Borseth on Win Over VCU

Mlilve on the VCU game

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.

Michigan VCU Highlights

Coverage of the VCU win

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.

Michigan 75 Virginia Commonwealth 57

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.

Next: VCU

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.

VCU 80 Charlotte 67

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.