The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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WOMEN'S BASKETBALL the building, 84-51. The Cornhuskers used defensive pressure and transi- tion offense to build an insurmount- able lead, and Michigan could not adjust. No one expected much from the Wolverines on the return trip two weeks later, but Michigan pushed Nebraska to the brink before falling 76-68 Feb. 13. "It shows great strides and tremen- dous improvement in our team," Michigan head coach Kim Barnes Arico said. "The first half was even. We were scrapping and clawing the entire game. Our kids felt better about the outcome than the first time we played them. "In the second half, they got out in transition, which is what they did to us at their place. We got ourselves in a hole. From a coaching perspective, I was proud of the team. We were in a similar situation at their place, and we didn't know how to respond. We collapsed, and they wound up beat- ing us pretty good. "Tonight, we kept fighting and scrapping and clawing. Our fo- cus and execution was pretty good against one of the top teams in the country. We have a lot of things to get better at, but our margin for er- ror with the team we have, going against a team like that, is so small. For 75 percent of the game, I was re- ally pleased." Junior forward Cyesha Goree con- tinued her recent hot streak, hitting 7 of 15 field goals and shooting seven free throws. She finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, nearly putting up a triple-double. "As good as they are, we thought the one weakness was post defense," Barnes Arico said. "We wanted to force them to defend inside. We wanted to go inside until they stopped it. We wanted to try to get them in foul trouble, because that would have really helped us. Cyesha has grown leaps and bounds. She was sensational tonight. She did a fabulous job on the offensive end, scoring and rebounding." Although the Cornhuskers shot 59.1 percent from the floor (26 of 44) and senior Big Ten Player of the Year candidate Jordan Hooper finished with 23 points, Barnes Arico was pleased with the defensive effort. "The stats don't show it, but I thought our defense was not too bad, considering our opponent," she said. "We did a much better job than the first time we played them. They played Michigan State, and the score was 40-20 at halftime. They are a potent offensive team. We tried to challenge, and they made shots, and that is why they're winning so many games." U-M HONORS BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS Michigan held its annual Breast Cancer Awareness night versus Pur- due Feb. 9. For the Wolverines and head coach Kim Barnes Arico, the event was a little more special this season. Donna Barnes, who battled lym- phoma for five years before being stricken with breast cancer around