WBB @ Rutgers game notes

Opponent: Rutgers (6-15, 0-8 B1G, last in B1G) 

Result: Win, 56-50

Record: 13-6, 4-3 B1G

Date:  1/21, Away

Starters: Laila Phelia, Jordan Hobbs, Lauren Hansen, Chyra Evans, Cameron Williams (same as last 2 games)

Injuries/inactives: Brett was listed as “questionable”, but entered the game with 6 minutes left in the first quarter and finished the game with 27 minutes

• Rutgers’ leading scorer Kaylene Smikle was out, missing her sixth straight game 

• Sollom, Crockett, and Brown all dressed, but did not play

Offense:

• Phelia started the game strong with 10 points in the first quarter. This included an open three from the corner for Michigan’s second bucket and a couple smart drives into the paint. 
• Rutgers tried some full court press early, but Michigan was able to easily pass through it and Rutgers let it go
• Michigan was able to find open shots from three consistently, but struggled to hit them
• Taylor Woodson only played 7 minutes, but made the most of her time. She got to the free throw line once by pulling down an offensive rebound off an airball and putting it back up through traffic before the shot clock expired. Then, when Brett stole the ball but missed the layup, Woodson followed the play, got the offensive rebound, and put it in
• Hansen hit an impressive shot in the fourth quarter when she drove into the paint, put her defender on the floor with a quick stop, and spun into an off balance jumper that bounced around and down
• Both teams finally got their offense going in the fourth quarter with Michigan outsourcing Rutgers 22-20. Hansen led Michigan in the quarter with 7 points and 2 steals, including an intercepted pass for a steal and a layup to put Michigan up 10 with four minutes left
• Once Rutgers was in fouling mode, Michigan successfully passed the ball in multiple times before they got into the bonus, but did not make it look easy as Stuck got trapped once and Phelia got fouled on a play that could have easily been called a jump ball

Defense:

• Michigan played person defense to start and forced Rutgers into a lot of difficult shots, but also got themselves in foul trouble with Cam Williams earning two in the first quarter
• Taylor Woodson got in on the charge game by successfully taking one in the high post when she and Stuck double teamed a pull-up jumper
• Michigan and Rutgers traded blocks in the third, with Antonia Bates stuffing Elissa Brett after she got an offensive rebound. Kampschroeder managed to block a shot on the following possession, but bumped the Rutgers player too much and got called for the foul
• Michigan struggled to get the charges they wanted, with two no calls on plays where Elissa Brett went to the floor and a charge called on Chyra Evans with four minutes left in the fourth
• Rutgers did not hit a three until there were 8 minutes left in the fourth quarter, but then hit four of them, finally getting the crowd excited and closing the lead to two points before Lauren Hansen hit an open corner three to make it a five point lead with a minute left and Rutgers had to start fouling

Notable stats:

• Michigan was 20-55 on field goals (36%) and 4-20 on three point shots (20%). Rutgers finished 18-41 on field goals (44%) and 4-16 on threes (25%). Michigan won the shot differential by leading in offensive rebounds (10 for Michigan to 4 for Rutgers), turnovers (15-21), and fouls (17-19)
• Elissa Brett and Jordan Hobbs were both 0-5 from three point range
• Laila Phelia finished with 25 points on 8-16 shooting, 2-3 from deep
• Chyra Evans fouled out with 30 seconds left in the fourth quarter when she bumped a Rutgers player that was falling out of bounds. Cam Williams finished with 4 fouls

Overall: 

• With strong defensive and awful offensive performances from both teams, Michigan closed out the game late by hitting all four of their free throws when it counted. A win is a win. Michigan plays Rutgers at Crisler in a couple weeks in what will hopefully be a more comfortable win. 

Miscellaneous: 

• Rutgers was also without graduate guard Awa Sidibe who is out for the year with an “undisclosed injury”, no doubt contributing to their inability to win
• Rutgers welcomed back longtime head coach Theresa Grentz on Sunday and celebrated 50 years of women’s basketball with their first season in 1974, 8 years before the first women’s NCAA tournament in 1982. Rutgers did not participate in that tournament, but won the 1982 AIAW national championship by beating Georgia Southern, Minnesota, Villanova, and Texas.

Up next: 

• 1/24: home vs Maryland (12-6, 4-3 B1G) at 7pm on B1G+
  • Stars junior guard Shyanne Sellers who leads the team in points (16.3 per game), rebounds (6.0), assists (5.6), and blocks (0.7)
    • Sellers has 3 double-doubles on the season during a string of games against Niagara, George Mason, and Northwestern in late November/early December
  • Two other players averaging double digit points are sophomore guard Bri McDaniel (13.2) and senior guard Jakia Brown-Turner (11.1
  • Diamond Miller went to the WNBA after last season
  • No wins over ranked teams. Losses to South Carolina, UConn, Washington St, Nebraska, and Michigan State
• 1/27: away at Michigan State (13-5, 3-4 B1G) at Noon on B1G+
  • Led by first-year coach Robyn Fralick who was the head coach at Bowling Green last season. After MSU limped to a 16-14 record and missed the NCAA tournament last year, Fralick has seemingly executed a swift turnaround at least halfway through the year.
  • Returned a lot of experience. Out of the seven players averaging over 20 minutes a game there are 3 seniors, 2 juniors, and 2 sophomores, including junior Jocelyn Tate who followed Fralick from Bowling Green.
  • Losses to Creighton, Nebraska, Iowa, Ohio State, and Minnesota, most memorably Caitlin Clark’s logo three at the buzzer. Still looking for a win over a ranked team this season, but clearly good enough to hang with Iowa on any given night.
  • Stars senior guard Moira Joiner who has increased her points per game from 10.1 last season to 15.4 this season, seeing increases across the board in field goal percentage, three-point percentage, and free throw percentage

Most recent bracketology: 

• ESPN has Michigan as one of the first four out (updated 1/19)
• College Sports Madness has Michigan as an 11 seed (1/15)
• Her Hoop Stats has Michigan as an 11 seed (1/8)