The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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women's basketball With Shannon Smith Out, Madison Ristovski Steps Up Her Production I n Michigan's first seven games of the season, junior guard Shannon Smith, a transfer student from Trinity Valley Community College in Athens, Texas, led the team in scoring four times. Smith posted big numbers, including 32 points and five assists in an 83-63 win over Detroit Nov. 16 and 24 points in a 82-71 win over Texas Tech Nov. 29. But that performance against the Red Raiders was costly. Smith injured her back. She sat out the next two games and played sparingly against Eastern Michigan Dec. 11. With Smith out of the lineup, the Wolverines needed someone to score some points. Sophomore guard Madison Ristovski answered the call, scoring 49 combined points in Michigan's next three games, a 64-62 loss to No. 12 LSU Nov. 30, a 73-53 win over Virginia in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge Dec. 5 and a career-high 23 points in an 89-75 win over Eastern Michigan. Early in the first half of the win over the Eagles, Ristovski drove into the lane on a fast break. Instead of finishing to the hoop or pulling up for an open look at the basket, Ristovski looked to pass, fumbled the ball and coughed up a turnover. "After that play, I took her out," Michigan head coach Kim Barnes Arico said. "I had just put her in the possession before. She was sitting on the bench next to me, and I said, 'Madison, we need you to score. You better score, or you're going to come back out.'" When Barnes Arico subbed Ristovski back into the game, she scored the Wolverines' next 11 points, helping build a lead that Eastern Michigan could not overcome. "I thought she took the game over," Barnes Arico said. "She has the ability to do that, and she showed that tonight. She has shown that the last couple games. She is a great passer. Her tendencies are to pass the ball first, but on our team, especially when she is off the ball, we need her to knock down shots. I think that has been a transition for her this season, but it's something we have emphasized. She did a great job of doing that all night." Ristovski led the team with 4.1 assists per game through 11 contests and was nearly at a two-to-one assist-to-turnover ratio (45 assists and 23 turnovers). Although Ristovski's passing ability is important for the Michigan offense, her ability to create open looks for herself will be a key to success against the stout defenses of the Big Ten. After her three-game run, Ristovski can feel the confidence building in her offensive game. "Last year, I didn't really feel like this," she said. "I was playing with seniors, and just trying to understand the game and everything. This year,