Women's hoops heads west

John Denver once wrote a song titled, "Rocky Mountain High." That phrase accurately describes what the Michigan women's basketball team hopes to be feeling on Sunday night, after they have completed their season-opening weekend trip to Colorado.

The Wolverines kick off the 1999-2000 campaign with a pair of tough games in hostile environments. First, they take on the Colorado State Rams in Fort Collins on Friday night. Then, Michigan will head down the road to Boulder to clash with the Colorado Buffaloes on Sunday afternoon.

The Rams and Buffaloes present different challenges for the Wolverines. Colorado State is coming off of the best season in school history, when the Rams went 30-3 and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen.

Despite losing consensus all-American Becky Hammon and second-leading scorer Katie Cronin, the Rams will remain formidable, thanks largely to junior forward Heather Haanen, who scored 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the Rams' last outing.

"Colorado State likes to spread the floor and shoot the three," Michigan coach Sue Guevara said. "Against them, field-goal defense is going to be very important for us."

Colorado provides a stark contrast to the run-and-gun Rams. The Buffaloes are huge, with several players who are 6-3 or 6-4. Also, while the Rams field a veteran roster loaded with upperclassmen, Colorado is young, with a number of freshmen and sophomores dotting the lineup.

The Buffaloes' charge is spearheaded by a strong inside-outside tandem, sophomore guard Linda Lappe and junior center Kammi Carman. In Colorado's last exhibition game, Lappe poured in 19 points, while Carman chipped in with 18.

"Colorado is a lot bigger than Colorado State is, and they really get on the boards," Guevara said. "The key for us is to limit them to one shot. We also will have to be good in our transition defense."

"We played them last year, and they have a lot of the same players," assistant coach Eileen Shea added. "They went to the NIT last year, so they're a quality opponent."

The Wolverines head into this road trip on a bit of a down note after falling to Soproni-Postas, a Hungarian club team, 81-79 last Friday night in Crisler Arena. Michigan led the game at halftime by 14 points but faltered down the stretch. However, bouncing back from a tough loss is the hallmark of a good team.

"I thought that the response after the loss was pretty good," Guevara said. "The girls looked at what they could've done to change the outcome. I told them, 'Look, we scored 79 points, and Anne (Thorius) and Stacy (Thomas) didn't play their best games', so that was something positive for us.

As if the hostile fans and the powerful teams in Fort Collins and Boulder won't be bad enough, the Wolverines will also be fighting Mother Nature. The high altitude and thin air will be an added opponent for Michigan, especially during the latter stages of games when fatigue sets in.

"We've been telling them not to drink too much carbonation and to stick to water," Shea said. "It's always been an issue for games there, and it's going to be the same for us. We're going to have to substitute a lot to keep our players fresh for the end."

The Wolverines' difficult non-conference schedule does not let up after this trip. Michigan still has road games at Louisiana State and Louisiana Tech, plus home contests against Vanderbilt and Cincinnati, all potential NCAA Tournament teams. Guevara seemed unfazed in the face of this impending gauntlet.

"These two games we just played were two of the toughest exhibitions that we've ever played," Guevara said. "But I sense that this team wants to be challenged.

"If we kill our first two opponents, then that doesn't really get us ready for what's ahead. I hope that these exhibitions prepared us for our nonconference schedule, and that our nonconference games prep us for the Big Ten."

11-19-99