Johns wins player of the week honors

Late-game performance may have earned Wolverine nod with Iowa's Smith

Honors aren't all that new to Michigan women's basketball center Pollyanna Johns.

In fact, when she was named co-Big Ten player of the week on Monday for the first time this season and just the second time in her career, Johns said she didn't even deserve it.

"I thought Anne (Thorius) deserved it," Johns said of Michigan's point guard. "She played 80 minutes and had just five turnovers. That's spectacular."

But Johns' weekend wasn't too shabby, either.

Pollyanna Johns spent the better part of last week impressing opponents as well as Big Ten foes. Her talents earned her co-player of the week honors.

The center dominated both of Michigan's opponents this weekend, recording double-doubles in each outing. In Friday's first-ever road victory against Penn State, Johns scored 10 points, grabbed 15 rebounds, blocked two shots and recorded two assists.

Oh yeah, she added a steal for good measure.

In Sunday's overtime victory over Northwestern, Johns scored 21 points and had 15 rebounds, one block, two assists and another steal.

But Johns likely earned the award in the final five minutes of the game against the Wildcats. After the Wolverines blew a late lead in a must-win game for their NCAA tournament hopes, Johns took the team on her shoulders. The senior scored seven of the Wolverines' eight points in overtime, crucial in securing the 70-64 victory.

"It's pretty typical of Pollyanna Johns to give the accolades to somebody else," Michigan coach Sue Guevara said. "Especially to her point guard, because her point guard is the one who gives her the ball all the time."

Johns has been the core of a surprising Michigan team all season. Picked to finish sixth by the coaches, Michigan stands in sole possession of third place in the Big Ten with just two contests remaining, largely on the strength of Johns' 18 points and 9.7 rebounds per game.

Johns, a preseason all-Big Ten selection, last received player of the week award Dec. 2, 1996. Sophomore guard Stacey Thomas is the only other Wolverine to receive conference's player of the week honors this season, earning the award the week of Jan. 26.

Johns shared the award with Iowa's Tangela Smith, the late-season favorite to win Big Ten Player of the Year honors. Smith, a senior center-forward, averaged 26 points and nine rebounds in victories over Wisconsin and Penn State. She scored 34 points against the Badgers and 18 points against Penn State.

"Everyone thinks there's a big rivalry between Tangela and I, but I don't think there is," Johns said. "I never get tournament MVPs, and I never get this Big Ten thing by myself. It makes me wonder what I have to do."

- The Associated Press contributed to this report.

WARREN ZINN/Daily

02-19-98