The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1490206
54 THE WOLVERINE FEBRUARY 2023 BY ANTHONY BROOME T he 14th-ranked Michigan women's basketball team was dealt a tough gut-check 94-85 loss to star Caitlin Clark and Iowa on Jan. 7 at home, but adversity can be what defines a turn- ing point and growth situation. Never was that more apparent than in the two games that followed the loss to the Hawkeyes. U-M responded with an 80-59 win on the road at Purdue on Jan. 10, followed by a 70-55 victory over rival Michi- gan State on Jan. 14 at Crisler Center. The win over the Spartans was notable thanks to a 9-for-20 shooting perfor- mance from beyond the three-point line. Senior guard Maddie Nolan had 10 points and was 3-for-4 from the pe- rimeter, while fifth-year guard Leigha Brown led all scorers with 17 points and a pair of three-pointers. "That's a pretty good night," Michi- gan coach Kim Barnes Arico said, via The Michigan Daily. "I'll take that any night." Brown, who was tasked with handling point guard duties this year after spend- ing time on the wing in the past, has had an adjustment to make in being more of a distributor, but looked as comfortable as she has all season in the victory. "[Transitioning from wing to point guard] I was struggling and trying to figure out where I can find spots to score," Brown said. More than the success from the pe- rimeter was the re-establishment of the toughness and grit that defines Barnes Arico's program. Brown and Nolan took a pair of charges in key moments during the MSU game, and the willingness to play physical and get after loose balls has been key coming out of the Iowa game. "Something we talked about a lot this week is just the toughness, the ability to take those charges that we took in the second half, to get on the floor for loose balls," Nolan said. "Those are gonna be the difference-maker, and we felt in the first half we weren't as tough as we would have liked, and I think we kind of saw that shift in the second half." Graduate forward Emily Kiser con- tinued: "When you take a charge on a player, I know from experience, that can really get in your head. If someone beats you to that spot, you're less aggressive, which really helps." Michigan closes out its January slate of games at Rutgers (Jan. 19), vs. No. 6 Indiana (Jan. 23), at No. 11 Maryland (Jan. 26) and at Minnesota (Jan. 29). ❏ MICHIGAN WOMEN'S BASKETBALL U-M Flexes Toughness, Shooting Ability In Win Over Rival Spartans 2022-23 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Nov. 9 Delaware State W, 83-30 Nov. 11 St. Francis (Pa.) W, 91-36 Nov. 16 Western Michigan W, 99-67 Nov. 20 at Fairfield W, 69-53 Nov. 25 vs. Air Force^ W, 68-48 Nov. 26 vs. South Florida^ W, 63-58 Nov. 27 No. 21 Baylor^ W, 84-75 Dec. 1 at Miami (Fla.)% W, 76-64 Dec. 4 Northwestern* W, 77-66 Dec. 8 Toledo L, 71-68 Dec. 17 Appalachian State W, 77-49 Dec. 20 vs. North Carolina$ W, 76-68 Dec. 28 at Nebraska* W, 76-59 Dec. 31 at Ohio State* L, 66-57 Jan. 3 Penn State* W, 82-72 Jan. 7 Iowa* L, 94-85 Jan. 10 at Purdue* W, 80-59 Jan. 14 Michigan State* W, 70-55 Jan. 19 at Rutgers* (BTN) 8:30 p.m. Jan. 23 Indiana* (BTN) 8 p.m. Jan. 26 at Maryland* (BTN) 6:30 p.m. Jan. 29 at Minnesota* (B1G+) 2 p.m. Feb. 2 Illinois* (BTN) 6:30 p.m. Feb. 5 at Michigan State* (B1G+) 3 p.m. Feb. 12 Nebraska* (B1G+) 1 p.m. Feb. 16 at Indiana* (BTN) 8:30 p.m. Feb. 20 Ohio State* (FS1) 7 p.m. Feb. 23 Rutgers* (B1G+) 7 p.m. Feb. 26 at Wisconsin* (BTN/B1G+) 2 p.m. Mar. 1-5 Big Ten Tournament+ TBD ^ Gulf Coast Showcase at Estero, Fla.; % ACC/ Big Ten Challenge; * Big Ten Conference game; $ Jumpman Invitational at Charlotte, N.C.; + at Minneapolis Fifth-year guard Leigha Brown led all scorers with 17 points and a pair of threes in the 70-55 victory over Michigan State Jan. 14 at Crisler Center. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETICS