become Michigan's coach after Cheryl Burnett's retirement. "I'm not going to get bored."

Borseth understands the profile of Michigan basketball is down, thanks to a 35-83 record the past four years. He wants to establish a strong recruiting profile.

"I want to leave people with a different taste in the mouths about Michigan basketball," Borseth said. "I don't know what happened in the past, and frankly, I don't care. It's about us, now and into the future.

"There's enough talent in this state, and enough strong programs, that the top girls should stay here. That's my goal. We're going to keep our own here. I want to lock this state down."

Janell Smith

According to michiganladyballers.com, Janell Smith from Kalamazoo has committed to Michigan. That gives the team four players in next years freshman class. Hat tip to bluex2 on the umgoblue.com women's basketball forum.

Preview Articles

Season preview articles have been published on mlive.com and freep.com

Aisha Jefferson out for the season

Bad news for Michigan State - Aisha Jefferson is out for the season with a torn ACL It looks like it a bit of a rough start for Suzy Merchant, as Mia Johnson tore her ACL this summer and will be out for the first part of the season.

Veronica Hicks article in the Michigan Daily

The article discusses her high school career (including her quadruple double) and her transition to playing college ball:

"I don't want to come here and just rush into things because I might not enjoy it as much or I might not do as well as I hope for," Hicks said. "Here I get to learn the other side of basketball and see it from a different perspective, and I think that's going to make me a whole, complete player as I get older. I think where I am right now is best for me."

Photos from Fan night

Photos have been posted on mgoblue.com

Hannah Quilling to UW Green Bay.

Hannah Quilling, a point guard from Eau Claire Wisconsin has verballed to Wisconsin Green Bay. Apparently she was being recruited by Michigan as well:

Quilling was being looked at by former UWGB coach Kevin Borseth, who left the Phoenix after last season to be the coach at the University of Michigan. Along with the Wolverines, Utah had shown interest.

Mlive, Michigan Daily on the Lake Superior Game.

Articles can be found in the Michigan Daily here and here. Mlive has a summary here.

More on the Lake Superior State Game

The details, including the box score and photos can be found on mgoblue.com. A few thoughts:

The rebounding margin, 41-28, was nice (but to be expected against a smaller team).

The shooting percentage (50.8% for the game) was very nice to see.

The free throw percentage (46.7%) wasn't pretty. Unless it becomes a regular problem, I'm going to chalk it up as a bit of a fluke.

The assist/turnover ration (7 /20) could be better.

Coach Borseth is at least as animated on the sidelines as Coach Burnett was....

Lake Superior

I was only able to catch the second half & don't want to draw too many conclusions. Still, an 80-51 win is a nice way to start the season. (It has been four years since Michigan had an exhibition win by more than 20 points.)

It seemed like the players were more confident on offense - everyone looked willing to take the open shot, and quite a few seemed to fall.

The defense seemed strong - many steals and deflected passes that caused LSSU turnovers.

Katie Dierdorf played - good to see her back on the court. Let's hope for a healthy senior season for her.

Veronica Hicks looked ready to play at this level. Possibly her biggest problem will be finding much playing time this year.

More on Courtney Boylan

Again from Girls Basketball Recruiting Blog:

Courtney Boylan 16, 10, 160.0, .700 her strong summer performance has carried over into the fall. poised, alert, good vision. Strong---a MW player grabbed her forearm as she went up for the shot. Boylan made it a three point play. Also out rebounded her taller teammates on the defensive end so she has a nose and knack for the ball. has good hang time and body control. can pen & pitch, or take it home. good leader

Courtney Boylan

According to Girls Basketball Recruiting Blog, Courtney Boylan of Minnesota has verballed to Michigan:

BOYLAN VERBALS
Courtney Boylan, Chaska, has verballed Michigan. The 5-7 guard averaged 20.9 ppg last year for the 13-11 AAAA Hawks. Boylan was Coaches Association All State in 2007, AP Honorable mention All State the last two years, St. Paul Pioneer Press Honorable Mention All State in 2007, 3rd team All Metro Star Tribune in 2007, and All Lake Conference the last four four years.

Boylan played with Metro Stars Black this summer. She was named to gbbrecruit first team summer team, was player of the week three times and was named outstanding player in the Dakota Showcase.

She joins Jamillya Hardley and Carmen Reynolds in the incoming class of 2008.

Boylan is the 39th player in the Minnesota class of 2008 to verbal and the 19th to verbal a D1 school. She is the 4th player to verbal from Metro Stars Black.