Wolverines looking for offense to tuck away Friars

The Michigan women's basketball team has an impressive 4-0 record to start the season.

Under normal circumstances, this would be cause for tremendous optimism.

But, the two most recent wins, against Cincinnati and Holy Cross, have been rather ugly. To be blunt, Michigan has laid enough bricks to build a fireplace. The Wolverines clanged their way to a 41 percent shooting night against Holy Cross, highlighted by a six-point offensive explosion in the game's first ten minutes.

As a result, contrary to the lyrics of Kool and the Gang, the Wolverines are not celebrating the good times.

"I just asked my team, 'Where is the team that was in Colorado? Did we lose it in the mountains?'" Michigan coach Sue Guevara said after the Wolverines' 71-55 victory over Holy Cross.

Michigan will attempt to rediscover its offensive touch tonight, when the Wolverines host Providence at Crisler Arena.

After a horrendous 5-22 record last year, coach Jim Jabir's Friars were looking for a fast start this season. Unfortunately for Jabir, Providence has lost 3 of its first 4 games.

Despite that fact, Michigan is not taking its Big East foe lightly.

"Providence plays a lot like Cincinnati," Guevara said. "They really like to penetrate and drive to the basket.

"We've talked about guarding against a letdown, and to be honest, it doesn't matter whether their record is 1-3 or 4-0. Right now, it's about what we need to do to sharpen up."

The Wolverines have been able to compensate for their sputtering offense with a stifling defense, holding both Cincinnati and Holy Cross under 60 points. According to Guevara, the key has simply been team effort.

"We've done a good job on our team defense," Guevara said. "Our defense and our rebounding have kept us in these last two games, but I know that our offense will come around eventually."

To increase scoring, Michigan will need to solve the zone defense.

Both Cincinnati and Holy Cross used this defense to neutralize the Wolverines' potent running game, and Providence can be expected to challenge Michigan in a similar fashion.

While Michigan was still able to defeat both the Bearcats and the Crusaders, it was forced to do so with rebounding and defense. This style of play would have made Michigan State's Tom Izzo and the Flintstones proud, but it can be painful to watch.

"For one thing, we will have to be more patient," Guevara said. "We'll try to get the ball into the post more. Essentially, we want to make the zone shift."

In order for Michigan to get the ball into the post, it will need better communication between its guards and forwards.

The zone defense confused the Wolverines to the point where forward Ruth Kipping and center Alison Miller had only 10 combined shots against Cincinnati and Holy Cross.

"We need our post players to step up and call for the ball," Guevara said. "Our perimeter players were having some trouble seeing them, so they need to be able to at least hear them."

Regardless of whether or not Michigan wins this game, it needs to see more continuity on offense. If the Wolverines have a third consecutive sluggish outing, changes could be in order.

"I don't know if I'll make any major changes," Guevara said. "At this point, I'm still trying out different combinations.

"My belief has always been that if you play defense, you'll get to play. Right now, there are a lot of people on this team who are making it difficult for me to keep them off of the floor."

11-30-99