Ohio State 70 Michigan 50

Very early in the game it looked like Michigan might have a chance - then OSU went on a 22-0 run that pretty much sealed the game. Things were pretty even in the second half, but it never got close. Overall it was a combination of turnovers, being out rebounded, poor shooting (35% for the game) and no answer for Jantel Lavender (28 points, 8 rebounds).

Haiku

This page will generate a haiku based on the content of your blog. The first one I tried for this blog came out pretty well:

kay yow is an
inspiration to any
women basketball

Next: Ohio State

Michigan travels to Columbus to play #17 ranked Ohio State at 2:00 pm for their Big 10 Conference opener, which will be televised on the Big 10 network. Michigan has not had much success against the Buckeyes, with only 6 wins against 43 losses in the overall series and currently face a 10 game losing streak.

This is another tough test for Michigan, playing a ranked opponent on the road. Despite their success last season and (so far) this one, they still have struggled on the road.

Ohio State is led by sophomore center Jantel Lavender (22.4 pts/game, 11.3 rbs/game) and freshman guard Samantha Prahalis (10.8 pts/game, 6.2 assists/game).

Michigan will have to step up their play to win, but their non-conference schedule has certainly prepared them.

Coverage of the Cincinnati win

From mgoblue.com:

Senior forward Melinda Queen (Oak Forest, Ill./Carl Sandburg) set a new career high with 16 points, including going 4-of-5 from behind the arc, to lead the University of Michigan women's basketball team to a 65-50 win over Cincinnati in its final non-conference game on Friday night (Dec. 19) at Crisler Arena.

For the third time this season, the Wolverines had three players in double figures, led by Queen's 16. Senior forward Stephany Skrba (Toronto, Ontario/Langstaff Secondary School), who was in double figures for the second consecutive game, added 15, while freshman guard/forward Carmen Reynolds (Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson) posted her first double-figures game with a career-high 11 points.

mlive.com:

University of Michigan women's basketball coach Kevin Borseth has been waiting for his team find the killBlogger: University of Michigan Women's Hoops - Create Poster instinct it needs to put teams away.

After trading blows with Cincinnati in the first half, the Wolverines finally landed the knockout punch Borseth has been looking for and cruised to a 65-50 victory Friday night at Crisler Arena.

"It took us a long time to pull away from them, but we did," Borseth said. "It feels good."

Also the Detroit Free Press and BearcatInsider.com.

Michigan 65 Cincinnati 50

Big games from Melinda Queen (16 pts, 7 rebounds, 5 assists), Stephany Skrba (15 pts, 6 rebounds), Carmen Reynolds (11pts) and Jessica Minnfield (7 pts, 7 rebounds, 6 assists).

A strong second half after being tied 28-28 at half time. One notable stat - Michigan had 20 assists and only 11 turnovers.

Next: Cincinnati

Michigan hosts the Cincinnati Bearcats tonight at Crisler arena (7:00pm). The Bearcats are 8-2 and have an impressive win over no. 23 Xavier. While they are 8-2, they are 7-1 at home and other than Xavier and Kentucky, their schedule has not been very difficult. One point of comparison - Michigan beat Kentucky 70-60 while Cincinnati lost to the Wildcats 59-56.

Cincinnati is led by junior guard Kahla Roudebush (14.2 pts/game) and senior forward Jill Stephens (10.0 pts/game).

Tonight's game is being broadcast on the Big 10 network.

Stephany Skrba named Big Ten Player of the Week

Congratulations to Stephany:

Senior Stephany Skrba (Toronto, Ontario/Langstaff Secondary) of the University of Michigan women's basketball team has been named Big Ten Player of Week, the conference office announced Tuesday (Dec. 16). Skrba's 20-point effort led the Wolverines to a 63-59 win over No. 8-ranked Notre Dame last Wednesday (Dec. 10). She is the first U-M representative for conference Player of the Week since Ta'Shia Walker (2005-08) won the award on Dec. 26, 2005.

Skrba made 10-of-11 from the field against the Irish to earn her second 20-plus performance of her career. She scored 12 points in the first half and netted U-M's only two field goals in overtime to give Michigan its final lead in the extra-time period. The senior also added three rebounds, two blocks, three steals and an assist in the contest as U-M defeated its highest-ranked opponent since 2000-01. Her 10 field goals and 11 attempts both marked career highs.

Detroit News Article

The Detroit News has a nice write up about the team & their success so far this season:

Michigan will open the Big Ten women's basketball schedule with momentum this weekend after earning two signature victories during the nonconference portion of its schedule.

The Wolverines (6-4) will host Cincinnati on Friday to complete their nonconference games before traveling to face No. 18 Ohio State (7-2) on Sunday (Big Ten Network, 2 p.m.).

Michigan had two big home victories, 50-42 on Nov. 23 against No. 13 Vanderbilt and 63-59 in overtime over No. 8 Notre Dame a week ago.

Matt Park's blog

Matt Park has updated his blog over at mgoblue.com:

Borseth and his staff have integrated three new starters and two freshmen into the rotation. The Wolverines have played the 17th-toughest schedule in the country through the first 10 games of the season. Six of the first 10 games were away from home. Four of the first 10 opponents were ranked in the top 15 when the Wolverines played them. Michigan had only one day to prepare for seven of the first 10 games this year. Considering all of that, Michigan’s 6-4 record to start this season is a credit to Borseth and his staff for their ability to teach and coach the game of basketball

In addition to his ability to coach, I gather from my observations of Coach Borseth over the last year and a half that his other great strength is in how he motivates and instills confidence in his players. The Wolverines have gone toe-to-toe with each of those top-15 teams, showing no fear or intimidation. Watching the team through its first 10 games this season, I can see the confidence of players growing. Veronica Hicks plays better and better every game. Stephany Skrba has scored 20 points in two of her last five games. Look at the plays Michigan made down the stretch against Notre Dame – Hicks knocking down two clutch free throws late in regulation, Minnfield with the drive and score with four seconds left to force overtime, Skrba with back-to-back buckets in OT to give Michigan the lead, Melinda Queen drawing a charge late in overtime for a Notre Dame turnover, Benson grabbing an offensive rebound to keep possession for U-M in the final minute. Michigan played with poise and confidence down the stretch, and I believe that Coach Borseth is a big part of that.

Hittin' The Hardwood with Roni Hicks ...

Veroncia Hicks has her latest blog post up over at mgoblue.com. She talks about the tough non-conference schedule the team has been playing:

This is a long season and we have this schedule of non-conference play for a reason. We have played multiple top 25 teams this season, all from different conferences. These games are preparing us for Big Ten play, and if we can make it through this and the game situations that we face now…we can make it through ANYTHING. So after visiting the Pac-10, we moved to the Big Ten/ACC challenge. Except that we had two ACC challenges back-to-back.

First, we faced North Carolina State, with the remarkable coach Kay Yow. Kay Yow is an inspiration to any women’s basketball player. She has continued her fight as a coach even after being diagnosed with breast cancer. I have a lot of respect for her and what she does. But we still had a mission to compete and get a win for ourselves and the Big Ten. The NC State game was pretty high-energy and it is always great when we can play in Crisler. Our defense was good and we focused on rebounding more than anything. Getting that win showed resilience and our ability to bounce back, even after USC.

For those wondering, Hicks missed the USC game because she wasn't allowed on the flight with only her student id.

More Coverage of Notre Dame game

From the Michigan Daily:

Maybe it was because the Michigan women’s basketball team lost five of its last six games against Notre Dame.

Maybe it was because this year’s seniors had never beaten the Irish before.

Maybe it was because in the last game between the two teams — at Crisler Arena two years ago — the Wolverines thought they had the game wrapped up only to allow the Irish to go on a 10-2 run over the final 47 seconds to snatch the victory.

Whatever the reason, after Michigan had clinched its 63-59 overtime win against No. 8 Notre Dame, sophomore guard Veronica Hicks felt compelled to call on a higher power.

Right after the last question of the press conference, Hicks exclaimed, shortly but meaningfully, “Thank you God!”

The Daily live blogged the game as well:

:17: With the shot clock dead, the Irish call a timeout to plan for the Wolverine foul. They have the two-point lead, and this one is coming down to free throws.

:13: A shocker! The Irish step on the line on the inbound play, and the ball is given back to the Wolverines! With 13 seconds on the clock, it looks like Michigan will have one chance to send this one into overtime. We’ll let you know soon how this one turns out.

:3: Borseth puts the ball in the hands of the team’s senior leader Jess Minnfield on the isolation play, and Minnfield carves her way through the Irish defense with a spin and a finger-roll that ties the ball game for the Wolverines! This is the best game of the season by far! Still plenty of time for the Irish though. I’ve seen crazier things.

END OF REGULATION, Michigan is tied with Notre Dame, 56-56.

NOTES ON REGULATION: What a game! Jess Minnfield knows this is her team, and she played like it in the last 10 minutes. She has 14 points on the game, 11 in this half, and she came up with the clutch steal that sealed overtime for the Wolverines. It looked like she’d even hit her desperation shot at the buzzer to win it for Michigan. Here we go, the next five minutes could be some of the most important for the Wolverines this season.

...

FINAL: MICHIGAN WINS, 63-59

POSTGAME THOUGHTS: In one of the best women’s basketball games I’ve ever witnessed, Borseth’s Michigan Wolverines come away with a season-changing victory. Crisler is going nuts! Minnfield ends with 16 and Skrba ends with 20, both playing two of the best games of their career. I’ve never seen Borseth smile so big after a victory. After two clutch wins against Vanderbilt and Notre Dame, both ranked in the top 15, I’d give the Wolverines a pretty decent chance of seeing a ranking before their name going into conference play soon. This game made it clear who this team is about. As long as Skrba can score in the post and Minnfield can lead this team from the point, this team can go places.

Also stories in the Detroit News, Detroit Free Press & South Bend Tribune.

Coverage of the Notre Dame Game

A win over a top 10 team gets a bit more coverage than usual.

From mlive.com:

The women ran, skipped and leapt across the Crisler Arena court in a rush, hugging each other and screaming. Veronica Hicks, one of the team's defensive specialists, jumped into a teammate's arms and wrapped her legs around her waist like a little kid.

Coach Kevin Borseth flashed a perma-grin as he strode across the court to do a postgame TV interview.

An exhilerating 63-59 overtime upset of No. 8-ranked Notre Dame before 1,377 fans on Wednesday night put the unranked, upstart University of Michigan women's basketball program in a celebratory mood.

To the Wolverines (6-4), this felt like a signature victory:

It was their first win over a top-10 team since Nov. 17, 2000, when they beat No. 8 Louisiana Tech.

It was their first over the Fighting Irish (7-1) since 2001, ending a series streak of three consecutive losses. Notre Dame won last year's meeting, 77-46.

It also served as the team's second triumph over a Top 25 squad this season - it beat No. 13 Vanderbilt 50-42 on Nov. 23.

"I'm so ecstatic,'' said senior forward Stephany Skrba, who made Michigan's two baskets from the floor in overtime and led the team with 20 points on 10-of-11 shooting. "The seniors have had four years playing them and losing. ... It feels so great to get this win.''

From ndscobserver.com:

Once Michigan guard Jessica Minnfield forced overtime, Wolverines forward Stephany Skrba took full advantage of it.

Back-to-back layups from Skrba gave Michigan a one-point lead, and the Wolverines hung on to beat No. 8 Notre Dame 63-59 in overtime in Ann Arbor, Mich. Wednesday night.

The Irish unbeaten streak ends at seven, while Michigan moves to 2-2 against ranked teams.

Skrba lit up Crisler Arena, scoring 20 points on 10-11 shooting. With 3:25 remaining in overtime, Irish freshman forward Kellie Watson hit a 3-pointer to give Notre Dame a 59-56 lead. Skrba, however, drove for a layup, then drove again after Notre Dame (7-1) turned the ball over under its own basket.

Another story on mlive.com, mgoblue.com and an AP story.

Sireece Bass

Nothing official, but it appears Sireece Bass may have left the team. I didn't see her at the Notre Dame game last night and, more importantly, isn't included in the last two pre-game releases on mgoblue.com. Whatever the situation is, I wish her the best.

Michigan 63 Notre Dame 59 (OT)

Wow. What a game - from Stephany Skrba and Jessica Minnfield's big performances to Krista Phillips forcing a turnover with 13 seconds left to Minnfield's game tying basket to force overtime. Congratulations to the team for knocking off their second top 15 team in this young season.

Next: Notre Dame

Michigan hosts 8th ranked Notre Dame tonight at Crisler Arena (7:00pm). The Irish are led by junior guard Ashley Barlow (15.0 ppg) and senior guard Lindsay Schrader (13.0 ppg). This is the fourth game Michigan has played against a ranked team this season - let's hope they can even their record at 2-2 against the top 25.

Duke 60 Michigan 45

Michigan couldn't manage the double upset over Duke, despite the best efforts of Veronica Hicks (16points, 4 assists and 4 steals). Michigan was outrebounded 46-22 and Duke shot 60% in the second half.

From mgoblue.com:

The University of Michigan women's basketball team posted 20 steals and forced Duke (No. 12 AP/No. 14 ESPN/USA Today) into 30 turnovers but could not manage to pick up the win, falling 60-45 this afternoon (Sunday, Dec. 7) at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Sophomore Veronica Hicks (Chicago, Ill./Thornwood) had a career night with a career-high 16 points on 6-of-15 shooting from the floor while picking up four steals and four assists. As a team, Michigan had season-high 20 steals.

Next: Duke

Michigan travels to Durham to take on 12th ranked Duke this afternoon at 2:00pm. Michigan will have their hands full - the Blue Devils are 5-1 and are coming off a 71-47 win against Iowa in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.

Duke is led by 6'5" senior center Chante Black (16.7ppg, 8.3rpg and 2.7 blocks/game), senior guard Abby Waner (11.2ppg,4.0apg) and junior forward Joy Cheek (9.8ppg).

Let's hope the women's team can repeat what the men did last night & upset the Blue Devils.

Michigan 63 NC State 52

Michigan grabbed the lead against NC State early, led 33-19 at half time and never relinquished it despite a late Wolfpack charge that cut it to seven points late in the game. Michigan was led by 16 points from Carly Benson, 15 from Jessica Minnfield and 10 rebounds from Krista Phillips.

From mgoblue.com:

Senior forward Carly Benson (Carney, Mich. /Carney-Nadeau Public School) scored a game-high 16 points to lead the Wolverines in scoring for the second straight game as the University of Michigan women’s basketball team defeated North Carolina State, 63-52, on Friday night (Dec. 5) at Crisler Arena in the annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

The Wolverines, who posted a season-low nine turnovers, had three players in double figures for the first time since Nov. 28 against Belmont. In addition to Benson, senior Jessica Minnfield (Toledo, Ohio/Central Catholic) and senior Stephany Skrba (Toronto, Ontario/Langstaff Secondary School) contributed 15 and 10 points, respectively.

Next: NC State

Michigan plays NCState (4-3) at 6:30pm tonight at Crisler as part of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. NCState is a perfect 4-0 at home, but has struggled on the road losing three games to Yale, Florida International and 15th ranked Auburn.

NC State is led by a pair of guards - senior Shayla Fields (19.1 ppg) and junior Nikitta Gartrell (12.4 ppg/4.3apg).

The game will be televised tonight on the Big 10 network.

Blogs at mgoblue.com

Both Veronica Hicks and Matt Park have new blog posts at mgoblue.com.

From "Hittin the Hardwood with Roni Hicks":

Coach Borseth says we will be the most improved team by the end of the year, and I agree. In fact, we will be the most improved team by the next game and the game after that and the game after that--that is the goal. “Move to improve with every competition and every obstacle.”

From "The VOICE with Matt Park":

Of course, now that we're here in Hattiesburg, it's time to hit the court and compete. I'm excited to see how Michigan performs after the last two games against Texas A&M and Vanderbilt. The Wolverines' play in those two games is probably going to be the prescription for success for the rest of the season. It's clear that Michigan can be a great defensive team – limiting Vanderbilt to only 45 points, a record low for the Commodores – and it has made big improvement in its rebounding after the first two games. Those two elements, rebounding and defense, need to be the constants for the Wolverines while they work on their offensive rhythm and try to identify where their scoring will come from.

USC 81 Michigan 53

Playing on the road is tough and while Michigan has made strides in that area, they (obviously) still struggle. Too many turnovers (27) and poor second half shooting (22%, 0-14 from 3 point range) doomed the Wolverines. Carly Benson led Michigan with 17 points (including 5-8 from 3 point range). The rest of the team struggled from behind the arc (2-16).

Lets hope a return home results in better results against NC State on Friday night.

Coverage can be found on mgoblue.com and detnews.com.

Next: Southern California

Michigan travels to play USC this evening. It is an interesting matchup - Michigan beat the Trojans last year in Ann Arbor 82-61. USC has a balanced attack with four players averaging in double digits: senior center Nadia Parker (13.5ppg/6.0rpg), freshman guard Briana Gilbreath (13.2ppg/5.2rpg), freshman guard Ashely Corral (13.2ppg/5.0rpBlogger: University of Michigan Women's Hoops - Create Postg) and senior guard Camille LeNoir (10.0ppg).

Game time is 10:00pm EST - lets hope Michigan can extend their three game win streak.

Southern Mississippi Tournament

Michigan barely edged Belmont 64-60 on Friday, as they faced a late rally but held on and won. Saturday, the Wolverines beat host Southern Mississippi 61-51, behind Jessica Minnfield's 23 points and Stephany Skrba's 20.

(Late) Update - coverage of the tournament from mgoblue.com on the Belmont game and the Southern Mississippi game, mlive.com and the Southern Mississippi student paper, the Student Printz.

A nice quote from the Southern Mississippi coach:

"We've made some steps in the right direction," Coach Joye Lee-McNelis said.
"Yes, we wanted to win this game, but we played a very good Michigan team that has been battled tested. They (Michigan) beat Vanderbilt, who was picked to win the SEC and a three-point loss to No. 8 Texas A&M.
They are seasoned basketball players who do a great job of playing well together.

They find each other, you double-down on the low block; they hit each other for the three. I can't say enough about how good this team is. For our team to play them to a 10-point game also says a lot about how far we have come."