The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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WOMEN'S BASKETBALL Wolverines from firmly in to the "first four out." "It's a hard thing not to think about," Borseth said. "It just con- sumes every second of the day. The only time we got any relief at all was when we were out on the court in practice. Prior to that, I think every- body had that pit in their stomach with the what, when, where, why — the whole nine yards." When Selection Monday finally rolled around, the Wolverines gath- ered in their film room, anxiously staring at the 64 names ticking one by one across the ESPN broadcast. And suddenly, Oklahoma versus tournament," senior Carmen Reyn- olds said. "The room exploded; I mean, we started crying." The Wolverines were one of seven Michigan was broadcast on national TV. The team went crazy, with Boylan reaching for anyone in her near vi- cinity to hug and junior guard Kate Thompson almost immediately break- ing out in tears of joy. "It means a lot to us to make the first postseason appearance, the Wolverines had recorded just two winning records and a 164-242 overall mark. Head coach Bud VanDeWege put together the team's first-ever 20-win campaign, led by guard Tanya Powell, who averaged 11.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. The Wolverines upset Oklahoma State 77-68 in Stillwater, Okla., in the first round of the NCAA Tournament before being bounced by North Carolina State 81-64. 1998: Between their first NCAA 1990: In the 16 seasons in program history before their Tournament appearance and the 1998 campaign, the Wolverines suffered through six losing seasons and two coaching changes. Head coach Sue Guevara went 15-11 in her first season and had the team back in the tournament in her sec- ond campaign. Center Pollyanna Johns had one of the best seasons in program history, ranking ninth all time in single-season points per game (17.2) while grabbing 9.5 re- bounds per game. The No. 10 seed in the Midwest Region, Michigan bowed out in the first round, falling 65-58 to UCLA. 1999: The Wolverines had four Big Ten teams to make the cut along with Iowa, Michigan State, Nebraska, Ohio State, Penn State and Purdue, which is a record for the conference. "It's just so exciting for us," Reyn- olds said. "To take this step in our program our senior year, it means so much." ❑ Michigan's Postseason History 2001, marking the only time in program history they have played in back-to-back NCAA Tournaments. Led by forward LeeAnn Bies, Michigan once again earned a No. 8 seed, this time toppling No. 9 seed Virginia 81-71 in the first round. Michigan fell to No. 1 seed Notre Dame 88-54 in the second round. Michigan earned a place in a post- season tournament, but for Gue- vara the 2002 season was a disap- pointment. The Wolverines' 17-13 record was their worst since the first year of her tenure. Michigan bowed out of the WNIT early, los- ing 62-49 to Valparaiso in Ann Ar- bor in the first round. 2008: After Guevara left the pro- 2002: For the fifth straight year, players average more than 10 points per game — Stacey Thomas, Anne Thorius, Alayne Ingram and Ann Lemire — for a balanced of- fensive attack. But the Wolverines took a step back, dropping to .500 in conference play and earning a trip to the WNIT. In the first round, the Wolverines beat Western Michigan 73-64, which set up a second-round showdown with Michigan State. The two teams had split the regular-season series, but the Spartans prevailed in the postseason with a 69-68 triumph in Ann Arbor. 2000: Michigan put together arguably the best regular season in program history, setting records for overall victo- ries (22) and Big Ten wins (13), which both still stand today. The Wolverines finished No. 2 in the conference, a feat which has not been matched since. Even so, the team got a rough draw, as a No. 8 seed, and was clipped by Stanford 81-74 in overtime. 2001: The Wolverines made it back to the Big Dance in After guiding Michigan to WNIT appearances in three of his first four seasons, head coach Kevin Borseth led the Wolverines to their fifth NCAA Tournament appear- ance in program history this year. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL 2010: In Borseth's third year at the helm, the Wolverines made their deepest postseason run to date. Three guards — Veronica Hicks, Carmen Reynolds and Dayeesha Hollins — all scored at least 12 points per game to lead the team to the WNIT semifinals. The Wolverines beat Kent State 69- 34, Toledo 72-57, Northwestern 65-44 and Syracuse 78-52 before falling to Miami 76-59. 2011: The Wolverines, who posted their first winning con- gram in 2003, the Wolverines went through a rough patch, including a 21-66 combined record in the three years leading up to current Michigan head coach Kevin Bors- eth's hire. And Borseth got off to a promising start, winning 19 games and earning a trip to the WNIT. The Wolverines made it all the way to the quarterfinals — beating Vir- ginia Commonwealth 75-57 and Southern Mississippi 59-45 — to win multiple games in a postsea- son tournament for the first time in program history. Michigan lost its quarterfinal game to Michigan State 45-40 in overtime. ference record in 10 seasons (10-6), were disappointingly left out of the NCAA Tournament field. Dejected by the snub and unable to host the WNIT game because of renovations at Crisler Arena, Michigan was upset 67-59 at Eastern Michi- gan in the first round. — Andy Reid APRIL 2012 THE WOLVERINE 87