'M' hoops heads to Happy Valley Wolverines look for Big Ten lead By Arun Gopal Daily Sports Writer To borrow from ring announcer Michael Buffer: "LLLLet's get ready to rumblllle!" The battle lines are drawn, and the fight is about to begin. Tonight, the Michigan women's basketball team faces a huge test when they take on the seventh-ranked Penn State Lady Lions at the Bryce Jordan Center in State College. Under any circumstances, beating the Lady Lions would be difficult. Led by senior co-captains Helen Darling and Andrea Garner, the Nittany Lions won 16 of their first 18 games en route to a No. 4 national ranking. But Penn State's veneer of invincibility came crashing down on Sunday at Michigan State. Aided by a 2-3 zone defense, the Spartans held the Lady Lions scoreless for over eight minutes in the second half. During this same period, Michgan State tallied 16 points, which enabled the Spartans to pull off a huge upset, 71-63. In fairness, it must be noted that Penn State was shorthanded in East Lansing. Sophomore forward Rashana Barnes missed the game due to injury. This left the Lady Lions at a disadvantage against Michigan State senior forward Kristen Rasmussen, who racked up 17 points and 11 rebounds in the victory. Now, coming off of that loss, Penn State is out for blood. Michigan, which can tie Michigan State and Penn State for a share of the Big Ten lead with a win, is the Lady Lions' target. "There's no doubt that they're going to be a little more motivated," Guevara said. "I saw that game tape against Michigan State, and they just couldn't find the basket. "They're going to come out to prove that they're still tops in the Big Ten, and they'll probably get some rolls at home that they didn't get in East Lansing." The preseason favorite to win the Big Ten title, the Lady Lions are spearheaded by Darling and Garner, who comprise one of the top inside-outside tandems in the country. Darling leads the Big Ten in assists, while Garner tops the conference in blocks. Together, they present a huge challenge for the Wolverines. "We're going to have to slow them down," Guevara said. "They've been playing together for four years. We'll have Stacey Thomas on Darling, and since Garner gets out well on the fast break, we're going to need good transition defense as well. "But, they also have to slow us down. Garner's gonna have to guard Goodlow and Bies, so maybe we can get some fouls on her." One of Michigan's big keys every game - strong performances from their post players - will be especially crucial tonight in State College. The Wolverines' three-headed post monster of Raina Goodlow, LeeAnn Bies, and Alison Miller cannot allow a superb inside presence like Garner to get good position on the low blocks. Meanwhile, on offense, Michigan's trio has to solve two things that have plagued them all year: blowing easy layups and surrendering offensive rebounds. Everyone in the arena knows more or less what to expect from Michigan guards Anne Thorius and Alayne Ingram and small forward Stacey Thomas. However, the Michigan centers and forwards have been about as consistent as the futures market. "I feel like, recently, our post players have been more consistent," Guevara said. "If anything, I think that our perimeter players will have to step up. They haven't been very consistent scoring recently." If the Wolverines can pull off an upset in this battle for Big Ten supremacy, it will undoubtedly be a huge boost to their confidence. So far this conference season, Michigan has had a somewhat baffling penchant for beating the good teams, like Purdue and Illinois, and losing to teams that they should handle, like Indiana and Wisconsin. So, coach, will the trend continue? "One thing we've done very well is play well against the ranked teams," Guevara said. "Hopefully, we can continue that. "But we can't get too sky-high over this game whether we win or lose, because we have to come out Sunday and play Minnesota, which happens to be the worst team in the conference. "We need to approach each game with the same intensity." Originally on page 10A in the 1-27-2000 issue of the Daily.