In her first career collegiate game, freshman Val Driscoll expected to see some playing time for the Michigan women's basketball team against lowly Alcorn State. But she certainly didn't expect to hear her name over the loudspeaker moments before tipoff.

The lineup said that sophomore Rachel Sheffer would be starting at center in the Wolverines' first game of the season on Friday night, which ended in a 88-43 victory over the Braves. But as the teams were being introduced, Driscoll was announced as the starter.

“Val was white as a ghost when they announced her name for the starting lineup,” Michigan coach Kevin Borseth said after the game, smiling. “I told her, ‘Val, I would have ran in there. I would have run right onto that court.’ ”

It was a mistake on the announcer’s part, and Sheffer did get the start for the Wolverines. But in the end it might not have mattered who started for Michigan, as all 11 players on the roster scored en route to a victory at Crisler Arena.

After the Braves started the game off with a score on the opening possession, the Wolverines responded with a 12-0 run of their own. And from there, Michigan didn't look back.

Offensively, the Wolverines (1-0) dominated both inside and out during the first half. Sophomore Kate Thompson and junior Carmen Reynolds both had three 3-pointers, and Sheffer contributed seven points in the paint.

“Our offense is all about getting to the basket, posting up first, and then kicking it out if it’s open,” senior guard Veronica Hicks said. “And with the height advantage, we wanted to make sure that we got it into the big girls and let them get their shots around the basket.”

Defensively, Michigan forced 18 Alcorn State turnovers and had nine steals in the first half. The solid all-around defensive effort, combined with hot shooting and aggressive post play, propelled the Wolverines to a dominant 41-9 lead at the break.

“I thought we did a good job of sharing the ball offensively and taking care of it,” Borseth said. “Defensively, we didn’t foul and they only scored nine points in the first half, so we did a pretty good job on the defensive end of the court.”

Michigan didn’t come out quite as strong in the second half, as the Braves (0-1) started the period with a quick 7-6 run. And if Borseth found anything to be disappointed about after the game, that was it.

“When we came out in the second half, we couldn’t run up and down the court,” he said. “I don’t think it’s that we didn’t want to run up and down the court, it just looked like we couldn’t. That’s something we have to get better at, and we have to get better in a hurry.”

But the Wolverines quickly regained control. Junior point guard Courtney Boylan provided a big spark for Michigan off the bench, tallying 14 points (10 in the second half), seven assists and four steals. In her first career start, Thompson continued her hot shooting in the second half and finished with a career-high 15 points to lead all scorers.

With a matchup against No. 6 Xavier Monday night, a blowout win provides some much-needed confidence for a Wolverine squad trying to start off on the right foot.

“I think a game like this was important to have because it shows the depth in our bench,” Hicks said. “It shows that everyone should have some confidence going into any other opponent that we play.”