Women turn in best season ever

By David Roth

Daily Sports Writer

This year's Michigan women's basketball record book needs plenty of time to dry.

The Wolverines whited out previous years' marks of mediocrity as the team's unprecedented season toppled record after record.

The Wolverines had their best run in history, boasting a 22-8 mark and finishing second in the Big Ten with a 13-3 conference tally.

"Last season was obviously our most successful one," Michigan coach Sue Guevara said. "I think that one of the reasons was experience.

"We graduated three seniors and they had all been in the system - they knew what we expected, what the Big Ten was all about, the commitment that it took."

Seniors Alison Miller, Stacey Thomas and Kenisha Walker all left Michigan at the end of a milestone season.

They helped Michigan to its first appearance in the Associated Press Top-25 poll in school history, entering it ranked No. 22 in late February. The trio also led Michigan to its highest seed in the Big Ten Tournament - the Wolverines owned the No. 2 spot.

Other Michigan milestones included:

n Winning eleven games at home, tying the single season mark set in the 89-90 season

n Opening the season with seven consecutive wins

n Winning 22 regular-season games, including 13 Big Ten contests

Michigan had a perfect 8-0 Big Ten home record, and Crisler Arena was the stage where the Wolverines upset 1999 NCAA champion Purdue.

"That was big because it was on national TV," Guevara said. "It was great winning here at home on CBS, just proving that we could play with one of the best teams in the country."

Although beating Purdue showed that the Wolverines were the real deal, Michigan also got a chance to erase some bad history when it traveled to Columbus on Feb. 6.

Michigan avenged 17 losses in a row in Buckeye country when they beat Ohio State 65-61 in front of the largest crowd to watch the Wolverines all season.

The story of Michigan's season was Thomas. She led the team averaging 14.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 3.4 steals, and was second on the team with 21 blocked and third on the team with 64 assists.

Thomas set Michigan and Big Ten records, as she totaled 372 career steals, which helped her earn the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Her teammates voted her co-most valuable player, and her talent was also recognized by the pros. She was drafted No. 23 overall by the WNBA Portland Fire.

Thomas' coach also shared some of the spotlight, as Guevara was awarded Big Ten Coach of the Year honors by the media. Guevara's 22 wins helped her to the highest winning percentage (.643) of any coach in Michigan women's basketball history.

1999-2000 Big Ten Standings

W L Pct Overall

Penn State 15 1 .938 30-5

Michigan 13 3 .813 22-8

Purdue 11 5 .688 23-8

Illinois 11 5 .688 23-11

Michigan State 8 8 .500 19-12

Wisconsin 8 8 .500 20-12

Iowa 6 10 .375 9-18

Ohio State 5 11 .313 13-15

Indiana 5 11 .313 10-18

Minnesota 3 13 .188 10-18

Northwestern 3 13 .188 7-21

1999-2000 Michigan Statistics

Scoring Leaders

Stacey Thomas 14.5 ppg

Alayne Ingram 12.4 ppg

LeeAnn Bies 10.1 ppg

Rebounding Leaders

Thomas 7.7 rpg

Bies 6.0 rpg

Alison Miller 5.4 rpg

Assist Leaders

Anne Thorius 3.8 apg

Ingram 2.4 apg

Thomas 2.0 apg

Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year: Thomas

Big Ten Coach of the Year: Sue Guevara