MSU 61 Michigan 58

A tough road loss, but Michigan was right there in the end. Stephany Skrba had a big night (16 points), but the team as a whole struggled from 3pt range (3-18) and weren't able to get to the free throw line (1 free throw vs. 15 for MSU). I maybe naive, but I'm optimistic about the rest of the season - 5 home games remain as well as 3 winnable road contests (Illinois, Northwestern & Indiana).

Krista Clement

Today's Detroit Free Press has a nice article about Krista Clement and her four years at Michigan:

Borseth didn't know many players when he took the U-M job, but he knew Clement because he attempted to recruit her to Wisconsin-Green Bay. After being with her this season, he knows why he wanted her so badly.

"If you've ever been around Krista, the kid just does things right," he said. "She's in it for the long haul. She sells the farm for the program, for the university, for herself, for the coaches, for her teammates. She's totally dedicated.

"She's a kid you want in your program because she's what you want your program to be about. If you had a player you want your program identified with, it's Krista Clement."

There is also an accompanying photogallery.

next: MSU (at East Lansing)

Tonight Michigan has a road game against MSU. The Michigan Daily has a preview of sorts, focusing on coach Borseth & EMU's Suzy Merchant:

At first glance, it would appear that Michigan coach Kevin Borseth and Michigan State coach Suzy Merchant have nothing in common.

Compared to Borseth, known for fiery antics on the sidelines and constant conversation with the scorer's table, Merchant is quiet as a hummingbird.

After her Spartans lost, 64-55, to Michigan earlier this month, Merchant looked as if she was close to bursting into tears. When Borseth lost last Sunday to Iowa, he stubbornly addressed the press.

"You're the ones writing the articles, not me," Borseth said. "You already got your titles picked out, so let's get a start to it."

Although their personalities differ, both coaches have taken similar paths to the Big Ten and have encountered each other several times along the way.

It will be interesting to see how the matchup of Allyssa DeHaan and Krista Phillips plays out. In the first game this year, Phillips was reasonably effective in neutralizing DeHaan's defensive/shot blocking presence. Coach Borseth believes Michigan State will use a zone defense more this game:

To take down the Wolverines tonight at the Breslin Center, Merchant will have to adapt her strategy from her team's disappointing performance Jan. 13 at Crisler.

In that game, Michigan held the Spartan's lanky 6-foot-9 Allyssa DeHaan to nine points and six rebounds. On offense, the Wolverines were able to pull DeHaan away from the basket by bringing sophomore Krista Phillips out of the paint.

"They're not going to allow that to happen," Borseth said. "I believe they're going to play a zone."

There is a bus trip organized by the athletic department headed to the game - a second bus was added, and (as of Wednesday afternoon) there were still seats available. More info here.

Wisconsin

The road win against Wisconsin was a couple of weeks ago, but it was one of the bigger ones of the season, ending a long Big 10 road losing streak for Michigan. A couple of things I overlooked at the time - someone posted a comment pointing to a Wisconsin live blog of the game, which can be found here. Also on the Wisconsin site, video of th entire game is archived here. (Select Basketball-W and then scroll down to find the Michigan game.) Krista Phillips huge 3 point shot can be found about 1:41.30 in. (Hat tip to Calvin on umgoblue.com for finding it.)

More on the Iowa loss

Articles in the Michigan Daily, Mlive.com, Des Moines Register and the Detroit Free Press.

Iowa 66 Michigan 61

A tough loss in Iowa City. Michigan was in it the whole game, but couldn't sink the shots at the end. Carly Benson had 22 points and Krista Phillips had 12. Michigan shot well, but a lack of offensive rebounds (only 4) and turnovers (18, to Iowa's 9) probably made the difference.

While it is disappointing, they are learning to play on the road - like the Purdue game, they hung tough and didn't let things get away. After their struggles on the road the previous three seasons, games like this don't seem too bad (at least for now). The official write up at mgoblue.com can be found here.

Next: Iowa

Michigan travels to Iowa City to face the Hawkeyes (5-3 in the Big 10, 12-7 overall). This is a rematch of Michigan's conference opener, which the Wolverines won 63-46. That score seems to favor Michigan again, but Iowa is at home and has a three game win streak.

The Hawkeyes are led by guard Kristi Smith (13.1 points/game) and forward Wendy Ausdemore (10.6 points/game).

Carmen Reynolds

A couple of articles mention Carmen Reynolds, who is joining the Wolverines in 2009. From the Columbus Dispatch (Hilliard Davidson lost to Dublin Scioto 64-59):

Davidson forward Carmen Reynolds, a Michigan recruit, scored 27 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field and had eight rebounds and three assists.

And from ThisWeekNews.com:

BIG TIME PLAYERS: Davidson’s Carmen Reynolds is undoubtedly a candidate for district Player of the Year. The 6-foot senior is averaging 17.5 points per game and is a versatile player who can score from just about anywhere on the floor.

“Obviously, it starts with No. 33,” Hardesty said. “Everything centers on her and rightly so. She’s the type of player I don’t think you can stop, but you certainly want to contain. But they have several other veterans on the floor.”

Bus Trip to East Lansing

Anyone who might be interested in attending the MSU game in East Lansing (from mgoblue.com):

** Second bus just added due to increased demand! **
The bus trip to the Michigan-Michigan State women's basketball game on Thursday, January 31, in East Lansing is $15 per person and includes transportation to and from the Breslin Center, a ticket to the game, and pizza dinner on bus. The bus will depart at 5 p.m. from the north side of Yost Ice Arena. To register please contact Katy Jackson at 734-647-1261 or katjacks@umich.edu.

Articles on the Indiana Game

Mgoblue has their account here. Also the Michigan Daily has an article here and here (featuring Veronica Hicks), Mlive, and the Detroit Free Press.

With the win, Michigan is now 8-0 at home, their best start (at home) in program history.

Coach Borseth, from mgoblue.com ("notes and quotes"):

"The way our kids shoot the ball from the arc really helps Krista Phillips out a lot. It really takes the double teams off of her. Indiana does a really good job of taking post players out of the game. Carly Benson was able to stretch them a little bit and make them defend on the perimeter, which in turn makes Krista’s game a lot better. The two of them really complement each other."

Michigan 65 Indiana 54

Another big home win for Michigan - they're now 12-6, 5-3 in the Big 10. They're currently in a 5-way tie for second place in the conference. Ohio State is in first at 6-2, Michigan, Iowa, Indiana, Purdue and Minnesota are all 5-3, Penn State is 4-4, and Michigan State 4-5.

Big games from Carly Benson (22 points) and Krista Phillips (another double double - 16 points, 10 rebounds). Jessica Minnfield added 13 and Janelle Cooper 11.

Next: Indiana

The Indiana Hoosiers visit Crisler Thursday night. This is a big game for Michigan - Indiana is tied for second in the Big 10, while Michigan is tied for fourth. This is an interesting match up, as Michigan is undefeated at home, but has performed a bit better than Michigan in some similar situations. (Closer losses to both Ohio State and Texas A&M on the road, for example.) Indiana also boasts a win against West Viriginia, a top 25 team.

Indiana is led by guard Jamie Braun (14.6 points/game), forward Amber Jackson (12.1 points/game), forward Whitney Thomas (11.9 points/game and 9.7 rebounds/game) and forward Kim Roberson (11.0 points/game).

More on the Penn State game

A bit late, but articles in the Michigan Daily, the Detroit Free Press, Mlive.com, PennLive.com, and the Center Daily Times.

Penn State 68 Michigan 57

A tough road loss - the game was tied 33-33 at half time and Michigan was within striking distance, most of the second half, but they weren't able to catch Penn State. Krista Phillips had a double double (18 points, 11 rebounds), Carly Benson added 13 points and Janelle Cooper had 10 points. Mgoblue.com has an account here.

Next: Penn State

Next on Michigan's schedule is a road trip to Penn State. This should be a stiffer road test than Wisconsin - the Lady lions are 12-6 and 3-3 in the Big 10. They have big wins over Duke and Pitt, but have lost their last two games to Minnesota (road) and Purdue (at home).

They have four players averaging in double figures - Tyra Grant (15.0 ppg), Brianne O'Rourke (12.2 ppg), Mashea Williams (11.9 ppg), and Kamela Gissendanner (11.6 ppg).

Michigan split with Penn State last year - both teams winning at home. Here's hoping for a second straight road win.

Coverage of the Wisconsin Win

Mgoblue has their's here. Stories from the Michigan Daily, Detroit Free Press, Mlive, The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinal, and the Green Bay Press Gazette:

Thanks in part to a stunning 3-pointer, Kevin Borseth made a triumphant return to the state, with his Michigan Wolverines beating the University of Wisconsin 79-73 in a Big Ten women's basketball game on Thursday.

Michigan improved to 11-5 overall and 4-2 in the Big Ten under Borseth, the former UW-Green Bay coach who's in his first season in Ann Arbor. The Wolverines won 10 games last season, finished 3-13 in the Big Ten and lost to the Badgers in the Big Ten Tournament.

Wisconsin Win

The Michigan Daily liveblogged the game. Wisconsin's web site has a recap posted:

Michigan Head Coach Kevin Borseth Quotes

Opening statement: “I’ll open with one word – lucky. But we’ll take it. If we’re lucky to make that shot, obviously to tie it, but it’s part of the game. We had free throws before – we had a chance to seal it. We didn’t, but we were lucky to come of it either way. We exorcized a demon. We haven’t won a road game, I don’t think, in seven years – a Big Ten road game – so that was obviously a huge win for us.

How were they able to come back and get the win?

“I thought Janelle (Cooper) did a good job particularly of keeping her dribble on a couple of them, getting some baskets when we were behind. K.P. (Krista Phillips) had some key rebounds and key baskets for us as well. It was just a game of swings. We went on a run, they went on a run. We went on a run, they went on a run. And we were lucky because we were at a point of just having them put us away because it was very close to that happening, and we came back with a big shot. I don’t know how we did it.”

Was it his plan for Krista (Phillips) to take the three-point shot?

“No, she was supposed to set the screen. That’s all I’m going to tell you. It wasn’t really designed for her to shoot it, but they switched a whole lot of options and she wound up being wide open.”

UW Head Coach Lisa Stone Quotes

On Krista Phillips’s final 40-foot three-pointer: “It did, and it put us into kind of a deflated huddle there before overtime. It was a heartbreaker there for our kids. We made some poor decisions out of stress, couldn’t get this going, and you know, Danielle (Ward) did a really nice job there for us, until she fouled out, but it was just a tough one, a back-to-back overtime game. We had a chance to win the game and we made some poor decisions. Again, credit to Phillips. I would never guess that, we guarded everyone except her, I figured 6-6 from 40 feet was a safe bet. Congratulations to them, it was a tough road win for them.”

Big Road Win at Wisconsin

Michigan wins 79-73 in overtime for their first Big 10 road win four years. Krista Phillips sent the game into overtime with a long three point shot with a few seconds remaining. Michigan improves to 4-2 in conference play and, with tonight's action, is tied for second in the conference with Indiana and Purdue. That could make Thursday's game against Indiana just a bit more important.

Another Wisconsin Preview

From the Madison Capital Times:

But Borseth, who compiled a 216-62 record in nine seasons at UW-Green Bay and led the Phoenix to seven NCAA tournament appearances, remains guarded when discussing Michigan's budding success.

"We've been the worst team in the Big Ten in the span of the last two years, and we're trying to get in the thick of things right now," Borseth said of the Wolverines, who compiled a 3-29 league mark during the final two seasons of coach Cheryl Burnett's four-season tenure.

"We won a couple games early on, but it doesn't necessarily mean we're going to win any more. ... We're just trying to win games. That's all we're trying to do."

and an interesting quote from Coach Borseth in the same article:

Meanwhile, Borseth said that he has no complex plan in developing strong players. He added that hard work and a hard-nosed mentality are two critical components in a player's development. And then that player has to take the ball and roll with it.

"We put players in a situation and they've got to find a way to fight out of it on their own," Borseth said. "Once they (figure that out), maybe we can hone some of their skills that they might be lacking or work on the skills that are really strong to make them stronger.

"But I think the mentality of allowing them to play through a tough time probably speaks for itself -- far greater than any coaching that we do."

Wisconsin Preview in the Daily

From the Michigan Daily:

No player on the Michigan roster has ever beaten Wisconsin. But beating the Badgers is nothing new for Michigan women's basketball coach Kevin Borseth.

The last time the Wolverines won a game against Wisconsin was four years ago.

Last season, as head coach of University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, Borseth led his squad to a 70-66 upset win over the Badgers. The Phoenix went 3-0 against Big Ten teams for the season, also beating Iowa and Minnesota.

Next: Wisconsin

Tomorrow night the Wolverines travel to Madison to play the Badgers. Wisconsin is led by two senior guards, Jolene Anderson (19.5 ppg, 7.5rgp) and Janese Banks (14.4 ppg). Anderson scored 42 points against Iowa her last game (a Wisconsin loss).

Wisconsin was picked to finish as high as second in the Big 10, but have been somewhat disappointing so far with an 8-7 record (1-4 in the Big 10), good for only 10th place.

This appears to be a good chance for Michigan to steal a conference road win. The keys for the Wolverines to get off to a fast start (or at least not dig a big hole) and keep Jolene Anderson in check - make the rest of the team beat them. Anderson will get her points, but make her work for them.

Krista Clement in the Michigan Daily

Today's Michigan Daily has a nice profile on Krista Clement:

Starting all 15 games this season, Clement is averaging 6.1 ppg and 3.4 rpg while playing nearly 35 minutes a night.

Clement's steady play has helped Michigan get off to its best start in recent memory. The Wolverines are 10-5 and tied for the fourth-best record in the Big Ten at 3-2.

"It's been amazing," Clement said. "We've gone through a lot. (Winning) has been pretty nice for all of us."

Clement chose Michigan because she dreamed of winning a national championship wearing the maize and blue. Although Michigan has been a dreadful 31-71 record since she arrived, Clement doesn't regret her college choice.

"Experience-wise, I'm just really grateful," Clement said. "I've learned so much."

Samantha Arnold (class of 2009) commits to Michigan

I first saw this posted on umgoblue.com's women's basketball forum - hat tip to mzonefan and window4. I can't connect right now, so no link - when it comes back up, I'll update the post. Anyway, from the Chicago Tribune:

Samantha Arnold, a 6-foot 3-inch junior from Lake Park, gave an oral commitment to Michigan coach Kevin Borseth Tuesday.

Arnold, who plays AAU basketball for the Chicago Hoops Express, is considered an excellent outside shooter. As a sophomore at Lake Park, she averaged 18.6 points and 6.6 rebounds a game. She shoots 79 percent from the foul line.

A profile can be found on hoopgurlz.com

Update - here is the link about her on umgoblue.com.

Recruiting

An article in the Lansing State Journal about some of the recruiting battles in the state of Michigan, particularly with coach Borseth & Suzy Merchant of MSU:

In his 27 years coaching the girls of Detroit Country Day, Frank Orlando has sent his share of talented players on to college basketball.

His Yellowjackets have three of the state's most highly recruited underclass players this season: junior guards Amber Moore and Sharena Taylor and sophomore center Madison Williams. And they're all firmly in the sites of the state's highest- profile coaches - Michigan State's Suzy Merchant and Michigan's Kevin Borseth - as they adjust to recruiting in the Big Ten.

"I've really seen a lot of energy from both head coaches and their coaching staffs," Orlando said. "They're very eager to work with high school coaches. For sure, myself, I've seen coaches at games and received calls and a lot of positive reinforcement from both schools."

and

Jason Wilkins, who runs the Web site michladyballers.com and sponsors summer showcase events for girls, said 5-foot-11 guard Moore and 6-6 center Williams are two primary targets of both programs, as is junior center Destiny Williams from Benton Harbor.

"What I've noticed about girls is that (coaches) really don't start offering scholarships until after their junior year," Wilkins said.

Learning to win close games

From today's Michigan Daily, "Blue learning to win the close games":

The big win came down to big shots. After holding a 46-45 lead with 6:10 left, Michigan extended its cushion to 12 in the next four minutes.

"When they get in games, good players - players that have done it before, players that are winners - find a way to put the ball in the basket down the stretch," Michigan coach Kevin Borseth said.

Dawn Plitzuweit

An article on Dawn Plitzuweit from Sunday's Grand Rapid Press is available via mlive.com:

But while Plitzuweit is sleeping better these days, she isn't resting completely easy because she realizes there's plenty of work to be done in rebuilding the Michigan program.

"Until we get this thing really rolling its tough to feel comfortable," said Plitzuweit, who led the Lakers to the 2005-06 NCAA Division II National Championship and compiled a career record of 117-39.

"We're off to a good start this season, but is it because of the changing mind set of the players, or their understanding of the system getting better? I think it's both.

"The first year in a new program is difficult because you're not sure how to be smart about what you are doing. After a few seasons, you know who to call about this or that ... you know how to motivate each player, things like that."

Column at umgoblue.com

Vince Prygoski has a new column up about the first part of the Big 10 season over at umgoblue.com. Check it out.

More Coverage of the victory over MSU

Mlive.com:

Janelle Cooper was running out of time.

The Michigan senior knew that if her Wolverines didn't beat Michigan State this year, she'd have to leave school having never beaten the program's biggest rival.

She doesn't have to worry anymore.

Cooper had 12 points and eight rebounds to help Michigan beat Michigan State 64-55 on Sunday, ending the Wolverines' nine-game losing streak to the Spartans.

"Ever since I've been here, this has been what I wanted," she said. "We talked about it as freshmen and as sophomores and as juniors, and this year, we knew it was our last chance."

Detroit News:

Krista Clement couldn't stop smiling as she ran off the Crisler Arena floor.

Clement had just helped Michigan defeat Michigan State, 64-55, before a record crowd of 5,596 on Sunday afternoon to end the Wolverines' nine-game losing streak in the rivalry.

"I'm going to have a smile for a long time," said Clement, Michigan's first four-year captain. "We've been getting popped by them for a long time. It's our biggest win so far and we had a great crowd. I'm hoping it's not going to be our biggest win, though."

Popped? Yes, Clement had been on the wrong end of 18-, 26-, 33-, 43- and 10-point losses during her previous three years against the Spartans.

In her final home game in the rivalry, Clement contributed 13 points and three assists and just two turnovers in 39 minutes. She made half of six 3-point shots.

Also, the Michigan Daily live blogged the game, mgoblue.com, and the Lansing State Journal.

Articles on win over MSU

The Detroit Free Press:

Michigan's three-point halftime lead was gone, and less than five minutes into the second half the Wolverines -- who had lost nine straight to Michigan State -- were down seven.

"I was thinking: 'Dang, that wasn't a good start,' " said senior Krista Clement. "We got yelled at a little bit at the next time-out because we all came in hanging our heads. The coaches got in our face about not giving up."

That is precisely when U-M women's basketball teams of the past would give up, or at least fall hopelessly behind.

Not this time; not this team.

"We smiled," said Clement, "and went out there and did some things."

Yeah, some things like get a career-high 23 points from junior Carly Benson to beat Michigan State, 64-55, Sunday before 5,596 fans, the most ever for a women's game in Crisler Arena.

It was U-M's first victory over the Spartans since Jan. 2, 2002.

Another article in the freep here. The Michigan Daily also has a couple of articles. From the first:

Michigan State (2-4 Big Ten, 10-8 overall) was on a six-minute field goal drought toward the end of the second half, but junior Carly Benson kept rolling for Michigan. Benson had her best game of the season, shooting 8-for-18 from the field on her way to a career-high 23 points.

"Carly has started to be consistently a really great player for us," sophomore Krista Phillips said. "I wouldn't want to have to play against her."

The second, focusing on the Krista Phillips/Allysa DeHaan matchup:

When 6-foot-6 sophomore Krista Phillips takes the court, people are usually in awe of her height.

But during yesterday's matinee, 6-foot-9 Michigan State sophomore Allyssa DeHaan stole her thunder.

DeHaan entered the game averaging 15.6 points per game and 4.71 blocks per contest, second in the nation.

No matter who matched up, getting a body on DeHaan would be one tall task. Still, Phillips was up for the challenge.

"In my Canada basketball years, I've come up against some pretty tall girls," Phillips said of her pre-Michigan playing career. "But it was a challenge to play against someone who was 6'9.

"But I embraced the assignment and said, 'All right, I'm going to do all I can to get her out of the paint and stop her scoring.' "

Though Philips couldn't completely clear out the post, DeHaan's production was held to just nine points. DeHaan's only points in the first half were scored on the opening basket of the game.

Suzy Merchant & MSU

Jim Carty's column in the Sunday Ann Arbor News was about the struggle Suzy Merchant has had taking over the MSU program, including losing two top players to knee injuries.

(More on the UM-MSU game later...)

MSU

A huge win for the Wolverines over Michigan State, 64-55. The game was important for a number of reasons - a record crowd, first win over MSU in 6 years, equaling last years win total (both overall and in conference) and staying undefeated at home.

All of the starters had big games. Carly Benson had a career high 23 points, Krista Clement added 13, Jessica Minnfield had 12 points and 5 steals and Janelle Cooper had 12 points as well. Krista Phillips only had 4 points, but she did a nice job of keeping MSU's Allyssa DeHaan in check. (DeHaan had 9 pts, 6 boards and no blocks.)

More on Purdue Game

More coverage at the Detroit Free Press, Old Gold Free Press, Boilerstation.com, the Detroit News and another article in the Michigan Daily:

Starting a play is the easy part.

All it takes is a dribble down the court.

Finishing it, though, has been difficult for the Michigan women's basketball team.

"We've been trying to emphasize to our kids: Finish the play," Michigan coach Kevin Borseth said. "We did a great job defensively, I felt, but we just didn't finish the play."

The Wolverines held Purdue to just .404 shooting from the field in last night's 56-51 loss. But Michigan's troubles unfolded after Purdue's players released the ball.

For the seventh straight game, the Wolverines were overwhelmed on the offensive boards. Purdue finished with a 13-9 advantage.

In the final three minutes, Michigan gave up three offensive boards. The most crucial was won by Purdue junior Lakisha Freeman. With 1:15 remaining, Freeman scored off the rebound to put the Boilermakers in the lead for good.

Michigan knew boxing out would be a key to success in West Lafayette because of the Boilermakers' size - Purdue boasts three starters taller than six feet. But as hard as the Wolverines fought, the Boilermakers simply wanted the ball more.

Articles on the Purdue Game

More from mgoblue.com, Purdue's student newspaper The Exponent, mlive.com and The Michigan Daily:

It was the biggest test so far for the Michigan women's basketball team, and it was quite the nailbiter.

The Wolverines have had little experience with close contests, and their ability to perform in the clutch was more than tested last night at Purdue.

Michigan couldn't convert two opportunities in the waning minutes of the game, allowing the Boilermakers to pull away with a 56-51 win.

A tough road loss

Michigan lost 56-51 to Purdue. The Wolverines were up 51-50, but Purdue scored the last 6 points. Carly Benson had a big game for Michigan, but 20 turnovers made it tough. Nonetheless, the team held tough all game. Let's hope it can carry over to future Big 10 road games.

Purdue Preview in the Michigan Daily

From the Daily:

In a season of reclamation, the Michigan women's basketball team has yet another chance to prove its streak of losing seasons is over.

If the Wolverines take care of business against Purdue tonight, and Minnesota loses to Illinois, Michigan (2-1 Big Ten, 9-4 overall) will find itself either tied or alone atop the Big Ten - a feat few saw coming.

But to do that, Michigan will have to exorcise some old demons.

Michigan is 12-45 all-time against Purdue. The Wolverines were blown out last year in West Lafayette, 79-35, and lost at home, 59-54. To top it off, Purdue has a 17-game winning streak against the Wolverines, dating back to the 1999-2000 season. This game seems like a great chance for Michigan to break the streak.

The Wolverines are playing their best basketball in years, and the Boilermakers (2-1, 6-8) are coming off a devastating 100-50 loss to No. 1 Connecticut. But the Boilermakers' record is deceiving, considering the team's tough non-conference schedule.

This would be a big win if the Wolverines could pull it off.

Next up Purdue

The next game is another difficult road matchup, this time against Purdue. While the Boilermakers are having a bit of a "down" year (they're currently 6-8), that is a bit misleading as they have played a very difficult schedule. Among their 8 losses are Duke (#9, road game), UNC (#4, road), Connecticut (#1, home) and Notre Dame (#16, home).

Michigan has struggled on the road against good teams - three of their four losses were road games against ranked teams (Notre Dame, Texas A&M, Ohio State) and the other was a "neutral court" game against 11-2 Iowa State.

Purdue is led by center Danielle Campbell (12.1 pts & 7.9 rbs/game) and forward Lakisha "Kiki" Freeman (13.3 pts/game).

Lets hope for a strong showing from the Wolverines and maybe even a surprise road win.

More on the win against Northwestern

Articles in the Ann Arbor News (mlive.com), Detroit Free Press and Detroit News.

Mlive:

University of Michigan junior forward Melinda Queen scored no points in 12 minutes of playing time in the first half of Sunday's Big Ten Conference game against Northwestern.

In the second half, the scoring crown belonged to Queen, who tallied a career-high 12 points and led the Wolverines to a 54-42 victory against the Wildcats.

It wasn't a shooting exhibition by any stretch of the imagination, with Michigan connecting on 18-of-55 shots (32.7 percent) and Northwestern -- the worst shooting team in the Big Ten at 36.4 percent -- making 17-of-66 of its shots (25.8 percent).

Michigan Daily on the Northwestern Victory

Today's Michigan Daily has two articles on yesterdays win. The first headlined Melinda Queen's performance - "Queen's 12 points off bench, strong defense fuel fast conference start for young Wolverine squad":

The second stanza again started slowly for the Wolverines, who took about three minutes to produce their first points. But unlike in the first half, Michigan took off, thanks to Wildcat killer Melinda Queen.

Like in last year's contest against Northwestern, the Oak Forest, Ill. native recorded a career high in points. This time it was 12, one more than last season's mark. And even more impressive, all came in the second half.

"Maybe it's an Illinois thing," Queen said.

Queen was largely responsible for the Wolverines' domination in the second half. With the Wildcats within six early in the period, Queen orchestrated a 7-2 run to keep the game out of Northwestern's hands. All her baskets during the run were off the drive. One, in particular, was a swift back-door move for the layup and a foul.

"Queen stepped up big time," Minnfield said. "She did good. She got confident. She was taking it to the rack, posting up, getting rebounds."

The first half, as noted in the article, wasn't pretty:

Nobody ever said winning had to look good.

But after a first half uglier than Don Imus, it was a relief when the Michigan women's basketball team pulled away in the second frame for a 54-42 victory over Northwestern yesterday at Crisler Arena.

The second article focused on the team's defense:

The game was a masterpiece - if you like defensive basketball.

But for everyone else, it was just like the melting snow outside: sloppy and dirty.

Michigan's defense propelled its 54-42 win over Northwestern. Just three Northwestern players scored, including freshman Meisha Reed, who put up a game-high 24 points.

The Wolverine defensive effort, on the other hand, was spread more evenly across the lineup, which is why Michigan fared so well yesterday afternoon. Junior Melinda Queen came off the bench to chip in with two steals, and her total was matched by junior Jessica Minnfield and senior Krista Phillips.

"Coach emphasized a lot of things on defense," Queen said. "I just try to do my best and the team tries to do its best to get around the post."

Another Big 10 win

The first 10 minutes the team appeared to be suffering an offensive hangover from the Ohio State game - nothing would fall. Things got better and Michigan had a 21-19 half time lead. The second half was much better for the Wolverines - they ended up with a 54-42 win.

Jessica Minnfield had yet another big game with 13 points, and Melinda Queen had a career high 12 points. Any Big 10 win is a good thing, but they'll have to play much better to have a chance Thursday night at Purdue.

Northwestern

Michigan hosts Northwestern (4-10, 0-2) this afternoon at 2:00. This is a game Michigan should be favored to win - they've played well against Northwestern at home in the past, and the Wildcats appear to be struggling this year. They are led by 6'5" freshman center Amy Jaeschke (10.3 pts/game in 6 games) and have six other players in the 6 to 9 ppg range.

More on the OSU Loss

The "official" recap on mgoblue.com, though (as of now), no "Notes & Quotes".

The Michigan Daily:

Live by the 3: All season, the Michigan offense has been notorious for shooting 3-pointers. In each of the past 3 contests, the Wolverines shot more than 20. Mostly, it has been working. The team leads the Big Ten with 6.55 3-pointers per game.

But last night, Michigan was limited to just 13 shots from behind the arc.

"That's the beauty of film," Ohio State coach Jim Foster said. "We saw what they like to do and I've seen them get pretty good at it the last four to five games."

Foster adjusted his game plan to be more aggressive on the perimeter. With Michigan scoring just one 3-pointer in each half, the strategy clearly paid dividends for the Buckeyes.

But Borseth was reluctant to give credit to the Ohio State defense, instead focusing on his own team's temerity.

"We didn't have confidence when we stepped on this court when the game started," Borseth said. "Were they that much better than us? I don't know. This is frustrating watching the way we played."

Diamond in the rough: Bright spots are hard to find in a 24-point loss, but junior Jessica Minnfield's performance warrants some attention, even in a blowout. Beside scoring a team-high 18 points, the Toledo, Ohio native played a key role in limiting Buckeye guard Marscilla Packer.

Coming into the game averaging nearly 15 points per game, Packer was held to 4-of-14 shooting from the field and just 11 points.

Minnfield drew the primary responsibility of guarding Parker, and immediately made her presence felt. After the Wolverines fell behind by 9-0 early, Minnfield got two steals that sparked her team's own 8-0 run.

"She's the only kid who showed up to play," Borseth said.

Mlive.com:

Ohio State (10-3, 1-1 Big Ten) shot 46 percent (28-of-61) and had four players finish in double figures. Michigan, which lost its 10th consecutive game to OSU, shot 14-of-53 (26 percent) from the floor and made two of 13 3-point attempts.

"It was frustrating to watch us play,'' Michigan coach Kevin Borseth said. "We have practiced and played better than this.''

Ohio native Jessica Minnfield led the Wolverines (8-4, 1-1) with 18 points. Sophomore Krista Phillips added nine points and six rebounds.

"Our offense is the kind that likes to move the ball,'' Minnfield said. "But today, we were not moving and there was a lack of communication. It wasn't our style of play.''

Also, the Columbus Dispatch and the Detroit News.

OSU 66 Michigan 42

Poor shooting by just about everyone except Jessica Minnfield (18 points) pretty much doomed the Wolverines. They were down 16 at half time and did only a bit better in the second half. Let's hope they bounce back against Northwestern.

Michigan Daily

The Michigan Daily has two new articles about the team - one about their defense and the Iowa game:

Some may call it sloppy.

But really, it was just gritty.

Michigan put forth its best defensive effort of the season in a 63-46 win over Iowa on Sunday. It was the Wolverines' interior defense that allowed Michigan to pull out the game.

By limiting the Iowa offense down low, the rest of the Michigan defense could focus on the perimeter, making the Hawkeyes a one-dimensional team.

The other is about their start to the big ten season:

Four.

That's the number of Big Ten wins the Michigan women's basketball team has had over the past three seasons combined.

But this year, under new coach Kevin Borseth, things seem to be changing.

The Wolverines opened their Big Ten campaign with a dominant 63-46 thumping of Iowa at Crisler Arena Sunday.

Michigan (1-0 Big Ten, 8-3 overall) pounded a Hawkeye team that Wolverine center Krista Phillips bludgeoned in the post.

Next up - Ohio State

Michigan travels to Columbus to play Ohio State this evening at 7:00pm. The Buckeyes are currently the only ranked team in the Big 10 (ranked 21st AP/20th USA Today). They are led by freshman center Jantel Lavender (16.8 pts/game, 9.7 rbds/game) and Marscilla Packer (15.2 pts/game). Due to the big 10 only playing 18 games, this will be the only regular season meeting between Michigan and Ohio State. (The Wolverines will also skip a trip to Minnesota this year.)

It will be interesting to see how Michigan plays this evening. They are much improved this year, but have struggled on the road against good teams (Notre Dame, Texas A&M, Iowa State). A win would obviously be huge, but a good effort would bode well for the rest of the conference season.

More on Iowa

The "official" game recap can be found on mgoblue.com here. There is also a nice video highlight package from the Iowa game in the multimedia section - I've not figured out an easy way to either link directly to it or to embed it in a post. A starting point can be found here.

Columns at umgoblue.com

Vince Prygoski writes a column on umgoblue.com about the Women's team. His first two columns for the 2007-8 season are up one about the non-conference season and the other an overview of the team.

Iowa recaps

Mlive.com:

Kevin Borseth looks at Krista Phillips and sees a talented work in progress.

Yet, as much promise as the 6-foot-6-inch University of Michigan sophomore center has displayed since arriving from Saskatchewan, Borseth knows Phillips hasn't shown anything close to what she's capable of.

But on Sunday, Iowa saw all the Phillips they needed.

Phillips scored 12 points, grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds and blocked three shots, and Michigan used a decisive 19-6 run to pull away from the Hawkeyes in a 63-46 victory at Crisler Arena.

Hawkcentral.com:

A two-point halftime lead turned into a second-half meltdown for the Iowa women's basketball team Sunday afternoon as Michigan routed the Hawkeyes 63-46 at Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor, Mich.

The Wolverines, led by Krista Phillips' 12 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks, snapped an eight-game losing streak to the Hawkeyes, who hadn't lost in Ann Arbor since 2002.

Also the Detroit Free Press, WWMT (Kalamazoo) and the Dubuque Telegraph Herald.