By Pranay Reddy
Daily Sports Writer
The rock.
The pill.
Call it what you want, but in basketball there is nothing more important than the ball - especially when it comes to taking care of it.
The Michigan women's basketball team learned that lesson the hard way this past weekend in its two losses to Penn State and Purdue.
In both contests, Michigan played the leading role in a comedy of errors.
Friday night, the Wolverines turned the game over to the Lady Lions. Yesterday, Purdue stole a win from Michigan at Crisler Arena.
But when a team has 44 turnovers in two games, what would you expect?
Michigan coach Sue Guevara explained her team's predicament following Friday's loss to Penn State, 82-73.
"Any time you turn the ball over 23 times you are in deep trouble," Guevara said. "It's really tough to win a ball game that way."
With all the trouble Michigan was having taking care of the ball Friday night, Guevara resorted to using a number of different lineups.
In the second half of Friday's game, Michigan forward Silver Shellman was benched for Molly Murray after committing two turnovers. Murray then proceeded to turn the ball over twice.
Unfortunately for Guevara, Michigan's guard play wasn't much better. When Jennifer Kiefer had two giveaways in the same half, Guevara turned to Akisha Franklin. Franklin picked up where Kiefer left off, and committed two turnovers of her own.
A dejected Guevara explained her seemingly haphazard substitution patterns Friday night.
"I was just trying to find some people that weren't going to turn the ball over," she said.
Michigan's lack of ball control played right into the hands of Penn State's Shauntai Hall. With every Michigan turnover, the sophomore guard released toward the basket resulting in a number of fast-break opportunities.
When opportunity knocked, Hall answered, scoring the first 10 points of the game on her way to a team-high 20 points.
"(Hall) was told to go on the fly and head toward the basket all week in practice," Penn State coach Rene Portland said.
From the onset of yesterday's game against Purdue, it seemed that the Wolverines had forgotten about their trip to University Park.
Eight of Michigan's last 13 possessions in the first half resulted in turnovers. This turned a close game into an eight-point Purdue lead, as both squads headed to the lockerroom.
And when Michigan's Stacey Thomas tried to single-handedly bring the Wolverines back in the second half, costly turnovers sealed their fate.
"Right now, we just aren't executing the same way we were three weeks ago," Guevara said. "I need to make some changes."
As the Wolverines have learned, in close games, turnovers usually decide the outcome.
In Michigan's past seven games, six have ended in losses. Do you think the giveaways had an impact?
Consider:
Michigan's average turnovers in the six losses - 22.2. Opponents' average turnovers in the same games - 17.7.
But in the end, Michigan's trouble comes down to respect - for the ball, that is. If the Wolverines hope to enjoy the success they did at the start of the season, Guevara says there is one simple approach - practice.
"We'll work on passing the basketball, catching the basketball, boxing out and just go back to a lot of basics - fundamental basketball," Guevara said.
JONATHAN SUMMER/Daily
Michigan guard Stacey Thomas was all over the court yesterday, scoring points, grabbing rebounds and making steals. Unfortunately for her and the rest of the Wolverines, the ball was all over the court, too. Michigan committed 21 turnovers. The loss followed a 82-73 defeat at Penn State on Friday.