If you hadn’t watched the Michigan women’s basketball team’s 65-50 dismantling of Cincinnati, you wouldn’t have had to ask senior forward Melinda Queen how she played — the huge smile on her face long after the game would have told you all you needed to know.

“We kind of expected that Cincinnati was going to lay off me,” Queen said, still with the smile plastered on her face. She isn’t known as a shooter on a team full of them. “So I’ve been going to the gym and working on my shot.”

As they say, practice makes perfect, and Queen was almost perfect from the three-point line, going 4-5 on the night. She did a little bit of everything — she was the leading scorer with 16 points, she had five assists, two blocks, and perhaps most impressive to Michigan coach Kevin Borseth, she posted a big zero in the turnover column on the stat sheet.

“She has the nicest-looking shot on the team,” Borseth said. “But she’s also a great defender. She’s a good player.”

Both teams started off slow, going more than three minutes without a field goal until the Bearcats broke the silence with a 3-pointer. Michigan came right back on the ensuing possession with a layup by senior forward Stephany Skrba, and the teams continued to trade baskets all night.

Borseth has preached Queen’s versatility, and she showed it tonight. With about six minutes gone, she hit a long 3-pointer, her first of many, and immediately got back on defense and blocked a shot from behind the arc. Cincinnati got another shot that same possession, and you’ll never guess who was under the basket to collect the rebound — that’s right; it was Queen.
The Wolverines and Bearcats were tied at the end of the first half, thanks largely to Skrba, who had 11 points in the first half and finished with 15.

Skrba has emerged as an offensive force this season. She had 20 points last game against Notre Dame and earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors.

Did Borseth expect Skrba to be playing this well at this point in the season?

“Honestly, yes,” he said. “I think anyone who has been around expects that from her and we’re going to need more of this from her in the Big Ten season.”

If Skrba was the star of the first half, the second half belonged to Melinda Queen. She scored 10 points and racked up four assists, as well as recording a block and a steal.

One of the brightest spots for Michigan was dishing out 20 assists. Their previous high was 14 against Duke. Many of the assists came off of backdoor cuts the Bearcats defense was giving the Wolverines all night.

“That’s probably the most impressive stat,” Borseth said. “It means we’re sharing the basketball.”

Michigan pulled away late and finished emphatically, with sophomore guard Veronica Hicks cashing in a prayer of a 3-pointer with a second remaining on the shot clock with about a minute left in the game.

The Wolverines finished the non-conference season with an impressive record of 7-4 — with two wins against top-25 teams. The team’s record came as a surprise to Borseth.

“If you would have told me that we would finish 7-4 on our preseason schedule I probably would have snickered at you,” he said.

Cincinnati was not a ranked team but had lost only twice this season. Regardless, after the close overtime win against Notre Dame, Borseth was happy to get a decisive win.

“It feels good when you can just sit back and say ‘phew!’ ” he said. “It wasn’t a long time, but any time we can get is good.”
Michigan does not get much of a break before kicking off the Big Ten season, traveling to Columbus to play rival Ohio State on Sunday. The Buckeyes — whose two losses so far this season came from Auburn and North Carolina, two top-25 teams — sit on the top-tier of the conference. If the Wolverines hope to join them, beating them would be a nice first step.

If you can’t watch the Ohio State game, just try talking to Queen afterwards. Hopefully for Michigan, she will still be smiling.