The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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women's basketball three of its first four games, with 17 against Bowling Green, 21 in a 7371 overtime win over Arizona and a season-high 32 in an 83-63 win over Detroit Nov. 16. She added 14 points against Xavier and ranked fourth in the Big Ten in scoring (21.0 points per game) as of Nov. 17. Although she is playing well, Smith hasn't dwelled too much on her own success. "I'm not really focused on myself right now," she said. "I'm focused on the team. I really couldn't care less if I had two points or 20. I want us as a whole to get better and get wins. That's all I care about — the program. Sure, it's a nice to get off to a good start, for myself, but I'd rather the team win." Michigan head coach Kim Barnes Arico — who, along with the help of assistant coach Chester Nichols, convinced Smith to come to Ann Arbor — has been pleased with the production so far. "Shannon has been a great addition to our team," Barnes Arico said. "She's a winner. She just brings energy each and every day. It's nice to have her scoring for us. "Shannon can really be a better defender. She has committed herself to playing on the offensive end extremely well, and she works very hard at that. But her defense is something that can be better. It's something I have been kind of getting on her about. She is little. She doesn't weigh much, and she gets knocked around a bit, but that's not a reason for her not to be able to defend." ❏ Women's Basketball Rewind: Nov. 1-17 Overall Record: 2-2 overall, 0-0 Big Ten. Best Win — 73-71 vs. Arizona (OT): After a tough loss to Bowling Green in the first round of the Iona Tournament, the Wolverines bounced back the next day. Down five with just more than three minutes to play, Michigan crawled back and junior forward Cyesha Goree hit a turnaround jumper as time expired to send the game into overtime, where Michigan squeaked out a promising two-point win. Five Wolverines played at least 30 minutes in the game and four of them scored in double figures. Junior guard Shannon Smith led the way 21 points. Worst Loss — 63-52 vs. Bowling Green: The Wolverines got off to a rough start, dropping their season opener to the Falcons in the first round of the Iona Tournament, but there was certainly some encouragement that came out of the game. Smith, who transferred into the program from Trinity Valley Community College this year, racked up 17 points, four steals and three rebounds, while freshman guard Siera Thompson added 12 points, junior guard Nicole Elmblad chipped in 10 points and Goree went for eight points. After a 7-0 run for Bowling Green in the middle of the second half, Michigan climbed back to pull within eight with three minutes to go, but never got any closer.