Wolverines lose to Buckeyes, split weekend

COLUMBUS - In the end, Ohio State simply refused to leave St. John Arena as losers.

Struggling against a frenzied crowd and overpowering post play, the Michigan women's basketball team fell, 88-80, to the Buckeyes in the last game ever in the ancient arena.

Led by forward Marrita Porter's game-high 31 points, Ohio State would not yield at the end of the game, getting to loose balls, hitting free throws and harassing Michigan (10-6 Big Ten, 18-8 overall) into committing four turnovers in the final two minutes.

"I thought we had some miscues down the stretch," Michigan coach Sue Guevara said. "We weren't able to hang onto the ball."

WARREN ZINN/Daily Ann Lemire and the rest of the Michigan women's basketball team broke their four-game winning streak when they fell to Ohio State, 88-80, yesterday. Friday, the Wolverines won a hard-fought game against Minnesota, 56-53.

After a sloppy first half that saw the Buckeyes take a 37-34 lead into the lockerroom, the teams exploded following the break. Ohio State (7-9, 14-11) shot a scorching 74 percent from the field in the second half, and Michigan, also hot, made 56 percent of its shots.

"With both teams shooting as well as they did in the second half, it was a matter of who could play defense at the end of the game," Guevara said. "And that's what Ohio State did."

Foul trouble plagued Michigan for most of the second half. Johns, Stacey Thomas and Molly Murray each had four fouls by the seven-minute mark.

With the three Michigan starters in danger of fouling out, Ohio State took advantage, pounding the ball into the post and attempting to draw fouls.

"I definitely tried to go at" Johns once she picked up her fourth foul, said Porter, whose coast-to-coast layup with 7:15 remaining gave the Buckeyes their biggest lead of the game at 71-60. "I was hoping she would foul me, but she played smart."

Ohio State center Mindy Fusetti also used her 6-3, 200 pound frame to draw contact from the smaller Wolverines, resulting in nine second-half points.

"We got caught watching all ball, and when you do that, hell, I can flash into the paint, get the ball and score," Guevara said.

But Michigan fought back, going on an 11-4 run and tying the game at 75 on Akisha Franklin's three-point play. Michigan would never take the lead, however, as the Buckeyes surged back, going on a 13-5 run of their own to close out the game.

The 6,981 who showed up to bid farewell to the building backed up the Buckeyes, keeping the momentum in their favor most of the contest. Michigan started out shaky and turned the ball over on the first three possessions of the half, leading just once in the first 20 minutes of the game.

Michigan was paced by Johns' 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Franklin added 14 points and two assists.

The loss snapped Michigan's four-game winning streak, a season-high mark set Friday night the Wolverines edged Minnesota, 56-53, in Minneapolis.

Michigan turned in one of its worst offensive performances of the year in the game, with their 56 points the lowest output of the season. The Wolverines shot an anemic nine percent from behind the three-point line, and their icy touch made blowing out the mediocre Gophers a tough task.

Despite a 12-point second half-lead, Michigan was unable to put away Minnesota (1-14, 4-21), which clawed back to within one point with 30 seconds remaining.

After a Michigan miss, the Gophers rebounded and worked the ball around, looking for a final shot. But as Minnesota's Erin Olson drove to the basket, Anne Thorius slid in and took a charge, killing the Gophers' hopes.

Minnesota then fouled Johns, who sunk both free throws to seal the victory for the Wolverines, their seventh straight over the Gophers.

02-23-98