The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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example by being in the gym or step- ping up to the plate and taking and making big shots." Flaherty and Thome were both highly rated coming out of high school (All-Star Girls Report ranked Flaherty No. 19 nationally in her class and Thome No. 90 in the coun- try as a senior), and both enjoy play- ing with each other. "I've never played with anyone like Hallie," Flaherty said. "That was something we'd say a lot in high school or AAU, 'If we just had a big girl we'd be really good.' It's so nice being able to throw the ball in there and rely on her. " S h e h a s g re a t hands and catches e v e r y t h i n g . T h a t makes me look good. I think the way she catches the ball is her best quality. We all trust her to catch the ball and score every time. It's big for us to feel that way. "The way she runs down the court is pretty special, too. A lot of big girls aren't coordinated or quick enough to move up and down like she does." Thome was just as complimentary of Flaherty, but for different reasons. "I've never had a teammate like Kate," Thome said. "I feel so blessed to have her on my team. Her ability to shoot is crazy. People can't really help off of her when we're on the same side so it gives me an advan- tage to score. "If they do try to help off her I just kick it out to Kate, and she doesn't miss very often. Teams have to pick and choose how you want to defend us. It's great having that. "She never gets down either. If she's off at the beginning of a game she'll always come back. She's really positive and helps me if I'm off too. She's always over there telling me, 'Hallie, you got this, keep shooting,' stuff like that. "Having her as a teammate, since she was in my shoes last year but at a dif- ferent position, has been good for me. I'm so lucky to have her. She's a great teammate." F l a h e r t y a n d Thome have only been on the court together in a game s e t t i n g 1 7 t i m e s , but they've already picked up on each other's tendencies and shown they can play some two- person basketball. "Offensively if I'm hitting shots they'll come out, and then she's open one on one," Flaherty said of her freshman teammate. "It's nice to be able to throw it down there and have someone who can score as effectively as she can. "I think she's doing a great job now in learning how to pass out to the perimeter. When she's making shots, everyone collapses, and it gives us open shots. We are a pretty good shooting team, great at certain times, and she's a big part of that." "To an extent, what I do is directly Women's basketball head coach Kim Barnes Arico "I've had some great players and some great inside-outside combos, but Hallie and Katelynn are different and unique players."