Women ousted in first round, 65-58

TUSCALOOSA, ALA. - Michigan won the tip, and Stacey Thomas drove around the feared UCLA defense for an easy layup. But in a quirky start to her team's first NCAA Tournament game, the clock did not start and play was soon stopped.

Once time started rolling, unfortunately for the Michigan women's basketball team, so did the Bruins. Using swarming defense to control the game's tempo, UCLA handed Michigan a 65-58 loss Friday in the first round of the NCAA Midwest Regional, ending one of the most successful seasons in the program's history.

Michigan (19-10) led only once, in the game's first minute, and was thoroughly frustrated by the Bruins' ferocious man-to-man defense, which forced the Wolverines into a season-high 30 turnovers.

"Their defense was relentless, and they forced us totally out of our offense," Michigan coach Sue Guevara said. "Anytime you turn the ball over 30 times, there's no way you'll ever win the game."

MALLORY S.E. FLOYD/Daily Michigan guard Ann Lemire drives by UCLA's Tawana Grimes in the Wolverines' first-round NCAA Tournament loss.

Turnovers would prove to be the difference in the contest, as the seventh-seeded Wolverines effectively neutralized UCLA's stronger, bigger post players. Michigan dominated the glass, outrebounding the tenth-seeded Bruins 50-36, leading to many second and third chances on the offensive end.

But when Michigan did get open looks at the basket, which was rare, they seemed to have forgotten how to capitalize on them.

"We just could not find the basket," Guevara said. "UCLA would get four offensive rebounds, and put the fifth one in. We would get four offensive rebounds and come up empty."

Despite the struggling offense, Michigan refused to go away, surging back every time the Bruins threatened to put the game out of reach.

With 7:34 remaining and UCLA (20-8) enjoying its largest lead of the game, 52-38, Michigan began a furious comeback. Senior Molly Murray led the way, playing in what would be her last game as a Wolverine and scoring seven points in an 18-8 Michigan run. Murray's 3-pointer with 46 seconds left cut the Bruins' lead to 60-56, but Michigan would get no closer, as five UCLA free throws down the stretch sealed the game.

"In the second half, we let up a little," UCLA coach Kathy Olivier said. "We almost got overconfident, but we knew if we kept doing the things that we do well, we would be okay."

One of the things that the Bruins did well was key on Michigan center Pollyanna Johns - they held the Wolverines' leading scorer to just nine points. They began the game by pounding Johns with 6-foot-4, 245-pound Janae Hubbard, whose large frame proved difficult for Johns to get around.

When Hubbard fell victim to foul trouble, Johns was guarded by 6-3 Maylana Martin, smaller than the massive Hubbard but able to match Johns' quickness. With these players playing behind Johns and UCLA's guards overplaying Michigan on the perimeter, getting the ball inside was not an easy task.

"They did a good job of playing weakside defense on (Johns)," Guevara said. "We couldn't enter the basketball into the post."

Johns didn't get her first bucket until 5:44 remained in the first half, and most of her points were a result of an impressive rebounding effort. Johns totaled 14 rebounds on the day.

"We've been talking all week about how she was their go-to player," Olivier said of Johns. "We really did a good job of not letting her get the basketball, especially in the first half."

With Johns bottled up inside, Michigan was forced to rely on other sources to pick up point production. With UCLA's quicker defenders harassing guards Ann Lemire and Anne Thorius into nine combined turnovers, the Wolverines relied on Stacey Thomas to keep them in the game.

The sophomore was able to use baseline penetration - which UCLA's defensive scheme conceded - to score layup after crucial layup. Thomas finished with a game-high 17 points and 11 rebounds, seven of which came on the offensive end of the floor.

Down the stretch, however, UCLA's pestering defense just took the Wolverines out of their rhythm.

"It gets very frustrating for the kids to come down the floor and get the ball stripped," Guevara said. "If you're in the post waiting for the ball, and suddenly it's down at the other end, that's tough."

After Thomas' layup opened the game, UCLA went on a 17-7 run in the next nine minutes, opening up a lead that they would never relinquish.

Michigan also played stingy defense, holding the high-scoring Bruins to their second-lowest point total of the season and holding them to just 33 percent shooting in the second half.

03-16-98