Tournament failed to follow script

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - It wasn't supposed to end like this. The Michigan women's basketball team's storybook season was supposed to have a storybook ending.

The Wolverines, who in two years went from the joke of the Big Ten to the class of the Big Ten, were supposed to beat seventh-seeded UCLA in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, then shock mighty Alabama, the midwest region's No. 2 seed, in the second round.

Pollyanna Johns was supposed to score 20 points in each game, etching herself into Michigan basketball history as the leader of the best women's team the school ever produced. After freshman and sophomore years from hell, this tournament was supposed to be her redemption.

Michigan coach Sue Guevara, the Big Ten's coach of the year, was supposed to be preparing for the school's first-ever Sweet Sixteen game.

But someone forgot to inform the Bruins, and reality came crashing down on the tenth-seeded Wolverines on March 13.

Josh Kleinbaum Apocalypse Now

Instead of a glorious end to a great career, Johns' exit was quieter than Crisler Arena on an average game day. The senior scored just 9 points in the 65-58 loss.

The Wolverines' problem was simple - they ran into a better team.

UCLA was the best defensive team the Wolverines have faced all season, and although the Bruins weren't fantastic offensively - their 65 points was their second-lowest output of the season - their defense more than made up for it.

The game was over before the clock even started running. Stacey Thomas hit a jumper 12 seconds into the contest, but the referees had never started the clock.

After the problem was corrected, the Bruins ran off an 8-0 run, and UCLA never looked back.

It wasn't supposed to happen, was it? Not in this dream season. Michigan was supposed to go on the eight-point run, not UCLA. The Wolverines were supposed to win. Weren't they?

Oh, the Wolverines made a game of it. They avoided what could have been an embarrassing blowout. But in the end, they just couldn't come all the way back.

The Bruins went up by six early in the first half, then Michigan cut the lead to one. But the Bruins didn't even blink, and scored seven straight points.

The Wolverines were frustrated, and it showed. They committed fouls. They committed turnovers. Kenisha Walker even exchanged words with UCLA's Erica Gomez. And they couldn't get over the hump.

Molly Murray, Michigan's career 3-point leader, made the last long-range shot of her career with 46 seconds to play, cutting the Bruins' lead to four and giving the Wolverines some life.

But it wasn't enough.

All good things must come to an end. But for the Wolverines, the end came way too soon.

The storybook season didn't have a storybook ending. There was no valiant comeback. Instead, while the Bruins were celebrating their first NCAA Tournament victory in six years, the Wolverines were starting to plan their summers.

- Josh Kleinbaum covered women's basketball for the Daily. He can be reached at jkbaum@umich.edu.

09-08-98