Princeton, Big Ten opener mark women's hoops break schedule

Right now, the Michigan women's basketball team isn't concerned about hoops. They have to study for finals

But as soon as finals are over, the Wolverines (6-2 overall) play their first of six games during winter break, a home affair against the Ivy League's Princeton on Dec. 19.

"The academic load is heavy right now," Michigan coach Sue Guevara said. "People have papers due, their last exams before finals, then their finals."

So Guevara has taken it easy on them, working on mostly conditioning and fundamentals in practice.

"Sunday, I'm probably going to add a new offense, press and defense," Guevara said. "I know when the kids exams are, so we can work around their schedules."

MALLORY S.E. FLOYD/Daily Once finals are completed, Michigan takes to the floor six times over break.

The Tigers (2-4) are one of the weaker opponents on the Wolverines' winter break schedule. Playing in a conference not known for its athletic excellence, Princeton couldn't muster a .500 record last year, going 6-8 in conference games.

Princeton returns three of those starters, but has lost three straight games.

"Princeton is a week from Friday, and I haven't started looking at them yet," Guevara said. "It will be a challenge for us. It scares me a little, the first game after finals. I hope our brains aren't fried."

The Wolverines' next game offers a much more formidable challenge. In their last game before a short break and a grueling Big Ten schedule, the Wolverines host Bowling Green on Dec. 21.

The Falcons (5-1) offer a balanced attack, with three players averaging more than 15 points per game. They're coming off an impressive 18-point victory over Michigan State, and the closest of their five wins was a nine-point victory over Youngstown State. Their lone loss was by just four points.

Senior forward Charlotta Jones (17.7 points, eight rebounds) and senior guard Sara Puthoff (18.3 points, 4.7 rebounds) were both named to the pre-season all-MAC team.

After a five-day break from practice for Christmas, the Wolverines start the meat of their schedule - the Big Ten games.

Michigan opens the Big Ten with two games at Crisler, hosting Ohio State and Minnesota.

"I'm real glad we end the non-conference schedule and start the Big Ten schedule at home," Guevara said.

Last year, the Wolverines had just the opposite. They ended the non-conference season with two road wins, improving to 8-1, but split their two conference road openers.

Ohio State, which plays at Crisler on Dec. 28, is looking to retool this season. New coach Beth Burnes has her hands full, taking over a program that not only finished 10th in the Big Ten last year, but was decimated by injuries early in the season.

But Burnes has proven herself up to the task in the past. She turned a weak San Jose State team into a national power in her eight years as its coach.

The Buckeyes (4-1) are off to a strong start, losing only at Kentucky.

Next the Wolverines host Minnesota on Dec. 30. Minnesota (1-5) has Angie Iverson, but not much else. Iverson, who is not related to Allen, has recorded three straight double-doubles. The senior center is averaging 13.5 points per game and nine rebounds per game.

The Golden Gophers have been struggling pretty much everywhere. They are shooting just 37.9 percent from the field, 26.8 percent on three-pointers and 54.7 percent from the free-throw line. They are averaging just less than 62 points a game, while giving up more than 70 per game.

Michigan plays its first conference road game at Northwestern on Jan. 2.

The Wildcats (3-6) have had a difficult non-conference schedule, playing two ranked teams in the pre-season National Invitational Tournament, finishing fourth in the tournament.

After finishing fourth in the conference and making an NCAA tournament appearance last year, Northwestern has struggled this season, losing embarrassing games to Southwest Missouri State and St. Bonaventure.

The Wolverines close out the break with a home game against Penn State (4-3) on Jan. 4.

The Lady Lions struggled last year, finishing .500 in the conference and not making the NCAA tournament - a rarity for them.

After two exhibition losses, the Lions pulled themselves together, beating both Rutgers and Temple before falling to Kansas. The Lions will be busy, playing five games before traveling to Ann Arbor.

12-10-97