YPSILANTI— With 5.5 seconds left on the game clock, freshman center Hallie Thome stepped up to the free throw line with the Michigan women’s basketball team down by two. Her first attempt hit the back iron, floated above the rim and dropped into the net. Her second hit the back iron as well, kissed the front of the rim and landed on the hardwood.
With 4.4 seconds left, the Wolverines were still down by one. A quick foul gave them a sliver of hope, but Eastern Michigan inbounded the ball and ran out the clock. Michigan was still down by one. Game over. 64-63.
After winning last year’s matchup by 29, this year’s contest against Eastern Michigan was meant to be a tune-up, but ended up being a stunning upset loss for the Michigan women’s basketball team.
“We need to learn how to put a game like this away when we’re up as big as we are in the fourth quarter,” said Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico. “I think we got super tight and maybe worn down a little bit.”
The entire first quarter was tightly contested, as the Eagles and Wolverines fought equally as hard for each rebound and loose ball. Michigan, which wants to be known for its hustle plays, was matched in effort from its cross-county foe. Eastern Michigan outrebounded the Wolverines, 12-9, in the quarter — proof that the team was not going to let up as an underdog. By the end of the quarter, Michigan led, 21-15.
The Wolverines’ effort kicked into full gear in the beginning of the second quarter after Thome stepped to the free throw line after getting fouled. She made the first, but the second attempt ricocheted off the rim toward the Eagles’ bench. Junior guard Danielle Williams dove to save the ball from going out of bounds. Michigan recovered the ball to give senior guard Madison Ristovski an open three late in the shot clock to push the lead to 10.
At first, Eastern Michigan’s effort couldn’t keep up with the Wolverines’ combination of effort and talent. Michigan kept its lead intact, and bolstered by sophomore guard Katelynn Flaherty’s 16 points, led at the half, 43-31.
But Michigan’s play began to look sloppy in the third quarter. After three turnovers in a two-minute period, Eagle guard Janay Morton drained a 3-pointer to cut the lead to nine. Thome quickly countered with a layup to bring the lead back to double digits. The lead hovered around 10 for the rest of the quarter, with Morton and Thome doing the majority of the scoring in the period for their respective sides. At the end of the third quarter, the Wolverines led, 57-45.
Eastern Michigan guard Cha Sweeney began the fourth quarter with an and-one layup, cutting the lead to nine after the free throw. After two more Eagle baskets, the Wolverine lead was just five.
Sophomore forward Jillian Dunston’s attempt rimmed out, and Eastern Michigan scored again, trimming the deficit to just three.
With a chance to finish off the Eagles late, Michigan couldn’t sink its baskets. Leading by just two, Siera Thompson shot a floater layup, only to have it clank out of the rim after bouncing around three times. Flaherty’s shot on the next possession rimmed out as well, another unfriendly bounce on Michigan’s basket.
With 1:25 left in the game, Sweeney tied it up, and the Eagles wasted little time taking the lead on their next possession. Dunston made a layup to tie it back up, but Eastern Michigan guard Phillis Weeb countered with a quick jumper to reclaim the lead. Then, Thome’s split-decision battle with the rim ensued.
The Wolverines may have learned from this game that any opponent is capable of a comeback and that no lead is safe — even if that lead is 12 points with a quarter left and the talent on your side.
“This was a case where we got up pretty big,” Barnes Arico said. “We thought we were in good shape, then we let a team come back. We gotta continue to work from the start of the game to the end of the game.”
Barnes Arico said the positive side of this kind of game is that her younger team now has experience in this type of situation, and now knows how to face similar situations in the future. But if Michigan is on the bubble for an NCAA Tournament bid at the end of the regular season, this loss could be the one to keep it out of contention.