Michigan's task now is to refocus

Last night's Michigan women's basketball loss to Minnesota left one question to be answered.

What happened?

What happened to the team that just broke a team record with a nine-game winning streak? What happened to the team that opened its Big Ten season with a win?

Now, three consecutive losses later, Michigan is in an unexpected position.

"I don't want to hit the panic button but we've lost three games in a row," Michigan coach Sue Guevara said. "We haven't done that since my first season here."

DANA LINNANE/Daily The Wolverines had a tough time controlling the basketball against both Minnesota and Louisiana Tech. Over the course of the weekend, they committed 45 turnovers.

But that panic button may have already been pressed.

Michigan shot 28 percent from the field in last night's game and commited 19 turnovers. The team also shot only 15 percent from three-point range, which was incredibly costly in the last few minutes of the game.

What looked like a young team that matured quickly suddenly "took about 10 steps backward," Guevara said. What happened could be that their minds were somewhere else.

"Before the game I was really worried about the team," Guevara said. "I didn't feel even in the lockerroom that we were ready. As much as we talked about yesterday, and refocusing on Minnesota today, we didn't, and you can chalk that up to an immature team."

What happened could have also been the lack of defense. The Wolverines switched up the defense in order to stop the Gophers largest offensive threat, Cassie Vanderheyden but they were ineffective. She finished the game with a team-high 17 points, which included four 3-pointers.

The offense also contributed to the team's weekend woes. The dismal shooting, combined with the high number of turnovers, was present in this weekend's games. Against Louisiana Tech, Michigan barely crossed the 30 percent mark from the field, and also added 26 turnovers to the disappointing loss.

The team was also not getting any help from the bench. They started both games with a veteran lineup, but those players were tired out by the time the Minnesota game rolled around.

"It concerned me because yesterday Stacey, Anne (Thorius) and Lemire played 36, 37 and 38 minutes," Guevara said. "So I thought here's a chance for Alayne and Heather and Ruth to play, but I didn't get any help coming off the bench."

There is also a question of why, all of a sudden, this team can't pass the ball. During last night's game the Wolverines were passing out of bounds. Even after steals, while running down on the break they threw the ball out of bounds.

"It's simple, it's just pass and catch," Guevara said.

The one thing that the team knows about what happened is that they have to find some way to turn it around. And if that means changing up the starting line, or continuous shooting drills in practice, Guevara says she is willing to do it.

"Some teams only respond to running stairs and punishment." Guevara said. "We usually take tomorrow off, but there's no way we can now. Not after a performance like that. I told them in the lockerroom that if there is one thing they know how to do, it is run, and they know how to do stairs, and I just pray that they respond."

And the team has one week to use these practices to not only answer the question of what happened, but make sure it doesn't continue for another three contests.

01-11-99