The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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WOMEN'S BASKETBALL "Sam's extremely smart," Bors- eth said. "I don't know if we have a player that really understands what we're trying to do better than Sam. She really gets it. Offensively, she's really good down on the block. She has the ability to shoot. She makes good decisions with the ball. She can produce in a hurry." Seto is in her first eligible season with Michigan, but she started 31 games as a true freshman at Vermont in 2009-10 and averaged 9.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. Borseth has been impressed with her so far, but is still trying to get her adapted to the physical play of the Big Ten slate. She's getting 9.1 min- utes per game, averaging 2.3 points and 1.6 rebounds. Seto has played in the last 16 games, and as she improves, Bors- eth sees her earning more and more playing time. "She's athletic. She's aggressive. I don't know if she's as confident as she'd like to be, because she's kind of going in and out — sometimes she's aggressive, sometimes not," Borseth said. "But she has all the tools. She's skilled, fast, athletic. She wants to get to the rim. "The more we get her in there, the more confidence she's going to gain in herself." Freshman point guard Brenae Har- ris is another player, like Seto, who has demanded more playing time. Her breakout came in an eight- point performance against Indiana State on Dec. 17. Since then, her play- ing time has steadily increased. The more Harris improves, the more of a rest Boylan, the team's leading scorer, can get in a given game. Boylan is averaging 33.2 min- utes per game — down from a few weeks ago, before Harris' emergence. The last key bench spot may evolve over the second half of the season. Freshman forward Nicole Elmblad started the first 15 games of the year while Jordan got used to playing on her knee. Jordan has started the last three games. "Nya's getting back that knee back, and she's starting to play bet- ter — a lot of that just comes from more and more game experience," Borsteh said. "The biggest thing is just getting that leg back under her, making sure her knee is working like it used to." ❏ Michigan Women's Basketball Rewind Covering Dec. 22-Jan. 15 Record: 4-2 (Overall: 14-4, Big Ten: 3-2) National Ranking: NR, received four votes in the Jan. 9 Associated Press poll and received 19 votes in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll. Best Win — Michigan 73, Ohio State 62: The Buckeyes have been the dominant Big Ten team for the last several years, and were undefeated in 2011-12 until they came to Ann Arbor, but Michigan seems to have their number. The Wolverines have now won three straight over Ohio State. The Buckeyes were ranked in all three games, including No. 8 during this year's matchup. Senior point guard Courtney Boylan led all scorers with 19 points, and junior Sam Arnold poured in 13 off the bench — 11 in the first half — to help pull off the upset as Michigan builds its résumé for the NCAA Tournament. Worst Loss — Michigan State 60, Michigan 55: Alas, the losing streak to the Spar- tans continues, now reach- ing seven games, dating back to the 2007-08 season. Michigan held a slim three- point lead at halftime, but Michigan State shot 45.2 percent after the break and snuck out with a win. Michi- gan junior center Rachel Sheffer led all scorers with 20 points. MVP — Jenny Ryan: Ryan may never be a big-time scorer, but she has been the catalyst in the Wolverines' hot start, with tough, gritty play. She leads the Big Ten in steals (3.3 per game), assist- to-turnover ratio (3.1) and three-point field goal per- centage (45.7 percent, hit- ting 16). She also leads the Wolverines in assists (4.6 per game) and rebounds (6.1 per game). On The Rise — Nya Jordan: The junior forward was off to a promising start Through mid-January, junior guard Jenny Ryan led the Big Ten in steals (3.3 per game), assist-to-turnover ratio (3.1) and three-point shooting (45.7 percent). PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN last year, starting the first 13 games and averaging 7.2 points and 4.2 rebounds a game, before blowing out her knee. Head coach Kevin Borseth has tested her little by little, and she has responded well. She was finally re-inserted into the starting lineup for the win over Ohio State Jan. 7 and will remain there for the foreseeable future. Game To Watch — vs. Penn State, Jan. 26: Penn State was pegged as pre- season Big Ten champs. Though the Nittany Lions have gotten off to a slower- than-expected 3-2 start in Big Ten play, they still have plenty of weapons. Sopho- more Maggie Lucas is third in the Big Ten in scoring, averaging 20.0 points per game — and the Wolverines have struggled with hot shooters, especially against Eastern Michigan's Tavelyn James, who dropped 38 in an upset earlier this year. And the 78-63 loss in Happy Valley on Jan. 12 will serve as plenty of motivation. — Andy Reid FEBRUARY 2012 THE WOLVERINE 79