Wolverines win 20th game, 78-61

By Arun Gopal

Daily Sports Writer

Coming off of Sunday's emotional victory in East Lansing, the Michigan women's basketball team headed to Iowa with some simple goals - avoid a letdown against the sub-.500 Hawkeyes and maintain the momentum borne from a six-game winning streak that had locked up second place in the Big Ten for the Wolverines.

Mission accomplished.

Like all good teams, Michigan (12-3 Big Ten, 20-6 overall) took care of business, trouncing Iowa (6-9, 9-16) in the Hawkeyes' home finale, 78-61. By winning their 20th game - a new school single-season record for victories - the Wolverines erased any lingering doubts about a possible post-Michigan State hangover.

Despite hitting only 41 percent of its shots, Michigan was able to win the game handily. The bulk of the credit should go to the Wolverines' stifling defense, which held Iowa to a horrendous 29 percent shooting night despite outstanding games from Hawkeye guards Lindsey Meder (26 points) and Cara Consuegra (21 points). Michigan wasn't bad on the glass, either, outrebounding the Hawkeyes 52-38.

"We knew it was going to be a tough game," Michigan coach Sue Guevara said.

With senior forward Stacy Thomas suffering through a subpar night (2-10 shooting, 7 points, 8 rebounds), it was up to Michigan's low-post players - forwards LeeAnn Bies, Raina Goodlow, and Alison Miller - to step up, and they delivered.

Miller and Bies led all Wolverines with 15 points apiece, while Goodlow chipped in with 14. By comparison, Iowa's starting frontcourt of forward Beatrice Bullock and center Randi Peterson combined for just seven points while making only one out of 12 shots.

"I thought Iowa did a nice job defending Stacy Thomas, so one of the keys to the game for us was to establish an inside game," Guevara said. "It is the first game this season that our three post players all scored in double figures."

In an interesting twist, the Wolverines were forced to wear their blue warmup jerseys for the game. The Wolverines normally don maize uniforms for road contests. But Iowa customarily wears gold uniforms at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

So, to avoid any confusion, Michigan consented to wear its practice jerseys. In the end, though, it was the Hawkeyes who appeared dazed and confused as the Wolverines rolled to their seventh consecutive victory.

"Iowa has been hot," Guevara said. "We are just glad to get out of here with a win."

Yesterday's box

Michigan (78)

FG FT REB

MIN M-A M-A O-T A F PTS

Thomas 28 2-10 3-4 0-8 1 1 7

Goodlow 21 6-12 2-2 1-4 0 4 14

Miller 27 5-11 5-6 10-14 3 4 15

Thorius 31 3-4 4-5 0-4 6 2 12

Ingram 30 3-8 2-2 0-4 2 3 9

Jara 3 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Walker 20 1-5 0-0 4-6 3 1 2

Oesterle 9 1-2 2-2 1-2 1 0 4

Robinson 8 0-2 0-0 0-0 1 1 0

Dykhouse 3 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Bies 20 6-11 2-2 1-7 0 4 15

Totals 200 27-67 20-23 18-52 17 20 78

FG%: .403. FT%: .870. 3-point FG: 4-6, .667 (Thorius 2-2, Bies 1-1, Ingram 1-2, Goodlow 0-1). Blocks: none Steals: 6 (Bies, Goodlow, Oesterle, Robinson, Thomas, Thorius ) Turnovers: 16 (Thorius 4, Ingram 3, Miller 3, Bies, Goodlow, Jara, Oesterle, Robinson, Thorius) Technical Fouls: none.

IOWA (61)

FG FT REB

MIN M-A M-A O-T A F PTS

Bullock 25 0-6 5-6 6-13 1 2 5

Peterson 22 1-6 0-3 5-10 0 4 2

Meder 35 8-18 6-6 0-2 1 3 26

Magner 16 0-4 0-0 0-1 1 1 0

Consuegra 37 7-14 7-9 1-5 3 1 21

O'Brien 15 0-3 0-1 0-2 1 2 0

P. Jennings 20 1-9 0-0 1-2 0 0 3

Berdo 2 0-0 1-2 0-0 0 0 1

Podolak 11 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 0

Schrupp 14 1-2 1-2 1-2 0 2 3

H. Jennings 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Totals 200 18-62 20-29 14-38 8 15 61

FG%: .290 FT%:. .690. 3-point FG: 5-12, .417 (Meder 4-8, P. Jennings 1-1, Magner 0-3,) Blocks: 5 (Peterson 3, Bullock, Schrupp) Steals: 8 (Meder 2, Peterson 2, Bullock, Consuegra, Magner, Schrupp) Turnovers: 11 (Bullock 4, Consuegra 3, O'Brien, Peterson, Podolak, Schrupp) Technical Fouls: bench

Michigan.........................38 40 - 78

Iowa..................................24 37 - 61

At: Carver-Hawkeye Arena

Attendance: 2,979