After a sluggish performance in Crisler Arena on Monday night against New Mexico State, the Michigan women’s basketball team is looking to take back control of its home court.
On Saturday, the Wolverines (6-4) have the opportunity to do just that.
Michigan will seek its third straight home victory against the University of Detroit (4-5). The Wolverines are in the middle of a five-game homestand, which they will want to use to their advantage in preparing for their first Big Ten matchup at the end of the month.
“We want to keep in these nonconference games that we have,” senior guard Veronica Hicks said after last weeks game against Kansas. “We have a stretch here at home so we want to keep our home court clean, especially since we’ve already had one loss (to No. 5 Xavier).”
Michigan has had no problem handling Detroit in the past. The Wolverines have won the last six matchups against the Titans, including a 65-51 victory last season. But after Michigan’s lackluster performance earlier this week against the Aggies, the Wolverines will need to come out firing on all cylinders.
In order to do this, Michigan needs to continue its aggressive defensive play that has come to life over the past few games and jumpstart a lagging offensive performance.
The Wolverines have established a strong defensive mindset, shutting down several offensive-minded opponents this season. Sophomore guard Jenny Ryan has taken a prominent role on the defensive end of the court.
Ryan leads Michigan in rebounds (50) and in steals (24). Two of those steals came within 41 seconds during the final four minutes of the game against New Mexico State — leading to an offensive spark that sealed the win. Ryan’s strong defensive play has been a determining factor in a handful of wins this season, but it is her new offensive edge that has kept Michigan scoring.
“I’m not saying I don’t need to continue to improve on my defense,” Ryan said at Michigan Media Day in October. “I obviously need to continue to improve every aspect of my game, but this year from an offensive standpoint I need to be a threat. I’m not going to try to be the offensive powerhouse, that’s not my goal. My goal is to be a threat.”
Although it’s still early in the season, Ryan has proven that she is more confident shooting the ball. Averaging 8.7 points a game, she trails only Hicks and junior guard Carmen Reynolds for the team-lead in scoring.
The Wolverines have also shown a positive offensive spark from the bench. Sophomore forward Sam Arnold leads the bench in scoring with an average of 8.3 points per game — averaging just over 17 minutes per game.
Clearly, Michigan has the talent to become a competitive opponent on both ends of the court. It’s just a matter of getting players into a rhythm with one another and developing their offensive mindset.
“I think we are just going to have to get more confident offensively,” Ryan said after Monday’s game. “Defensively, we are a very aggressive team. Sometimes it hurts us a bit, but I think it is kind of our M.O.
“Getting confident and comfortable will help us take care of the ball and shots and rhythm, and that will be the big thing to really focus on going into Big Ten play.”