Back to class: 'M' schooled

By David Horn

Daily Sports Writer

Michigan 52

Wisconsin 85

If school administrators need a reason to prolong the Christmas break, perhaps they should consider the 85-52 loss that the women's basketball team suffered to Wisconsin (2-1 Big Ten, 7-4 overall) last night. Michigan (1-2, 8-5) appeared lethargic coming off a holiday week in which it defeated Illinois and lost to No. 6 Purdue.

The Wolverines, six weeks removed from upsetting then-No. 8 Louisiana Tech, played their third Big Ten game without any of the enthusiasm or passion that helped them accomplish that tremendous feat in November.

"Where is that team?" asked Michigan coach Sue Guevara. "It's been a long, long time since we have been embarrassed like we were tonight."

The game started off well enough for Michigan. Alayne Ingram's 13 first-half points on 3-of-4 shooting from behind the arc kept the home team within striking distance, trailing by 10 at the half.

But the Badgers, led by guards LaTonya Sims and Kyle Black, outscored Michigan 37-14 in the second half. Sims, ranked sixth in the Big Ten in scoring, posted 21 points and seven boards. Black tied her own school record for 3-point percentage by shooting 4-of-4. All five Wisconsin starters scored in double digits, and 10 Badgers saw double-digit minutes.

"It was the ultimate definition of 'team' tonight," Wisconsin coach Jane Albright said. "We were extremely unselfish offensively and defensively."

On the other side of the floor, the Wolverines struggled in all facets of the game. Starters Stephanie Gandy, Heather Oesterle, Jennifer Smith and Anne Thorius were a combined 4-for-19 from the floor. The team shot only 20.7 percent in the second half. Michigan went scoreless for a 5:35 stretch from midway through the second half until there were just over two minutes left to play.

Defensively, Michigan did not fare much better.

"We could not stop them in our zone. We could not stop them man-to-man," Guevara said. "If we concentrated on one person somebody else hit the bucket."

Michigan will need to recover quickly from its worst loss of the season. It plays at Iowa on Sunday.

"We just need to keep our heads up, go out there and play aggressive, and continue on," a teary-eyed Smith said.