Up-and-down play hurts Blue

By David Horn

Daily Sports Writer

"As much as I love roller coasters at Cedar Point, I hate them in coaching," Michigan coach Sue Guevara said yesterday, following a 73-60 loss to unranked Washington.

The Wolverines were not unlike a typical Michigan college student this weekend - living it up Friday night, but not getting their homework done on Sunday afternoon. In Friday's season opener against No. 8 Louisiana Tech, Michigan came from behind for a dramatic 69-66 win. It was their first-ever win against a team ranked in the top 10.

But Sunday was an entirely different story. Michigan was out-hustled and out-shot by a Washington team coming off an overtime loss to Indiana on Friday night. Michigan, which won Friday's game by going to the free throw line 32 times in the second half (and shooting 81.3 percent) managed only 18-25 from the charity stripe yesterday.

Defensively, Michigan faced two teams as different as night and day this past weekend.

The Huskies posed a constant threat from the perimeter (7-21 on three-point shots), whereas Louisiana Tech forced Michigan to play physically underneath the basket. Washington was a significantly quicker team than the Lady Techsters, and Michigan was caught off-guard immediately.

"Those things that we did well the other night - play defense, rebound, shoot free throws, hustle after the loose balls - all those things we didn't do well today," Guevara said.

The tone of Friday night, unlike yesterday, was one of jubilance and self-congratulations.

"I feel pretty damn good," senior co-captain Anne Thorius said after Friday's win over the Lady Techsters. "What a way to start the season. We believed in this one, from the moment we started practice this year."

In both games, Michigan's offensive threat was junior forward Raina Goodlow. Her 17 points on Friday and her 17 points on Sunday (where shot 78 percent from the field) were both team-highs. But her support was not there in the second game, as Michigan's backcourt tandem of Ingram and Thorius went a combined 4-18 from the floor.

"We talked about it in the locker room - we made such a big stride on Friday night," Guevara said. "But good teams - top 25 teams - they come back focused and ready to play for the next game. They take care of business with themselves, and I don't think we did tonight.

"It would be an understatement if I told you how extremely disappointed I am with myself and with the effort of our team today. That's the last time that you will see that," she said.