The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/432566
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL Big Ten-leading three-point percent- age (42.3) is the sharpshooting duo of junior guard Madison Ristovski and freshman guard Katelynn Flaherty. Ristovski has started five games and connected on 13 of 29 (44.8 percent) from distance, while Flaherty started in her place in the other three and has gone 21 of 48 (43.8 percent). At 5-10, Ristovski has more size than the 5-7 Flaherty, but the shorter guard scores in creative ways around the rim. The newcomer, Flaherty, is Michigan's leading scorer at 14.4 points per game and is shooting an impressive 44.2 percent from the field. The blend of returning experience and incoming talent has the Wolver- ines looking to compete in the Big Ten and return to the NCAA Tourna- ment this year after missing the cut last season. KATELYNN FLAHERTY IS A FUTURE STAR Both of freshman guard Katelynn Flaherty's parents played basketball in college, so it was clear from an early age, basketball was going to be a part of her life. "Ever since I was born pretty much I was around basketball," Flaherty said. "My dad played at Seton Hall and my mom played for the Univer- sity of New Jersey. My dad coached high school girls and an AAU team before I was old enough to be coached by him. During my whole childhood I pretty much grew up in the gym because we're always there. Once I became old enough to re- ally train then it was probably three hours a day with my dad." All that time around the sport paid off. Flaherty was ranked as the No. 19 overall prospect in the country by All-Star Girls Report, which makes her the highest-rated prospect to ever sign with Michigan. U-M head coach Kim Barnes Arico is glad Flaherty brought her skills to Ann Arbor. "She's a scorer," Barnes Arico said. "She can flat out score the basket- ball. She has a great three-point shot and a great mid-range shot, and she also has the ability to get to the bas- ket. For being 5-7 she's also worked really hard on being able to go in against bigger kids at the rim. She's definitely very crafty with the ball in her hands." Through eight games, Flaherty led the Wolverines in scoring with an av- erage of 14.4 points per game shoot- ing 43.8 percent from three-point land and 90.9 percent from the free throw line. Barnes Arico knew she was getting a good player in Flaherty but thinks she could even be better than advertised, at least on one end of the floor. "She's struggling in some areas, but that's what freshmen do," Barnes Arico said. "Like all freshmen it takes some time to adapt to the speed and physicality of the game, especially on defense and in rebounding. Offen- sively though, she has an ability to score that not many kids, regardless of class, have. I think that separates her from the rest of the freshmen in the country and really puts her up there with the top kids." Flaherty's self-assessment is on par