Women's tourney jitters block the road to appearance in nals

By Michael Kern

Daily Sports Writer

INDIANAPOLIS - Heading into the Big Ten Tournament, the No. 22 Michigan women's basketball team was flying high as a kite. The Wolverines were ranked for the first time in school history and were riding an eight-game winning streak that landed them the second seed in the tournament.

Despite hitting a few bumps in its second round game against Northwestern, Michigan cruised to victory Friday, 72-39.

But on Saturday, the Wolverines came crashing back down to earth with a 15-point loss to Purdue in the tournament semifinal. Big smiles and supreme optimism quickly became tears and disappointing words.

What went wrong, Michigan? In a word, nerves.

"I thought our team had matured between the years," Michigan coach Sue Guevara said. "But I felt that we had some players that were tight. And when you are a little tight, everything tightens up, and sometimes the shots don't fall."

That tightness led to a 38 percent shooting percentage from the field, including a 9-for-31 (29 percent) performance in the first half. The Wolverines were the second-best 3-point shooting team in the Big Ten this year but shot just 8-for-30 (27 percent) in their two tournament games.

Michigan also struggled at the free throw line, shooting a combined 16-for-28 (57 percent) over the two games.

"It's tough when you're not scoring on your jump shots, but maybe you can get some putbacks or free throws," Guevara said. "We lead the Big Ten in free-throw percentage and we shot 50 percent today and 64 percent yesterday against Northwestern.

"When you are shooting at the free-throw line, no one is playing any defense on you. Why can't you make it?"

Co-captains Stacey Thomas and Anne Thorius led the way for Michigan with 10 and 16 points, respectively, but did it on a combined 10-for-26 shooting.

"We got some good shots at the basket, but they just weren't falling for us," Thorius said. "I don't think it was their defense as much as it was us. We were forcing a couple of shots, but the open shots that we did have weren't falling."

Sophomore Alayne Ingram - the Wolverines' second-leading scorer this season with an average of 12.7 points per game - shot just 3-for-13 from the field and missed all five of her attempts from beyond the arc.

"Ingram didn't score in the first half," Guevara said. "She was trying too hard. She wanted to score and she wasn't knocking anything down."

In contrast, the Boilermakers brimmed with confidence, sinking 19 of their 22 free throws and shooting 42 percent from the field. Unlike in Michigan's nationally-televised victory over Purdue at Crisler in January, the Boilermakers received huge contributions from their role players.

"Having nine players on our team with national-championship experience, that goes a long way in these situations," Purdue forward and co-Big Ten Player of the Year Katie Douglas said. "When teams go on a run, we don't get rattled. We keep our composure, and a huge reason why is that experience."

Despite the loss, Michigan still can look forward to at least a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

"The good thing is we have another game left to play," Guevara said. "I think we are going to unfasten our choke collars, take them off and get ready to play in the NCAA Tournament."

AP Photo

Michigan's freshman center LeeAnn Bies fights for a rebound with Purdue's Mary Jo Noon. Purdue beat the Wolverines 74-59, en route to winning the Big Ten Tournament.