Non-conference foes should go down easily

Over the past several years, Michigan has fared well in the non-conference portion of its schedule. Last year, in coach Sue Guevara's first season at the helm of the Wolverines, Michigan posted an 8-1 non-conference record. The Wolverines' only loss outside the Big Ten came against a top-ranked Stanford team, which beat Michigan by only three points.

This year, Michigan plays 10 games before it opens the Big Ten season Dec. 28, against Ohio State. The Wolverines opened their season last weekend at the MSU Felpausch Tournament, where they beat St. Johns and Michigan State to win the tournament. In Michigan's first home game, against Illinois State, the Wolverines ran their record to 3-0 with a solid, 93-81 victory. This past weekend, Michigan traveled to Florida for the Florida International Tournament. The Wolverines dropped the first game to the host Golden Panthers, but rebounded to win the consolation game yesterday.

Michigan has five more games before it opens the Big Ten season, including one more tournament. The Wolverines travel to Grand Rapids to take on Central Michigan on Wednesday before going to Duke on Dec. 6-7, to compete in the Duke Tournament. Ohio and Florida A&M will also compete in the tourney. Michigan then returns home for its final non-conference games before the Big Ten season commences.

Central Michigan: Michigan faces the Chippewas at a neutral site, Gerald Ford Field House in Grand Rapids. Central Michigan coach Fran Voll is also in his second year at the helm. The Chippewas finished seventh in the Mid American Conference last season with a 7-11 record. Central Michigan opened the MAC season with nine straight losses, but rebounded with seven victories in its last nine games.

Three starters return from last year's team, including several seniors. Guard Julie Miller averaged 8.7 points per game last year for the Chippewas. Their biggest loss to graduation was starting forward Traci Renken, who averaged 16.1 points per game. The Chippewas will look to Miller, junior Darcey Rasch and transfer Sally Sedlar to pick up the scoring.

Florida A&M: Michigan faces the Rattlerettes in the first round of the Duke Tournament on Saturday. Florida A&M returns three starters from last year's team, which won 20 games and lost only nine. The Rattlerettes finished 13-3 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Forward Aquenda Clark returns for her final season after averaging 16.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. The Wolverines and Rattlerettes have faced each other only once before, resulting in an 87-74 Michigan victory in 1988.

Duke/Ohio: The Wolverines will play either the winner or the loser of the game between these two teams, depending upon the outcome of Michigan's game with Florida A&M the day before.

Surprisingly, Duke and Michigan have never faced each other in women's basketball. The Blue Devils finished in third place in the ACC last year with a 9-7 conference record and a 19-11 mark overall. Duke's leading returning scorer from last year is junior Payton Black, who averaged 13.7 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. Duke coach Gail Goestenkors has Michigan ties; she graduated from Saginaw Valley State in 1985, three years after Guevara graduated from the same institution. The Blue Devils are a team loaded with younger players who will be expected to contribute this year.

Ohio University would be another mediocre opponent for the Wolverines. The Bobcats return no starters from a 1996 team that finished sixth in the MAC with a 9-9 conference record. Coach Marsha Reall has compiled a 102-93 record in seven seasons at Ohio. The Bobcats' top returners include seniors Amy Turner and Marlene Stollings. Stollings averaged 10.1 points and 2.2 assists per game last season. Three freshman and one junior comprise Ohio's newcomers.

Princeton: Coach Liz Feeley and her Tigers visit Ann Arbor on Dec. 19. Princeton returns all five starters from a team that finished in fifth place in the Ivy League with a 6-8 conference record. Outside the conference, the Tigers posted a miserable 1-11 record. Princeton still fields a young team with only one senior among its top returners, guard Zakiya Pressley. Sophomore guard Maggie Langlas was named to the Ivy League all-conference team last season. Junior Lea Ann Drohan is Princeton's top returning scorer. She averaged 9.4 ppg last season. This will be the first ever-meeting between the Tigers and the Wolverines.

Bowling Green: The Falcons come to town on Dec. 21 for Michigan's final warm-up for the Big Ten season. Bowling Green also lost no players to graduation and will look to improve upon last season's fourth-place finish in the MAC. The Falcons have two returning players who averaged more than 10 points per game last season. Senior guard Sara Puthoff averaged 16.1 ppg and senior forward Charlotta Jones averaged nearly a double-double each game, scoring 14.4 ppg and pulling down 9.5 rpg. Michigan leads the series with the Falcons, 6-3, but Bowling Green blew out the Wolverines in their last meeting, 99-79.

12-01-97