Split dims Tourney hopes

EAST LANSING - Heading into last weekend the Michigan women's basketball team was holding onto the crucial fifth-place spot in the Big Ten standings.

The Wolverines' goal was to hang onto that spot for a few more weeks, hoping it would be enough for a bid to the NCAA Tournament. In order to do that the team would have to win the rest of it's games, but one win and one loss later, Michigan finds itself half a game out of that coveted fifth place.

This past weekend was composed of two must-win games. Though they came away with a close victory against Illinois on Friday, the Wolverines couldn't to hold on for a weekend sweep.

Yesterday, Michigan traveled to East Lansing in what would be the deciding game for fifth place in this week's standings. The Spartans entered the game at .500 in the conference and half a game behind the Wolverines.

LOUIS BROWN/Daily Stacey Thomas and the Michigan women's basketball team split their games this weekend, but still are hoping for a NCAA bid.

That was enough motivation for Michigan State to complete its weekend with a sweep, defeating the Wolverines 70-56.

Michigan knew that it needed to be on its best behavior for the NCAA selection committee this weekend.

In Friday's victory it was. But yesterday, it seemed that the Spartans, not the Wolverines, were the ones wanting to show off.

"We felt going into this weekend that we had to win the last three regular season games," Michigan State coach Karen Langeland said. "We've won two of them and we've got one more to go. But there are five teams that could finish anywhere from third to eighth so I don't know what's going to happen."

In order to go to the NCAA Tournament, the Spartans, along with the Wolverines, must stay in the upper echelon of the conference.

After Friday's victory over Illinois, Michigan coach Sue Guevara said that the team controlled its own destiny.

"I told the kids that we can enjoy this until midnight," Guevara said after Friday night's game. "Then they can go home and they need to be in their beds starting to think about Michigan State.

"Michigan State wants our butts big time ... we're both fighting for that fifth-place finish, and you never know what will happen because right now we are one game out of third."

And by shooting only 35 percent from the field last night, when the Spartans were shooting over 50 percent, the Wolverines rattled their destiny by handing themselves the loss and the sixth place spot in the conference.

But don't count Michigan out of the tournament just yet.

"I think you have to finish in the top half of the Big Ten to get to the NCAA Tournament," Guevara said. "For this team to do that we are going to have to have the same kind of effort" (as we did against Illinois).

Though that effort was not apparent in the game against the Spartans, the Wolverines have two more chances to show the NCAA selection committee, that they deserve to be one of the elite 64.

Next weekend Indiana and Iowa will travel to Crisler Arena to wrap up the Wolverines' season. And only half a game out of fifth, Michigan still has a chance to make its second straight tournament appearance.

02-15-99