University of Michigan Women's Hoops

Jim

From their blog "The Game":

The Wolverines will return three starters next including leading scorers Carly Benson, Krista Phillips and Jessica Minnfield. They also found a late-season gem in Ashley Jones who might crack the starting lineup, or at the very least will play a large role on the team. The other two logical contenders for startig spots, beside any star freshman that might come in, would be forward Stephany Skrba and guard Veronika Hicks. Hicks will probably replace Cooper at shooting guard, but her lack of size is a concern. Skrba and Jones will probably battle for the other spot. Skrba is a better shooter, but Jones is a much better defender and rebounder, which is a place where the Wolverines were awful this season, so my guess is Jones will start next year.

Jim

The Michigan Daily:

As you might have seen after the Michigan women's basketball team blew a 20-point second-half lead to Wisconsin about a month ago, Michigan coach Kevin Borseth usually has something to say in postgame press conferences.
But yesterday's 45-40 loss to Michigan State (10-8 Big Ten, 22-13) in the quarterfinals of the Women's National Invitation Tournament took the punch out of Borseth.

"I don't really know what to say, so," Borseth said, trailing off. "I'll let you guys ask questions."

The Wolverines went scoreless for 10:51 through the end of regulation and most of overtime.

"It wasn't what they did, it's what we did to ourselves," Borseth said. "They say, 'You don't mind getting beat but you hate losing.' That's how I feel right now."

With six minutes left in the game, Michigan led 37-30. But the Spartans outscored the Wolverines 15-3 in the final eleven minutes, including overtime, to secure a victory.

For the game, Michigan shot just 13-for-61, including 4-for-33 on 3-pointers. It was the Wolverines' worst shooting performance of the season.

The Ann Arbor News/Mlive.com:

"Not to take anything away from them, but this is two times now that we've been here, and we let one slip away," he said.

Michigan's season, which some might call a resounding success considering the Wolverines' four-year record of 35-83 under Cheryl Burnett, ended at 19-14.

Junior guard Jessica Minnfield, who led the Wolverines with 12 points despite 2-of-13 shooting, summed up the turnaround by saying, "we're not losing (to MSU) by 10, 20 points anymore. Now we're losing by 3, 4, 5 points."

Added Borseth: "I really thought we were playing our best basketball at the end of the year. ... So it was, all in all, a pretty good year. We're a formidable team."
First-year Michigan State coach Suzy Merchant agreed. She said the Wolverines have enough talent "to beat anybody" and that she expects "a lot more battles in the future."

The only Big Ten teams alive in postseason action went toe-to-toe for the third time this season in a game that both coaches described as ugly.

Michigan State shot 29.2 percent, there were 37 combined turnovers and several airballs throughout the game by both teams.

The Detroit Free Press:

The last time the Michigan and Michigan State women's basketball teams met at the Breslin Center, U-M squandered an eight-point lead in the final seven minutes and lost by three.
The stage was bigger this time, as the teams faced off in a Women's National Invitation Tournament quarterfinal Sunday afternoon, but the result was almost the same.
The Wolverines built a 10-point lead in the second half, then went scoreless from the field for the final 6:26 of regulation and all of overtime. Meanwhile, the Spartans rallied to tie and scored eight points in overtime for a 45-40 victory.

Also, the Michigan Daily live blogged the game and coverage from mgoblue.com.

Jim

I'm not sure if it was a defensive battle, poor shooting by everyone or a combination of both. Michigan had their chances, but was unable to pull out a win. Jessica Minnfield (12 points) and Ashley Jones (11 points) led Michigan, but the Wolverines were ice cold from 3 point range (4-33).

MSU had similar struggles (2-20 from 3 point range), but was able to score enough in overtime to get the win.

Jim

On mlive.com:

Janelle Cooper smiled at the question, but then worded her response carefully.

After the University of Michigan women's basketball team advanced to the Women's National Invitation Tournament quarterfinals Thursday night, the senior guard was asked what getting another chance against rival Michigan State meant to her.

Cooper paused, grinned and then spoke.
"You know, it feels good every time we get another shot (to play),'' Cooper said. "So we'll see what happens on Sunday.''

Theteams meet at 2 p.m. today at the Breslin Center with a berth in the WNIT semifinals on the line.

For three years, Cooper and her fellow Michigan seniors failed to defeat their in-state rivals from East Lansing.

But in a season that has rejuvenated hope in the Michigan women's program, expectations have suddenly been altered.

The Wolverines (19-13) recorded their first victory over the Spartans in nine years in mid-January - a defining triumph in a season that has produced Michigan's first postseason run since 2002.

After Michigan State (21-13) evened the season series with a three-point victory two weeks later, the two rivals now meet again - this time with someone's season on the line.

Jim

Michigan & Michigan State meet for the third time this season - the home team winning in each of the first two games. The key for Michigan will be containing Allyssa DeHaan - she is MSU's leading scorer, rebounder & shot blocker. Krista Phillips will have her hands full, and will need to stay out of foul trouble. Forward Kalisha Kean is their second leading scorer & rebounder, averaging 12.2 points a game.

Not only will Michigan need to contain DeHaan, but their outside game will have to be effective enough to keep MSU honest on defense. They'll need at least one of Cooper/Benson/Minnfield or Clement to hit a couple of three point shots.

With Marquette beating Illinois, the winner of this game will be the only Big 10 team still playing.

Jim

From their website:

The MSU vs. Michigan WNIT game at 2pm Sunday in Breslin Center ought to be quite a battle. And the WNIT is quite a tournament. Michigan State could conceivably win the title, winning five games, all at home. Michigan won't be easy. The Wolverines gave away a victory in the final stages back on January 31st, the Spartans prevailing 61-58. Each team has a win on its own floor this season. Michigan's first year coach Kevin Borseth figures to have his team fully prepared and even though MSU has two WNIT wins, neither was that overwhelmingly impressive, so Sunday figures to be a close match up again. The winner moves on to the semi-finals.

Jim

From mgoblue.com:

Bus Trip Planned

A bus trip is planned for the Michigan-Michigan State game. The cost per person is $10 and includes a ticket to the game. The bus is scheduled to leave Crisler Arena at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday. To RSVP, please contact Katy Jackson at (734) 647-1261 or katjacks@umich.edu.

Jim

Thanks to Chris for this link - from the Hattiesburg American. It contains possibly the nicest thing I've heard about Crisler in about 15 years:

The arena has kind of an old school charm to it.

Also, from a Michigan perspective, the Michigan Daily also live blogged the game.

Jim

MichiganDaily.com (1):

The Southern Mississippi women's basketball team averages more than 72 points per game.

But that was before it came to Crisler Arena to face Michigan in the third round of the Women's National Invitation.

Last night, Michigan held the Lady Eagles to their lowest point total this season in its 59-45 victory.

"If they're not scoring points and you're scoring them, it feels pretty good," Michigan coach Kevin Borseth said.

MichiganDaily.com (2):

On most nights, even when the Wolverines win, the opposition attempts more shots than the Michigan women's basketball team.

But for just the seventh time this season, the Wolverines outshot Southern Mississippi by two last night in a 59-45 win at Crisler Arena.

And Michigan coach Kevin Borseth couldn't have been more relieved.

"That's a milestone," Borseth joked.

Mlive.com:

With the offense sputtering and a sizable lead fully evaporated, the need for a spark became necessary.

But with one fluid perimeter jumpshot and a powerful burst to the basket, Ashley Jones provided the University of Michigan women's basketball team the boost it needed in the Women's National Invitation Tournament.

The junior guard finished with eight points and sparked a second-half offensive resurgence to lead the Wolverines to a 59-45 WNIT victory over Southern Mississippi on Thursday night at Crisler Arena.

ClarionLedger (Jackson, Mississippi):

The Southern Miss women's basketball team rode a late season 10-3 surge into the third round of the WNIT, but Thursday's road trip to Michigan proved to be the finale for the Lady Eagles. Michigan eliminated Southern Miss 59-45 at Crisler Arena as the Wolverines used a dominating 30-2 run in a 12-minute span to put away the Lady Eagles.
"We went 9 minutes and did not score," Southern Miss coach Joye Lee-McNelis said. "I think it was the worst offensive performance in a segment of a game we had all year."
Before Michigan went on the huge run, Southern Miss actually took a 27-25 lead with 14:44 left in the game when point guard Andrea Barber converted on a free throw after she was fouled on a layup.
"I thought we were going to have a lot of momentum after that layup and free throw," Barber said. "Then I turned the ball over and it was just a snowball effect after that.
"You have to take your hat off to Michigan, they played great defense."
Southern Miss ends the season at 21-14 as the Lady Eagles got their first two postseason victories since 1996.

Jim

Not the prettiest of wins, but anything that extends the season at this point is great. Jessica Minnfield and Stephany Skrba led Michigan with 13 points a piece. Janelle Cooper added 10 and Krista Phillips had 7 rebounds. Michigan only made one more field goal than Southern Mississippi, but they shot 19 more free throws. They also out rebounded the Lady Eagles 38-27.

Next game is against Michigan State in East Lansing on Sunday.

Jim

From mgoblue.com:

The University of Michigan announced that 52 of its student-athletes were named to the 2008 winter Academic All-Big Ten Conference team on Wednesday (March 26). To be eligible for Academic All-Big Ten selection, student-athletes must be letterwinners in at least their second academic year at their institution and carry a career grade-point average (GPA) of 3.0 or better.

...

Women's Basketball (3)
Carly Benson, Jr., English, Carney, Mich.
Krista Clement, Sr., General Studies, St. Ignace, Mich.
Ta'Shia Walker, Sr., Sport Management, Lansing, Mich.

Congratulations Ladies.

Jim

From the Michigan Daily:

Janelle Cooper, Carly Benson and Krista Phillips get most of the credit for the Michigan women's basketball team's resurgence.

But there's one player whose impact has been overshadowed - junior Jessica Minnfield. As the starting point guard, Minnfield's role isn't to take over games - it's to manage the game.

"It doesn't bother me," Minnfield said of her perceived secondary position. "I don't pay attention to that stuff."

Minnfield's selfless attitude has translated into a team-high 3.2 assists per game.

It's her energetic style that helped the Wolverines (9-9 Big Ten, 18-13 overall) get to the Sweet 16 of the Women's National Invitation Tournament and manage their first postseason victory since 2001. Tonight, the Wolverines face Southern Mississippi (8-8 Conference USA, 21-13) after coming off an 18-point victory against Virginia Commonwealth Monday.

Minnfield also leads the team in scrapes and bruises.

Jim

From mlive.com:

For three weeks, Kevin Borseth's routine remained unchanged.

The University of Michigan women's basketball coach devoted a limited portion of his practices to teaching and the rest to shooting.

After the Wolverines' Big Ten tournament run ended with a 37-point output against Iowa, Borseth knew if Michigan was to make any sort of postseason run, offensive production would be a must.

"The bottom line is that you have to play good defense, you have to rebound, but if you can't score, you're not going to beat anybody,'' Borseth said Monday night after the Wolverines scored 75 points in their WNIT opener against Virginia Commonwealth. "I just thought we needed to shore up that area quite a bit.''

Jim

Tonight Michigan (18-13) plays Southern Mississippi (21-13) tonight at 7:00. Southern Mississippi is led by sophomore forward Pauline Love (16.4 pts/game, 10.4 rbs/game), sophomore center Stephanie Helgeson (12.1 pts/game, 6.3 rbds/game) and junior guard/forward Kendra Reed (12.1/pts game).

On paper, Michigan should be favored. They're playing at home amd have a better rpi rating (78th versus 175th for Southern Miss.). Their only common opponent is Miami of Florida, who beat Southern Miss 63-56 in a tournament and lost to Michigan 65-50 in Miami. On the other hand Southern Miss is coming off a last second win against Mississippi State and they took a very good UTEP team to overtime before losing 73-72.

The Student Printz (the Southern Mississippi student paper) has a preview:

After winning on a last-second shot Monday night, the Lady Eagles' basketball team is headed to Michigan tonight to face the Wolverines in the third round of the Women's National Invitational Tournament.

Southern Miss (21-13) is coming off a 62-61 win over in-state rival Mississippi State in which Pauline Love hit a game-winning three-pointer with 2.3 seconds remaining.
Love finished with a game-high 18 points, Kendra Reed added 15 points, Stephanie Helgeson and Liz Biland chipped in 13 and 10 points, respectively. Helgeson also grabbed a team-best 12 rebounds. Southern Miss fought back from a 15-point deficit, using a 22-6 run over the last 9:48.

The second-round win propelled the Lady Eagles to the WNIT Sweet 16. They will play Michigan tonight, who also won Monday night over Virginia Commonwealth, 75-57.

"We did not draw it up that away," said Southern Miss coach Joye Lee-McNelis. "I have to give Pauline credit for seeing an opportunity, but we will definitely take the basket."

Jim

Jim

Chris sent me link (thanks!) to this Jim Carty column from today's Ann Arbor News:

"Everyone came in with a whole different mindset," Cooper said. "We weren't going to accept anything but the best. We didn't want to have a season like we had the past three years."
The results speak for themselves.

Monday's win over Virginia Commonwealth was the Wolverines' 18th - just four other teams in the history of Michigan women's basketball have won more.

They're one of four teams in school history to win a postseason game. If they win Thursday against Southern Mississippi, they'll become the first team to ever win two postseason games.

Their nine Big Ten wins more than doubled the combined total over the past three years (four).

Some of it is clearly coaching. If Borseth isn't the best tactician in the Big Ten, he's one of the best.

But the coach himself has nothing but praise for his seniors.

"They're really the heart and soul," he said Tuesday. "Those kids are great people. We're going to miss their leadership. Everybody on the team likes each one of them. They really fit the mold of kids we want to recruit."

Jim

From the Michigan Daily:

While senior Janelle Cooper awed the crowd with her near-perfect outside shooting in Michigan's win over Virginia Commonwealth Monday, there was a pair of forwards that was perfect from the inside.

Meet juniors Ashley Jones and Stephany Skrba.

The two combined to go 5-for-5 from the field in the 75-57 victory.

Nineteen points of those points came off the bench. And most of them couldn't have happened at a better time.

Jim

Jim

From Mlive.com:

From the beginning, the shots fell one after another, each one providing the players with another dose of adrenaline to feed off of.

And after what had been nearly a three-week competitive sabbatical, a blistering offensive flourish proved to be precisely what the University of Michigan women's basketball team needed to extend its postseason journey.

The Wolverines' early marksmanship - along with 22 points from senior guard Janelle Cooper - laid the foundation for a 75-57 Women's National Invitation Tournament victory over Virginia Commonwealth on Monday night at Crisler Arena, providing Michigan its first postseason victory in seven years.

Jim

According to a poster UMMM on umgoblue.com, Rachel Sheffer made a verbal commitment to Coach Dawn Plitzuweit at the Virginia Commonwealth game last night.

Apparently Jenny Ryan's verbal commitment is "official"- this article in the Saginaw News which names her to the newspaper's dream team refers to her commitment:

The Associated Press named Ryan the Class C player of the year after the third-year guard averaged 17 points, 3.8 assists, 3.5 rebounds and five steals per game. Her scoring ebbed and flowed with the needs of the team, as did just about every other aspect of her game.

"You cannot put a price tag on her leadership ability," Hengesbach said.

The Nouvel coach did try to quantify her impact on defense, though, by keeping a new statistic that she called deflections. While Ryan, who has a verbal commitment to the University of Michigan, averaged five steals and also set a state record with 12 steals in a state final game, she also gets her hand on dozens more passes and shots each game.

"She is so good at reading the players and teams we play against," Hengesbach said. "It's incredible."

That gives Michigan three verbals for the 2009 class - Rachel Sheffer, Jenny Ryan and Samantha Arnold. It is shaping up to be a nice class.

Jim

Jim

The Michigan Daily has two articles about the game. From the first:

The Michigan women's basketball team continues to push the past further and further away.

It wasn't enough for the Wolverines to play in the Women's National Invitational Tournament for the first time since 2002.

Last night, they became the first team in the program's 35-year history to reach the third round of a postseason tournament other than the Big Ten Tournament.

Thanks to senior Janelle Cooper's 22 points and a 14-0 run to start the game, Michigan easily took down Virginia Commonwealth, 75-57, at Crisler Arena last night.

And the second, including a description of Krista Clement's amazing basket just before half time.

"(When you're) practicing every day and not playing a game, you just feel anxious to get out there," senior Janelle Cooper said. "But when you're out there, your adrenaline is flowing and you're excited to be there."

Prayer answered: If one miracle shot wasn't enough this season, Michigan made sure it got a second.

As the seconds wound down in the first half, senior Krista Clement lost control of the ball while dribbling through half court. The senior regained possession with three seconds remaining on the clock and heaved up an off-balance shot from about 35 feet away. Just like Krista Phillips' buzzer-beating shot against Wisconsin which sent the game to overtime and allowed the Wolverines to win, Clement's shot fell

"(The shot was) pretty lucky, I guess," Clement said. "Everyone was laughing. (My opponent) was like, 'you traveled and they didn't call it, and you lost the ball and you got it and then you made it.' It was pretty funny."

The shot gave Michigan a 41-25 lead at halftime and ignited the Crisler Arena crowd.

Also, mgoblue.com, the Detroit Free Press, the Detroit News, and VCU.

Jim

Michigan started out with a 14-0 run and was pretty much in control all night long. VCU did get within striking distance in the first half, but Michigan never trailed. Janelle Cooper had a huge game with 22 points and 4 assisists on 7-8 shooting (5-6 from 3 point range). Carly Benson added 11, Ashley Jones 10, Stephany Skrba 9 and Jessica Minnfield 8.

Michigan as a whole shot very well (62%, 59%/3point), won the battle of the boards and played excellent defense. Turnovers and offensive rebounds weren't pretty, but they were mitigated by quite a few assists and the overall rebounding margin (35-29).

As far as Krista Phillips goes, she played a solid game defensively, but was limited early on by VCU's defense, which plugged up the middle very effectively (not just for Phillips, but for just about anyone who tried to score inside, at least in the first half.)

Michigan will host the third round game at 7:00 on Thursday.

Jim

Today is apparently unofficial "Krista Phillips Day". In addition to the preview from the Daily found below, Mlive adds:

Phillips became a pivotal part of the Wolverines' offense.
"Being a 6-6 girl, we put a lot of pressure on her,'' senior guard Krista Clement said. "I pass it in to her and say 'K.P - go against everybody.' She's young, and that's a hard position to be in because we expect a lot out of her.''

Bigger than the majority of her high school Canadian counterparts, Phillips had never been asked to be so physical, especially at the Big Ten level.

She had to learn more back-to-the-basket moves, utilizing her size more than she had in the past. And while Phillips experienced her share of growing pains this season, she remained willing to put in extra work to improve.

In addition to working on her post game, Phillips shot an average of 300 3-pointers daily with teammate Carly Benson, attempting to become a more versatile offensive weapon. She also continues to work on her defensive prowess.

"Krista is getting better. I don't think you've seen anywhere near what her full capability is,'' first-year coach Kevin Borseth said earlier this season. "If we can get her to move her feet defensively a little bit, it will really help her.

"Offensively, Krista has a nice touch and she understands the game. She's a bear on the boards.''

Let's hope she has a big game tonight and we'll have more to add....

Jim

From the Detroit News:

The Wolverines' postseason drought will officially end today.
Michigan (17-13) will host Virginia Commonwealth in the second round of the NIT at 7 tonight at Crisler Arena, marking the program's first postseason game in six years.

Michigan earned one of the tournament's 18 at-large berths and drew a first-round bye in the 48-team tournament. Virginia Commonwealth (26-7) earned an 80-67 victory over Charlotte in the first round Saturday. U-M won the only other meeting between the two schools.
The Wolverines are making their seventh postseason appearance, including their third in the NIT. They've never advanced past the second round.
For first-year coach Kevin Borseth, it's his 17th postseason appearance in his 26-year head coaching career.
Tickets for Monday's game are $6 for adults and $4 for seniors, students and children under 18. The game will be broadcast on WTKA 1050.

Jim

Today's Michigan Daily has an article on Krista Phillips and how important she is to the success of the team:

As Michigan center Krista Phillips goes, so goes the Michigan women's basketball team.

And if the Wolverines hope to make a deep run in the Women's National Invitation Tournament, the sophomore will have to be at her best.

Michigan plays Virginia Commonwealth in the first round of the WNIT tonight. The Rams dominated in a 13-point win over Charlotte on Saturday and come into Crisler Arena on a seven-game winning streak.

But will Phillips be at her best? The 6-foot-6 center has been inconsistent this season. At times, the sophomore played solid basketball, making a buzzer-beating 40-foot three-pointer against Wisconsin and dominating Penn State with a double-double.

Jim

Michigan (17-13) hosts Virginia Commonwealth (26-7) Monday night at Crisler Arena. VCU is led by forward Krystal Vaughn who averages 15.5 points a game and had 27 points in their win against Charlotte in the first round of the NIT. As a team, they are fairly balanced in their scoring - against Charlotte, all five starters scored in double figures.

VCU is a strong team - they finished third in the Colonial Athletic Conference and have an RPI rating of 48 (versus Michigan's RPI of 78). On the other hand, in Michigan's favor, the Wolverines have played a stronger schedule and will be at home for this game where they generally play much better.

Michigan may have a size advantage in the post, as VCU's 6'5" center Quanitra Hollingsworth suffered a season ending achilles injury. It will be interesting to see if Michigan tries to go to Krista Phillips early on.

Jim

The Lady Rams of the Colonial Athletic Conference beat the Charlotte 49ers of the A10 80-67, at Charlotte. VCU is now 26-7 heading into Monday night's game against Michigan at Crisler Arena.

Jim

Jim

From mlive.com:

Harboring enough energy before Monday's tournament opener is a top priority for Borseth, who has tried to keep practices light during the past week.

And while he knows long-term results can't be guaranteed with one postseason berth, Borseth is encouraged by the progress the Wolverines have made.

"It's been a lot of work,'' Borseth said. "And to be rewarded at the end by being able to play at a postseason tournament is a great accomplishment.''

It's big not only for Michigan's seniors, but for those who now hope to make the postseason an annual rite of passage.

"It's going to be good for us to get into the postseason and feel what that's like,'' sophomore Krista Phillips said. "It's going to be a good thing for years to come that Michigan's not going to be one of those programs that just rolls over. We're going to be here, we're going to be in the postseason, we're going to make something happen.''

Jim

As fans of the team know, Katie Dierdorf struggled throughout her career at Michigan with injuries, missing large portions of her first three seasons. This year she has been healthy, but not seen much game time. St. Louis Today has a profile on her and her career at Michigan:

The 6-foot forward has seen minimal playing time as a senior. But she refuses to express regrets about the path she took, having spent four years at the college she dreamed of attending and where her father, Dan, starred before his NFL career.

"When you come from high school, you know college will be different, but you can't grasp how different," she said. "Even though I didn't get a chance to play as much as I would have liked, it's knowing I could compete at this level. When you're in high school, no matter how cocky you are, you're worrying, 'Can I really do this?'"

And despite the constant interruptions, there were times Dierdorf seemed well on her way to proving she could. She has scored 256 career points, grabbed 131 rebounds and shot 49 percent.

Now she is mostly a practice player who still displays good skills. In practice Tuesday, she and teammate Janelle Cooper combined to win the team's 3-point shooting contest.

"In practice, the kid laces up with a smile," first-year coach Kevin Borseth said. "She is efficient when she's in there. For all she's been through, you wouldn't know it. ... There hasn't been one instance that I walked in and wasn't glad Katie was there."

Jim

From the Michigan Daily:

The postseason bid is the first for anyone on Michigan's roster. Senior housemates Krista Clement, Katie Dierdorf and Janelle Cooper and junior Carly Benson all stayed up late last night, refreshing their computer screens, to find out if Michigan would be one of 18 teams to receive an at-large bid.

"We were in our house checking the Internet, checking the Internet, checking the Internet," Clement said. "We were watching the NCAA selection show to see how many Big Ten teams made the NCAA Tournament. We were hoping many Big Ten teams got in the tournament so we would have a better chance to get into the NIT."

The Detroit Free Press:

First-year U-M coach Kevin Borseth was thrilled with the berth and wasn't surprised when the call came late Monday.
"We used 'The Secret,' " Borseth said. "It's a book about the power of positive thinking. It's a good book, an easy read. I really felt we had a good shot. I was so sure we were in, I told the team we'd even get a first-round bye and host a game. How 'bout that?"
Most coaches want to extend the season as long as possible so they can work with underclassmen. Borseth practiced last week, anticipating a spot in the WNIT.
But this bid was more about the seniors, who had struggled through three losing seasons before Borseth arrived.
"It's such a thrill for the seniors," Borseth said. "They've been through so much, and they deserve this. But it's good for the entire program -- all of the players and coaches."

also the Big 10 Network.

Jim

From the Detroit News:

Michigan women's basketball coach Kevin Borseth was feeling under the weather Monday night. He went to bed feeling better, knowing his Wolverines were in the WNIT.
"It's huge," said Borseth, who took over a 20-loss team and turned it into a competitive 17-13 squad that finished 9-9 in the Big Ten. "We're thrilled to be playing in the postseason. It's a great start for our program."
Michigan received a first-round bye and will play the winner of the Virginia Commonwealth-Charlotte game Monday in Ann Arbor.

Jim

Michigan gets a bye in the first round of the NIT and will host the winner of the VCU/Charlotte game next Monday, March 24th. Also in Michigan's bracket are Bowling Green, Dayton, Michigan State, Kansas, SE Missouri State, Evansville, Southern Mississippi, Arkansas-Little Rock and Mississippi State.

Mississippi State, Kansas and Michigan State have the other first round byes.

Jim

The bracket isn't up yet, but according to the WNIT web site, Michigan received an at-large bid to the WNIT, along with Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana from the Big 10. Great news for the team, as their hard work payed off.

The at large teams are:

Dayton
Drake
Creighton
Florida
Illinois
Indiana
Kansas
Michigan
Mississippi State
MTSU
NC State
South Carolina
South Florida
St. John’s
Texas Tech
Villanova
Virginia Comm.
Wisconsin

No Pac 10 team. I'm not sure if USC declined their invitation or what might have happened, but there are 18 at large bids instead of 17.

Update: Full bracket can be found here.

Jim

Purdue (BIg 10 tourney winner), Ohio State, Minnesota and Iowa are going to the NCAA tournament. Michigan State, which was on the bubble, didn't get invited. That probably won't affect Michigan's WNIT chances, unless they're reluctant to take too many Big 10 teams.

Jim

I used the same approach as I did on Saturday, save that I used updated rpi ratings and bracketology from collegerpi.com. The same caveats apply - the WNIT uses multiple rankings, not just rpi, I didn't confirm tie breakers for the WNIT automatic bids, human error, etc. It looks like Michigan still has a decent shot, though they are definitely on the bubble. The top 17 teams that would get at-large WNIT bids:

42 Florida
47 Virginia Commonwealth
51 Middle Tennesse State
53 Kansas
56 St. John's
59 Florida State
61 Auburn
65 North Carolina State
66 Illinois
67 Wisconsin
70 Texas Tech
71 Virginia Tech
72 Creighton
76 South Florida
78 Michigan
79 Villanova
80 New Mexico State

Jim

Courtney Boylan, who will be a freshman for Michigan next fall has been named a finalist for Miss Basketball in Minnesota:

Finalists for the Miss Basketball award, which will be announced April 27, are Courtney Boylan of Chaska, Kiara Buford of St. Paul Central, Brianna Mastey of Becker, Brittnye McSparron of Eastview and Kamille Wahlin of Crookston.

Jim

Using the bracketology and rankings from collegerpi.com, I made a guess at which teams would receive the 17 at large WNIT bids. I took the RPI rankings, marked out the 64 teams receiving NCAA bids, then the 31 teams receiving "automatic" WNIT bids and finally took the top 17 teams remaining:

42 Florida
50 Middle Tennessee State
52 Kansas
56 St. John's
58 Florida State
64 NC State
65 Illinois
66 Wisconsin
70 Texas Tech
71 Virginia Tech
72 Creighton
75 New Mexico State
77 Evansville
78 Michigan
79 South Florida
81 Villanova
89 San Diego State

Based on this, Michigan would be one of the last four teams in. There are lots of caveats though - the bracketology from collegerpi.com is last weeks, the WNIT uses a mixture of eight rankings (including RPI and Sagarin, who has Michigan higher ranked), I didn't research the conference tie breakers so I might have a few WNIT "auto bids" wrong, etc.

Monday, March 17 - updated list here.

Jim

The Detroit Free Press has an article on Madison Williams and Ariel Braker, two sophomores on Michigan (and many other school's) radar:

And after watching some of the best girls basketball this state has to offer, the U. came away floored by two young ladies.
Remember these two names: Ariel Braker and Madison Williams.
Braker, a 6-foot-1 sophomore forward, flirted with triple-doubles all weekend as Class A's Grosse Pointe North won its first state title.
She almost messed around and averaged a triple-double over the weekend. Try these averages over the two games of the final four: 19 points, 18 rebounds, 8.5 steals, five assists and 2.5 blocks.
...

Williams, a 6-6 sophomore center, dominated the paint for Birmingham Detroit Country Day in the Yellowjackets' Class B title game victory over Detroit Community.
She only scored six points, but she blocked eight shots and altered some more as the Yellowjackets won their ninth state title.
The U. knows what you're thinking. You are questioning how well she can move since she is so tall.
The U. can report that the young lady moves easily up and down the court and finishes around the basket with great ease.
She said after the game she had offers, but told the U. she "promised to keep it a secret."

Jim

From mgoblue.com, Doug Karch interviews Kevin Borseth. Coach Borseth notes that the first year is a bit of a "honeymoon" and the second/third year are harder - there are higher expectations and an inability to "sneak up" on opponents. In Michigan's case, they also will lose quite a few players - four graduate this year, five more next year.

Jim

From mlive.com - a bit more balanced video about Coach Borseth and his coaching style. It will never get the hits that his post-Wisconsin rant will, but it is a more balanced view of what he does and why.

Making it fun

Jim

From the Daily:

While he hasn't ensured the Wolverines a bid in a tournament, Borseth has given them a feeling the Wolverines haven't felt in a long time - the possibility of a postseason bid.

"I think it's exciting," senior captain Krista Clement said. "It's always hard for seniors to leave basketball - something they've been doing their whole life. Any extra opportunity is a good one."

And then there's the flip side.

"There's really uncertainty right now," Borseth said.

Whether it's excitement or uncertainty, Michigan will learn its fate Monday evening following the NCAA selections.

Jim

Michigan has offered a scholarship to Ariel Braker, a 6'1" sophomore from Grosse Point North High School. She led her team to the state title last weekend:

Nobody got the job done quite like Ariel Braker, who led North to a 58-46 victory over East Lansing Saturday for the Class A state title.
Braker, 6-feet-1, is only a sophomore, but she had a weekend that people will talk about for years to come.
In Friday's semifinal, she scored 20 points, grabbed 23 rebounds and had nine steals.
In Saturday's championship game she scored 15 points, pulled down 16 rebounds, had eight steals, five assists and blocked four shots.
"I realize I did good, but it's more about my team than me," she said. "I still have two years to play."
Again, she is only a sophomore, but we need to check her birth certificate because she plays with the poise of a senior.
She doesn't run up and down the court, she glides. It is hard to imagine describing a basketball player as graceful, but Braker turns the game into a ballet.
The neat thing about Braker is that she doesn't realize she is a star, or if she does, she keeps it to herself. She is not a drama queen and is only too happy to be just one of the girls and defer to the upperclassmen.
She is one of the absolute best players in the state, yet the only word she could come up with when Michigan coach Kevin Borseth offered a scholarship last month was: "Wow!"

Jim

The Daily had a couple of articles about Michigan's loss to Iowa in the second round of the tourney:

The Wolverines had trouble penetrating into the lane, especially with center Krista Phillips on the bench for much of the second half.

She was taken out after playing weak defense against the Hawkeye forwards in the first half. But without her in the game, Michigan's interior offense down low was nonexistent.

The Wolverines scored just four points in the paint in the second half and allowed Iowa to pick up 14 offensive rebounds for the game while getting just five of their own. The Hawkeyes' second-chance points made a 16-point difference in the game.

"They were obviously a lot bigger than some of our guards, so we just had a hard time when we got into the lane," junior Carly Benson said. "We were doing a pretty good job getting to the basket. We just were getting our shots blocked and getting pretty physical, so we weren't getting many rebounds after we shot it."

and:

"We just couldn't score," Michigan coach Kevin Borseth said. "We couldn't find any rhythm, and what we do is just so predicated on having players that can create for themselves."

While the Michigan offense struggled to find a rhythm, the defense had trouble making stops early. Whether it was Iowa guard Kristi Smith scoring triples or forward Johanna Solverson driving straight to the hoop, the Wolverines couldn't handle the Hawkeyes' size and balanced attack.

Jim

I had assumed Michigan was almost a lock for the Women's NIT - a winning record from a BCS conference, some wins against good teams (Purdue, Kentucky, Iowa, USC), no losses to (Penn State on the road is probably their "worst" loss), etc. When I visited the web site for the tournament however, I noticed their selection criteria is a bit different:

The selection of the 48 teams for the Postseason WNIT will be according to the following:

1. Thirty-one (31) spots will be filled with one team per conference. That team will be the highest-finishing team in the conference’s regular-season standings, that does not advance to the NCAA Tournament. As in the past, the teams’ record must be at or above .500.
For example, if the second-place team during the regular season does not win its conference tournament, and the top-seeded team does (and earns the NCAA berth), then the second-place team automatically will be invited to the WNIT.
If the top-seeded team after the regular season does not win its conference tournament and is not invited to the NCAA Tournament, then it will have a guaranteed spot in the WNIT.
No matter which team from a conference wins its conference tournament, the WNIT will take the next best team available. That team is determined by conference tournament seeding based on regular-season standings (or by a conference’s pre-determined by-law addressing its WNIT automatic berth).
2. The remaining seventeen (17) berths will be filled by the top teams available based on the selection criteria used in the past.

Michigan will be competing for one o f 17 slots - the Big Ten will have probably get 3 or 4 NCAA bids, plus one NIT bid (the highest seed not getting an NCAA bid). If the NCAA takes Purdue, Iowa, Ohio State and Minnesota, Michigan State would get the "automatic" NIT bid. That would leave Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin & Illinois competing for one of 17 bid. On the bright side, most of those bids will probably go to BCS conferences.

Jim

It appears Jenny Ryan, from Saginaw Nouvel, is close to making an official verbal to Michigan:

Nouvel all-state junior Jenny Ryan has made an uncommitted commitment to Michigan and coach Kevin Borseth.
"It's not official, but it will be after this is over," Ryan said. "They're a growing program, and it's always good to be a building block for something like that. He loves the game. I love emotion in the game, and he shows his emotion."
Borseth showed plenty of emotion in his infamous postgame news conference after a loss to Wisconsin.
"Whenever I showed up anywhere, they showed me the video," Ryan said. "The first time I saw it, it didn't really surprise me because you know he's so passionate."

She would be the second member of Michigan's class of 2009, joining Samantha Arnold.

Jim

Purdue beat Illinois on a last second putback 58-56 to win the tournament and the automatic Big 10 NCAA bid. Purdue beat Iowa in the first semi final game, and Illinois beat Michigan State in the other. The Big 10 web site has complete coverage.

Jim

Mgoblue.com:

The University of Michigan women's basketball team dropped a 58-37 decision to Iowa in the quarterfinals of the 2008 Big Ten Conference Tournament Friday (March 7) in Conseco Fieldhouse. The seventh-seeded Wolverines (17-13) were unable to rebound from an 11-point halftime deficit despite a strong defensive effort in the final 20 minutes, as U-M finished the game shooting just 27 percent (13-of-48).

Mlive.com:

The University of Michigan women's basketball team saw its offense stall, and with it went its slim Big Ten tournament championship hopes.
The seventh-seeded Wolverines lost to second-seeded Iowa 58-37 in a quarterfinal Friday in the lowest-scoring game in tournament history.

"The game plan was to get out and put pressure on them,'' Michigan coach Kevin Borseth said. "In the first half, they got everything, everything.
"In the second half, we did a great job defensively, but we didn't score. To give up 58 points isn't devastating ... but offensively, you've got to be able to score, and we couldn't find any rhythm.''

Detroit Free Press:

First-year Michigan coach Kevin Borseth has made substantial strides with the women's basketball program this season.
But there are still days when the Wolverines regress, and Friday was one of them.
Michigan scored the fewest points in Big Ten women's tournament history in a 58-37 quarterfinal loss to No. 2 seed Iowa. U-M's total dropped below Wisconsin's 39 against Indiana in 2004 and Northwestern's 39 vs. U-M in 2000.

Jim

Michigan was out rebounded by Iowa 46-24, and shot 27% from the field (20% from three point range). No Michigan player scored in double figures - Carly Benson led the team with 8 points. Iowa's defense deserves plenty of credit, but even with the rebounding edge the Hawkeyes only took two more shots than Michigan.

One of the few bright spots for Michigan was that they only had 11 turnovers to Iowa's 17.

It would appear that Michigan has a good chance for an NIT bid, but it will be several days until we know for sure.

Jim

The Michigan Daily has two articles. From the first:

Michigan went into the locker room after 20 minutes trailing Penn State 31-28. Many times during the first half, the team failed to rotate or didn't hustle back on defense. To his surprise, though, Borseth didn't need to tell his team that.
"I came into the locker room at halftime and one of them is diagramming things on the board," Borseth said. "I feel bad when I walk into the locker room at halftime and there's no chatter and I feel good when there is chatter. They're trying to figure things out on their own because they have to be able to do that on the floor."

And given what happened when the team took the court again, the diagramming worked.

Penn State went from shooting 34 percent in the first half to just 29 percent in the second. The Wolverines also outrebounded the Nittany Lions by eight.

And the second:

Though the Wolverines struggled early, Borseth's anticipation paid off late when Michigan rallied with a 17-0 second-half run to defeat the Nittany Lions, 64-54, in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament.

But Michigan didn't get its fuel from the usual sources.

Freshman Veronica Hicks, sophomore Stephany Skrba and junior Ashley Jones all came off the bench after halftime to ignite a stagnant Michigan offense.

With the Wolverines (10-9 Big Ten, 17-12 overall) trailing 43-37, senior Krista Clement cut the lead to four with an easy layup. It didn't seem like much, with both teams trading baskets at the time.

But then the reserves stepped up their defensive intensity. The Wolverines had two consecutive stops to go along with three free throws on the next two possessions.

Also mgoblue.com, the Detroit Free Press and the Daily Collegian.

Jim

Michigan (17-12, 9-9) plays Iowa (20-9, 13-5) today at 11:30am in Indianapolis. The two teams split in the regular season, Michigan winning 63-46 in Ann Arbor, then dropping a close 66-61 game in Iowa City. Like Michigan, Iowa has a big center (6'6" Megan Skouby), they have balanced scoring and they like to shoot three pointers (second in the league in number made to Michigan).

Jim

Michigan uses a 17-0 run in the second half to win. Krista Phillips has a double double (15 points, 10 rebounds). Carly Benson, Krista Clement and Ashley Jones had big games as well. Jessica Minnfield helped ice hhe game with a late three and some key free throws. They face Iowa tomorrow at 11:30am.

Jim

Michigan (16-12, 9-9) plays Penn State (13-17, 4-14) today at noon in Indianapolis. The two teams split in the regular season, with Michigan losing 68-57 in State College while winning 68-53 in Ann Arbor. Michigan is coming off a two game losing streak while Penn State has lost 11 in a row and 13 out of 14.

One of the keys for Michigan will be the play of Carly Benson & Krista Phillips. Benson has struggled offensively the last two or three games - when she is scoring, teams have trouble covering both Benson & Phillips.

The winner of this game will face Iowa on Friday.

From the Michigan Daily:

The Wolverines haven't seen the second day of the Big Ten tournament since 2004, the year before the current seniors enrolled at Michigan.

Players told Borseth the team had always seemed to play well heading into the postseason, only to lay an egg in the tournament.
"Lets hope we can reverse our luck a little bit," Borseth said

Jim

Mgoblue.com has one, as does uwbadgers.com. Also, Mlive.com:

In a season that has produced its fair share of firsts, Janelle Cooper insists the University of Michigan women's basketball team has at least one more left.

The Wolverines face Penn State on Thursday in Indianapolis, looking to claim their first Big Ten tournament victory in four years.

And coming off a regular season that produced Michigan's first winning campaign since 2000-01, Cooper's confidence appears to be firmly grounded.

Jim

The Fond du Lac Reporter did a profile on Taylor Wurtz, a 2009 prospect who is being recruited by Michigan:

TR: Do you have any idea where you will go to college?

Wurtz: I'm not positive about where I'm going to go. I have some options. I like Michigan a lot, but I'd like to keep my options open.

Jim

From today's Michigan Daily:

His work often gets overlooked, as praise for this year's turnaround is usually given to Michigan coach Kevin Borseth.
Williams, who concentrates most on player development rather than recruitment, specifically focuses on strength and conditioning and fine-tuning fundamentals outside of practice.

"I get a chance to go and spend time with them one-on-one or one-on-two and really break things down," Williams said.

Throughout the season, sophomore center Krista Phillips has drastically improved her post game. Her increased aggressiveness in the paint can be attributed in large part to the time she has put in with Williams.

Junior Ashley Jones also benefited from her extra work.

Jim

As mentioned below, Sunday's game against Minnesota was senior day. The last home game (barring possible NIT games) for Krista Clement, Janelle Cooper, Katie Dierdorf and Ta'Shia Walker. All four were honored after the game. From the Michigan Daily:

Four-year captain Krista Clement stood in front of the Crisler Arena crowd for the last time Sunday, clutching a microphone and wiping away tears.

To Clement's left, fellow seniors Janelle Cooper, Katie Dierdorf and Ta'Shia Walker joined her with tears also rolling down their cheeks.

"We pretty much made a vow that none of us were going to cry," Clement said. "But I couldn't hold it back. It was a pretty special time."

Moments earlier, as part of Senior Day festivities, all of the seniors were individually recognized. But as they joined at center court, they took the spotlight off themselves to thank those who had helped them during their Michigan careers.

Clement, with microphone in hand, pulled out a list, to thank everyone from the band to the ushers to the members of Michigan coaching staff past and present.

Jim

Jim

In addition to Benson, Jessica Minnfield, and Krista Phillips received honorable mentions. Krista Clement was named Michigan's Big Ten Sportsmanship Award honoree. From mgoblue.com:

Junior Carly Benson (Carney, Mich./Carney-Nadeau Public School) of the University of Michigan women's basketball team was named to the All-Big Ten Conference third team by the league coaches Monday (March 3). Benson also received honorable mention recognition from the 22-member media panel along with junior Jessica Minnfield (Toledo, Ohio/Central Catholic HS) and sophomore Krista Phillips (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan/Aden Bowman Collegiate HS). Minnfield was also given an honorable mention nod by the coaches.
Benson is the first Wolverine to be selected to an All-Big Ten team since 2005, when Tabitha Pool (2002-05) was named to the third team by the coaches. Benson becomes just the 12th player in the 35-year history of the program to earn an all-conference accolade.
Benson, Minnfield and Phillips are Michigan's first All-Big Ten honorable mention student-athletes since 2004, when Pool was chosen by the media.

Congratulations to all four.

Jim

A hat tip to poster windows4 from umgoblue.com for posting this:

Joining Boothe on the Class 4A first team are seniors Teandrea Smith of East St. Louis, Anya Covington of Edwardsville, Ellen Ayoub of Buffalo Grove and junior Samantha Arnold of Roselle Lake Park.

...

Arnold is a 6-4 guard/forward who averaged 22.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and three blocks per game while shooting 83 percent from the free-throw line. She has verbally committed to Michigan.

Windows4 also posted were links to a couple of articles about Arnold. The first is about her being named to the all-area team. The second is a profile of her:

She's a 6-foot-4 girl who can shoot from 3-point range.
In fact Arnold is more at home on the perimeter. Though this season she played inside and scored more around the basket than ever, she still made 52 3-pointers while shooting 46 percent from the field.

"When she's on, it's nothing but net," Glenbard West coach Mike Hofland said. "Once she gets going, she's got all the confidence in the world and she'll change the game right way. If you don't change your game plan, she'll kill you single-handedly.

"You can't give her an inch because she's got such a quick release. From what I've read she's more comfortable playing outside, but she did a great job on the boards for them and she looked very comfortable inside. She's just an all-around great player."

It sounds like we've got a great addition to the team.

Jim

I just removed this from the Michigan Women's basketball links. It was a site "under construction" that was apparently going to be a new official web site for the team. It had a bit of content, but as far as I know never got finished. I'm not sure if it was replaced by the redesigned mgoblue.com, or it just got dropped with the coaching change.

Jim

Michigan ends up with the number 7 seed and will face Penn State (10 seed) on Thursday. If they defeat Penn State, they'll face number 2 seed Iowa on Friday. The complete bracket can be found here.

Jim

After the Minnesota Loss, Coach Borseth apologized for his rant Thursday:

Michigan women's basketball coach Kevin Borseth returned to the podium Sunday, the site of his Thursday night meltdown that was captured on camera, shown on ESPN and spread throughout cyberspace.
Once again he stood before the media after a loss -- this one, 63-48, to Minnesota in the Big Ten regular-season finale -- but there was no pounding on the lectern, his glasses remained on and he was calm.
Borseth began the session with an apology.
"I said I was frustrated, but that moment didn't come close to the frustration I felt later at my own reaction to the game," he said, reading from a prepared text.
"I want to offer my sincerest apology, of course, to the team -- an amazing group of student-athletes. I want to apologize to the University of Michigan. I did not represent the university in the way it deserves to be represented.
"I want to apologize to the entire Michigan community, who so tirelessly supports this amazing university. I want to apologize to the media, who had to endure that evening. And lastly I want to apologize to everyone who had to witness my reaction to last Thursday night's game."

Somehow, I doubt this will get nearly as much attention as the original incident did.

Jim

Michigan Daily:

Sunday was an emotional day for the Michigan women's basketball team.

For the seniors, it was the final time they would compete in front of the Crisler Arena crowd.

For Michigan coach Kevin Borseth, it was the first time he roamed the sidelines since his infamous tirade last Thursday.

But despite all that, the Wolverines lost 63-48 to Minnesota in their final regular season game.

Michigan didn't allow another improbable comeback. It also didn't have trouble creating shots against a tight and physical Gopher defense.

Mgoblue.com:

The University of Michigan women's basketball team closed its regular season with a 63-48 loss to Minnesota Sunday afternoon (March 2) in Crisler Arena. The Wolverines (16-12, 9-9 Big Ten) were unable to send the four seniors away from their home court on a winning note, falling victim to an 11-0 Golden Gopher run early in the second half that put the game out of reach for a majority of the remaining minutes.

Also mlive.com and the Detroit Free Press.

Jim

Too many turnovers and poor shooting in the second half doomed the Wolverines. They kept up the effort, but could get nothing going offensively after half time. This was senior day and after the game the team honored Katie Dierdorf, Ta'Shia Walker, Janelle Cooper and Krista Clement.

Jim

I touched on it briefly below, but I haven't posted much about Coach Borseth's rant (a longer video than the one below can be found here). It certainly attracted a great deal of attention, both the video itself and posts on message boards. He's a very passionate, animated coach and was that way long before he came to Michigan. He's been criticized as unprofessional, and certainly people viewing just the video will treat him a caricature, which is unfair but hardly surprising. (Graham Hays of espn has a good column about this.) His criticism of the officiating may land him in trouble with the Big 10.

On the other hand, his frustration was very understandable to anyone who saw the game. As I've noted below, I thought the officiating *was* uneven. Other than an occasional "damn", there wasn't any profanity. He gave credit to Wisconsin (at least in the "longer" version), and his comments about his own players was fairly muted (other than their failure to get rebounds).

Let's hope the team does well enough in the future we don't have to worry about any more rants....

Jim

Michigan faces the Minnesota Golden Gophers today at 2:00pm. It is the first meeting between the two teams this year. Minnesota is 19-10, 10-7 in the Big Ten. They are led by guard Emily Fox (17.3 points/game) and forward Leslie Knight (14.0 points/game). It will be interesting to see how the team plays after the Wisconsin loss and Coach Borseth's rather infamous post game rant.

The Michigan Daily has a preview:

No matter what other teams do, the Wolverines hold their tournament fate in their hands. Seen in this table, Michigan can grab the 4-spot with a win on Sunday (Ohio State assumed to win over Northwestern). The victory sets up a deja vu matchup with the Gophers in Indianapolis. Anything else, and the Wolverines see action on Thursday.

As Stephanie White of the Big Ten Network pointed out during the Big Ten Women’s Basketball podcast, getting that first-day off is critical. The Chicago Sky coach said that no team has ever won the Big Ten Tournament from the first day.

Gophersports.com has one as well:

Minnesota travels to Michigan on Sunday, March 2, to face the Wolverines in the regular-season finale. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. ET (1 p.m. CT). The Golden Gophers own a record of 19-10 overall and 10-7 in Big Ten play after a 69-54 win over Indiana on Thursday. Michigan is 16-11 overall and 9-8 in league action after dropping a 69-67 heartbreaker to Wisconsin in their last outing.

Jim

Mgoblue.com:

The University of Michigan women's basketball team dropped a difficult 69-67 decision to Wisconsin Thursday evening (Feb. 28) in Crisler Arena. The Wolverines (16-11, 9-8 Big Ten) put together an outstanding first-half performance, holding a 20-point lead with just less than 15 minutes to play in the game, but the Badgers (16-11, 9-8 Big Ten) stormed back into contention due to a 33-12 run, and they were able to escape in the closing minutes thanks to crucial offensive rebounds and free throws.

Michigan Daily:

Last night, the Michigan women's basketball team needed to be offensive.

But it was Wisconsin who gave the Wolverines a rude awakening.

Powered by a 51-point second half and a 23-9 advantage on the offensive boards, the Badgers proved to be too much for Michigan in a 69-67 win at Crisler Arena.

Wisconsin avenged a January loss to the Wolverines in which sophomore Krista Phillips hit a miracle 40-foot three pointer to send the game into overtime.

Holding a 20 point lead with 15 minutes to play, Thursday, Michigan (9-8 Big Ten, 16-11 overall) collapsed everywhere but on the boards, where Wisconsin dominated.

The rebounding disparity was the difference in the game and will be a point of emphasis as Michigan heads into its regular season finale against Minnesota Sunday.

"The entire thing came down to offensive rebounds and out of every stinkin' offensive rebound we didn't get one of them," Michigan coach Kevin Borseth said.

But the Wolverines had chances to win or tie the game at the end.

Also Mlive.com, uwbadgers.com, and the Wisconsin State Journal.

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