Guevara, team one win from record

Winter break for most is seen as a welcome hiatus, a joyous opportunity to forget about school and enjoy a brief interruption.

But coach Sue Guevara and the women's basketball team are hoping that nothing will interrupt the success their squad has enjoyed lately, and that includes the upcoming winter break.

In downing Bowling Green 82-71 Wednesday, Michigan wrapped up its seventh straight win, and will look to make it a school-record eight straight against Illinois State on Saturday afternoon.

With a 7-1 mark on the year, the Wolverines will travel to face a 4-4 Illinois State team that's been unable to string together a pair of wins upon which to build some momentum. The Redbirds currently find themselves reeling on the heels of a tough one-point loss to Missouri on Tuesday, following an uplifting win over Michigan State a week ago.

If Saturday's opponent has been inconsistent, the Wolverines this season have been anything but. In tallying wins in every game since their season-opening loss to Vanderbilt, the Wolverines have forcefully staked a claim as force to be reckoned with as the Big Ten season nears. Entering Wednesday's game, Michigan found itself leading the Big Ten in some six statistical areas while claiming a first-place position in the conference standings.

Despite the strong start, the team, according to assistant coach Yvette Harris, has begun to feel the effects of a punishing travel schedule that currently finds the Wolverines in the midst of a four game road tour.

"We know it's tough to be on the road, and to go into Illinois State is going to be a challenge." Harris said. "But we know it's something we've got to do and we feel we can get the job done."

Junior guard Stacey Thomas, who netted her 800th career point on Wednesday, said she feels the grueling road schedule shouldn't have any impact on the team's performance.

"Being on the road and traveling is no excuse for us to play poorly. We know what we've got to do," Thomas said following Wednesday's game.

Yet despite the inconveniences of travel, the Wolverines have yet to see the effects keep the team from winning, and the wins have come quite handily at times, as evidenced by a 55-point win over Coppin State on the road late last month.

Nevertheless, as the team sets its sights on Illinois State, it will most certainly be focusing on senior guard Jenny Schmidt, whose 18 points per game this season have paced Illinois State in scoring. She's become only the fourth Redbird to ever manage 400 career assists to go along with 200 steals.

"Illinois State has a great 3-point scorer in Schmidt." Harris said. "She can do a lot of things and we worked on some different ways to try to shut her down. We tried some combinations of zones and man defenses that we can use against her, but she's tough."

Whatever the outcome of Saturday's contest, the team will travel to Bloomington to face Indiana and open the Big Ten season on December 28. The trip will mark Michigan's fourth straight road game, and will mean a trip to their third different state in as many games.

"We love Crisler Arena because we just love being at home and having the support of the fans. Going to Indiana to open the Big Ten is going to be big," Harris said. "But I think the biggest thing to remember is that we've got finals and Christmas between now and then, which will give the kids a full week off before the game. So the important thing to do is have our players go home, but come back ready to play."

Following their matchup with Indiana, Michigan will return to the friendly, yet vaguely familiar confines of Crisler Arena on Jan. 3. After a month away from Ann Arbor, the Wolverines will play host to intrastate rival Michigan State, a team currently ranked 10th in the conference with a 4-3 record, but a team that may take on a whole new look in the course of the next few weeks.

"Playing State is always big for us," Harris said. "They've got some crucial injuries right now, and in a way we hope our players don't find out because we don't want to dismiss them at all. Michigan State will always be an important game."

12-11-98