The Wolverine

January 2012

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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WOMEN'S BASKETBALL Improved Brenae Harris Will Help Bolster Lineup BY ANDY REID T raditionally, Michigan head coach Kevin Borseth has held back from playing freshmen as much as possible, choosing to hand out redshirts when- ever he can and let newcomers learn from a year on the bench. This year, with just two seniors providing sig- nificant minutes, the freshmen have had to play more of a role. Rookie guard Nicole Elmblad has started the first 12 games of the sea- son, helping with 3.0 points in 17.8 minutes per game, but Brenae Har- ris — an athletic point guard from Marion, Ohio — has been waiting for her chance to break out. She may have bought herself more playing time in the Wolverines' 72-44 win over Indi- ana State on Dec. 17. The blowout win allowed Borseth to BASKETBALL SCHEDULE 2011-12 WOMEN'S Date Opponent Nov. 11 at Florida Nov. 14 Florida Atlantic Nov. 17 Utah Nov. 20 at Seton Hall Result/Time W, 69-66 W, 73-51 W, 55-50 W, 51-47 Nov. 24 vs. Prairie View A&M* W, 59-53 Nov. 25 vs. Washington State* W, 69-39 Nov. 26 vs. Marquette* Nov. 30 at Maryland^ Dec. 4 Iowa State# Dec. 8 at Detroit Dec. 11 at Eastern Michigan Dec. 17 Indiana State Dec. 22 Illinois State Dec. 30 at Illinois Jan. 4 at Michigan State Jan. 7 Ohio State Jan. 12 at Penn State Jan. 15 Minnesota Jan. 19 at Northwestern Jan. 22 Indiana Jan. 26 Penn State Jan. 30 at Wisconsin Feb. 2 Northwestern Feb. 5 Michigan State Feb. 9 at Nebraska Feb. 16 Iowa Feb. 19 at Indiana Feb. 23 Purdue Feb. 26 at Iowa Mar. 1-4 Big Ten Tournament$ W, 71-51 L, 74-65 W, 56-49 W, 61-51 L, 77-64 W, 72-44 1:30 p.m. 8 p.m. 7 p.m. 5 p.m. 6 p.m. Noon 8 p.m. 2 p.m. 7 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 6:30 p.m. 3 p.m. 8:05 p.m. 8 p.m. Noon TBA TBA TBA * Paradise Jam at St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands; ^ Big Ten/ACC Challenge; # Big Ten/Big 12 Chal- lenge; $ at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis 54 THE WOLVERINE JANUARY 2012 Harris, a freshman point guard, contributed eight points and two steals in 15 minutes versus Indiana State. PHOTO BY MARTIN VLOET/U-M SPORTS INFORMATION play nine players for at least 10 min- utes each, valuable experience that will help Michigan down the grueling Big Ten stretch. "It felt amazing to get out there," Harris said. "The teammates just en- courage you every day in practice. Hard work in practice leads to more minutes on the floor. And this gives us the experience, so when we're in real situations in a tougher game, we'll be able to handle it." Borseth knows that the develop- ment of a player like Harris could be crucial, because she has the raw ath- leticism to contribute as a role player, while starting point guard Courtney Boylan is on the bench. "It gives us a lot of tools. Kids like Harris have to play, obviously, because she has a lot of skill, and she can do some things that we want to be able to do," Borseth said. "Defensively is the area we want to concentrate on first. Tonight's energy was really good. That created a lot of offense for us." In 15 minutes, Harris finished with two steals, though her aggressive de- fensive mindset contributed to several more Sycamore turnovers and errors. "She's quick," Borseth said. "The key to your defense starts with your point guard. If she can create some pressure, it obviously helps us. I was glad to see her get a chance to get out there and demonstrate some of those things." Harris also had the best offensive game of her young career, hitting 4 of 6 shots for a career-high eight points. Although Harris has contributed just 51 minutes this year, Borseth is en- couraged by the strides she has taken. "She needs to [be a contributor]," Borseth said. "As time progresses, it's just a matter of her getting comfort- able with pressure, and everyone else getting comfortable playing with her at the same time. "To this point, we've been really grinding and having to play mistake- free basketball. That's tough to do over 30 games. If we can create some things like we did tonight and get some easy baskets [it helps]." WOLVERINES FEELING AT HOME IN THE PDC The gym is still gleaming, the bright fluorescent lights bouncing off the freshly lacquered floor in brilliant re- flections. The Wolverines' new practice home, the Player Development Center, still smells like wet paint. But, even though construction crews are still putting their final decorative touches to the immaculate building, the Michigan basketball program is already breaking it in. One weekday, senior Courtney Boylan and juniors Jenny Ryan and Rachel Scheffer were putting in extra individual time on the courts, some- thing they couldn't always do in the past. "This facility is state of the art, and the biggest thing is there are plenty of baskets where we can each get indi- vidual attention and we're not double- shooting on the basket," Ryan said. "It's pretty comfy and cozy, nice and warm in here," head coach Kevin Borseth added. "That breeze coming through Crisler [Arena] makes it a little cooler. Obviously, in here, it's a lot of individual attention, player develop- ment. It's been a really good addition." CONFERENCE SLATE A LOOK AT THE Last season, the Michigan women's

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