The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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WOMEN'S BASKETBALL basketball team finished tied for third in the Big Ten regular-season standings with a 10-6 conference record, but it wasn't good enough for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. With the Wolverines' Big Ten slate starting Dec. 30 at Illinois, here's their biggest competition for a conference title: The Favorite — Penn State: The Nit- tany Lions were picked first in the pre- season conference poll, and for good reason. All but one player returns from last season's surprising NCAA Tourna- ment team, and they added freshman Tori Walder, a McDonald's All-Amer- ican, who's averaging 3.0 points per game. Three players, Maggie Lucas, Alex Bentley and Zhaque Gray, are averag- ing at least 12.5 points per game for an offense that ranks third in the Big Ten in scoring (76.9 points per game) and first in three-point percentage (.363). Penn State is also stingy on defense, holding opponents to a Big Ten-low .306 shooting percentage. Although the Nittany Lions have dropped two games (to Delaware and Texas Tech), the team should smooth out the rough patches come confer- ence play. The Runner-Up — Ohio State: Through 10 games, the Buckeyes have won big (84-37 over Stony Brook), and they've won close (78-75 in overtime over Flor- ida State). The one constant is winning — Ohio State is a perfect 10-0. Ohio State has claimed the last three confer- ence titles, with standout center Jantel Lavender leading the way for the con- ference's most dangerous offense. Although Lavender is now in the WNBA, the Buckeye attack is just as dangerous, leading the Big Ten with 77.3 points per game. Junior guard Tayler Hill is scoring more than 20 points per game, and senior Samantha Prahalis is adding 18.5. In Lavender's absence, Ohio State has found answers to its preseason questions, and should be neck-and- neck with Penn State down the stretch. The Challenger — Purdue: Through Dec. 19, the Boilermakers checked in as one of the conference's most offen- sively challenged teams, scoring just 59.3 points per game, good for 11th place. But they've more than made up for it with the Big Ten's best defense (53.3 points per game). Guard Brittany Rayburn is leading the way with 15.1 points per game. Purdue was pegged as the preseason favorite to take second place in the league, but it will need to find more consistent success on offense to make a push. The Sleeper — Nebraska: A year re- moved from a surprise run to a No. 1 seed in the 2010 NCAA Tournament, the Cornhuskers finished 13-18 overall, 3-13 in conference and took the last- place seed into their first-round loss in the Big 12 Tournament last season. No one expected much from Ne- braska this year, but it led the confer- ence in scoring margin (22 points per game) while racing out to a 10-1 start. The Huskers haven't played the tough- est schedule, but they did beat No. 23 Southern Cal, 68-50. The Rival — Michigan State: The Wol- verines haven't beaten the Spartans in the last seven tries, dating back to the 2007-08 season, and have an 18-54 all-time record against their in-state rivals. This may be the year Michigan can turn the tide. Michigan State has limped out to a disappointing 7-4 start, including a 59-58 loss to Florida Gulf Coast. The Spartans are the best re- bounding team in the conference, av- eraging 33.5 a game, but are middle of the pack in most other statistical categories. ❏ Michigan Women's Basketball Rewind Record: 10-2 National Rankings: NR, received two votes in the Associated Press poll and re- ceived six votes in the ESPN/USA Today poll as of Dec. 12. Best Win — Michigan 56, Iowa State 49: Coming off a loss to No. 5 Maryland, their first of the season, the Wolverines had just one more test against a ma- jor-conference opponent before the start of Big Ten season, when the Cyclones came to town. Michigan hit 44.4 percent from behind the arc and gutted out a seven-point win. Senior point guard Courtney Boylan once again led the way with a game-high 17 points, and junior Jenny Ryan continued her offensive improvement, tallying her second double- double of the year (11 points and 10 boards). Worst Loss — Eastern Michigan 77, Michigan 64: There must be something about those pesky Ea- gles. After narrowly missing out on the NCAA Tour- nament last season, Michigan opened the WNIT at Eastern Michigan and was upset 67-59 in a severe disappointment. Again playing at EMU's Convoca- tion Center, the Wolverines did not have an answer for the Eagles' Tavelyn James who scored 38 points, including five three-pointers. On the offensive end, Michigan shot just 2 of 11 from behind the arc. MVP — Kate Thompson: Through the first month of the season, Michigan relied too heavily on Boylan for its offensive output, and head coach Kevin Bors- eth repeatedly talked about the need for diversification on that side of the court. Since the Maryland loss, Thompson, a junior guard, has provided a significant spark off the bench. In Michigan's last four games, as of Dec. 19, she averaged 14.0 points, with a high of 16, and was the team's high-scorer in two of them. Impact Freshman — Nicole Elmblad: The sister of former Michigan hockey player Junior guard Kate Thompson provided U-M with a spark off the bench in December, averag- ing 14.0 points in four games. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN Eric Elmblad (2006-10), Elmblad has started all 12 of the Wolverines' games through Dec. 19, logging 213 minutes — 162 more than the next most experienced rookie, point guard Brenae Harris. Elmblad was averaging 3.0 points and 2.8 rebounds per game. Game To Watch — vs. Ohio State, Jan. 7: The Buckeyes have been the class of the Big Ten for some time now, and they look just as dangerous this season. Ohio State is averaging 77.3 points per game, which leads the conference, while outscoring opponents by an average of 19.8 points. Undefeated through their first 10 games, the Buckeyes will be a stiff test for the Wolverines, while they fight to prove they're worthy of an NCAA Tournament berth. — Andy Reid JANUARY 2012 THE WOLVERINE 55