'M' women improve to beat State, win tourney

EAST LANSING - Saturday, the Michigan women's basketball team showed just how good it can be. Friday, it showed just how bad it can be.

Luckily for the Wolverines, they played the tough competition Saturday.

Despite playing an extremely sloppy game, the Wolverines defeated an even sloppier St. John's team in the opening round of the MSU-Felpausch tournament, 72-55. Michigan played just the opposite in the championship game, defeating host Michigan State, 89-72.

Anne Thorius lead the Wolverines with 22 points in the championship game, and Pollyanna Johns added 21 points and 16 rebounds. Bella Engen paced the Spartans with 18 points.

MALLORY S.E. FLOYD/Daily Pollyanna Johns led the Michigan women's basketball team to victories over St. Johns and Michigan State in this weekend's MSU-Felpausch Tournament in East Lansing. Johns had a double-double in the championship game against Michigan State, posting 21 points and 16 rebounds.

Michigan used an early 14-0 run to jump out to a quick lead.

Several times in the second half, the Spartans threatened the Wolverines' lead. But every time, the Wolverines responded with strong runs, putting more distance between themselves and the Spartans.

With just more than 14 minutes left, Engen hit a driving layup, capping a 12-5 Michigan State run and cutting the Michigan lead to nine.

But then Thorius took over. The freshman point guard made two 3-pointers and a jumper to lead Michigan on a 10-point run and regain control of the game.

But the Spartans did not give up. With nine minutes left, Christie Pung hit an easy layup, drawing the Spartans to within 12. Then the Wolverines put the game away.

Johns converted a three-point play, and Akisha Franklin added four points as the Wolverines put together another run, this one for 11 straight points, giving the Wolverines a 23-point lead with just six minutes left. After that, Michigan State never pulled within 15 points.

Johns quickly established herself as a dominant force in the post. In the first eight minutes of the game, she hit three layups and one jump shot. Incredibly, she was fouled on all four shots and converted two of four from the line.

"I knew Michigan State might have a little trouble inside defending Johns," Michigan coach Sue Guevara said. "We took advantage of her strength."

By halftime, Johns had already compiled a double-double, scoring 13 points on 5-for-7 shooting from the field and grabbing 12 rebounds - five of them offensive.

The Spartans soon realized that they had no one strong enough to defend Johns and resorted to hacking her, sending her to the free-throw line.

But that backfired on the Spartans. Time and again, Johns hit the shot on which she was fouled and went to the line to try to complete the three-point play. The fouls also put Michigan State center Kristen Rasmussen from into foul trouble early, leaving a freshman, Erin Skelly, to guard Johns. Rasmussen fouled out after playing only 19 minutes.

"It was good for me and the kids to see the improvement from yesterday to today," Guevara said Saturday. "That's what we talk about every game. We need to improve on the game before."

And improve they did.

In the opening-round victory over St. John's, the Wolverines won a game that was flat-out ugly. The two teams combined for 47 turnovers. Neither team shot above 31 percent from the field in the first half. Passes were completely missing their intended targets - if they had intended targets at all.

"It was a win, but it was ugly," Guevara said. "I've watched our team for 25 days, and I didn't know that team that was out there."

Despite the sloppy play, the Wolverines never trailed after seven minutes had gone by. But it was much closer than the final score indicated. Three minutes into the second half, the Red Storm cut the Michigan lead to just one. With just eight minutes left in the game, Michigan held only a three-point lead.

"We came out very tentative; we couldn't score," Guevara said. "We were a little impatient, and we're lucky that we won."

It wasn't just luck, though. It was Stacey Thomas.

After the Red Storm, cut the lead to three, Thomas scored five straight points, giving the Wolverines a little breathing room. Thomas would add nine more in the last seven minutes, giving her 19 for the game.

11-24-97