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'M' women's basketball drops conference opener
By: Tim Rohan
The Michigan women’s basketball team looked like it had shaken off its troubles early during Sunday's road game. But the Wolverines (7-5 overall, 0-1 Big Ten) lost 70-50 in its first game in Big Ten conference play.
Although Michigan jumped out to a 4-0 lead in just over a minute at No. 18 Ohio State (10-2, 1-0), the next eight minutes didn’t bode well for the Wolverines.
The Buckeyes scored 22 unanswered points, fueled by their fast-paced, fast-breaking style of play. Michigan was flustered by Ohio State's physical man-to-man defense and couldn’t find any consistency. Their missed shots and turnovers led to the Buckeyes running up and down the court all game long.
Ohio State forced 22 Michigan turnovers and converted on its chances, finishing the game with 31 points off Wolverine mistakes. The Wolverines only had nine points off of 15 Ohio State turnovers.
Ohio State was led by the Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year, sophomore Jantel Lavender. The six-foot, four-inch center entered Sunday’s game leading the conference in rebounding and scoring and continued her dominance, finishing the game with 28 points and 8 boards.
Whether it was on the break or half-court offense, when Lavender got the ball in the post, Michigan could not contain her. If Lavender was not getting the ball, Ohio State’s guards drove hard to the basket and drew fouls from the officials. The Buckeyes shot 28 free throws, while Michigan shot just 11.
Lavender epitomizes the Buckeyes' fast style of play. With her size and athletic ability, Ohio State coach Jim Foster can have his team push the ball up the court and finish the plays.
“It was a fun game to be involved with in that point in time (during the 22-unanswered point streak), because it was up and down and it was what you would like to think this game is going to evolve into,” Foster said. “Those 42-35 mud-wrestling games don’t bring people back into the bleachers.”
Michigan could not stop Foster’s offensive philosophy, and Ohio State executed all game long.
The Wolverines run a spread offense which thrives on 3-point shooting. The shots were not falling for Michigan on Sunday as they missed their first seven attempts from behind the arc. Plagued by the missed shots, the Wolverines didn't have the firepower to come back against the relentless home squad.
They eventually started making shots after their lowly 0-7 start, netting four out of their next five three’s. But the Buckeyes never relinquished the lead.
History also wasn’t on Michigan’s side. Entering Sunday’s game, Ohio State was 32-1 in Big Ten conference games at home over the last four seasons.
The Big Ten conference play journey started off on a misstep for the Wolverines, who finished 7-4 in a tough non-conference slate of games. Michigan has the fourth-hardest schedule in the nation. Despite the loss, the Wolverines outscored the Buckeyes 28-26 in the second half.
Michigan looks to rebound when it plays Northwestern at home in Crisler Arena on December 28 at 2 p.m.
Borseth knows his team can play better than what they showed on the court on Sunday.
“One game doesn’t make a season,” Borseth said. “We get a chance to play them one, maybe two more times. We have got nowhere to go but up. And we’re going up.”
