WBB vs Florida game notes

Opponent: Florida (8-3)

Result: Loss, 82-65

Record: 9-3, 1-0 B1G

Date: 12/20, neutral site (Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte, NC)

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

Injuries/inactives: Sollom dressed but did not play

Offense:

• Phelia and Hobbs were driving hard early and both got fouled. Michigan got their first 2 points shooting a disappointing 2-4 at the free throw line
• Out of the first media timeout, Hobbs hit Michigan’s first field goal with a nice contested 3. Michigan committed to shooting the three at this point, attempting 6 more in the first quarter with Brett missing three, Hansen hitting two of her own, and Phelia draining one from the corner. 
• Hobbs got two fouls halfway through the first quarter and sat the rest of the quarter and most of the second, subbing in a couple times for offensive possessions, then coming right back out
• Halfway through the second quarter, Brett identified a mismatch, motioned for the ball from Phelia, then gave it right back when Phelia’s defender helped off and Phelia hit the open three
• In the third quarter, Michigan shot 2-7 before the media timeout, ballooning Florida’s lead to 20. 

Defense:

• Florida scored its first four points with short jump shots from the paint and Michigan fouled the third such attempt to give Florida two free throws. 
• Michigan took its first timeout three minutes in down 11-2, not able to start well yet again. After this, Michigan shifted to a zone and seemed better able to defend Florida, going on a 17-8 run to end the quarter and tie it up.
• Florida scored 8 quick points in just over a minute to start the second quarter, hitting two threes and a fast transition layup. Florida shot a perfect 8-8 before the second media timeout to go up 10. 
• 1-2-2 zone
  • Intercepted a pass before half court in the first quarter
  • Broken three times in the third quarter

Notable stats:

• Hansen scored 21 points on 7-12 shooting, 4-6 from three. 6 turnovers
  • With Hansen, Michigan now has 4 different players who have scored above 20 points in a game this season (Phelia, Hobbs, Brett)
• Taking out Lauren Hansen’s shooting, Michigan was 31% from the field, going 15-48
• In the first half, Florida shot 72% from the field (18-25) and 75% from three point range (6-8). They finished the game at 57% from the field and 53% from three. 
• Brett shot 0-7 in the first half including four 3-point attempts, then finished the game 0-8 with one more three point attempt coming in the fourth quarter
• Aliyah Matharu was the star for Florida. She finished with 27 points on 9-16 shooting, 5-9 from three. 3 assists, 4 steals

Overall: 

• Following a back and forth first quarter, Florida took over the game through Aliyah Matharu who had 8 points, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block in the second quarter. Michigan got down big again, looked too rushed, and was not able to sink their shots. Michigan has yet to beat an opponent ranked in the top 50 of NET (MTSU is 54) or play in a game that was close at the end, blowing out the other team in all of their wins.
  • Currently, Michigan is 33 in the NET rankings, while its three losses are to teams outside the top 50. Florida is 55, Ole Miss is 59, Toledo is 76. 

Miscellaneous: 

• Taylor Williams got onto the floor halfway through the first quarter after not playing against Miami of Ohio. She finished with 10 minutes.

Up next: 

• 12/22: home vs. Florida A&M (1-7) at 2pm on B1G+
  • We are definitely not looking past this game to the next one. Who would do that?
  • Anything less than a blowout will be concerning
• 12/30: home vs. #13 Ohio State (10-2, 1-0 B1G) at 12pm on Fox
  • Michigan has been practicing passing out of the full court press specifically for playing OSU, who full court press almost every possession
  • Stars guard Jacy Sheldon, who will most likely get selected in the first round of the 2024 WNBA draft. Also sophomore forward Cotie McMahon, second on the team in scoring and rebounding. 
  • Taylor Mikesell went to the WNBA draft at the end of last season
  • Only losses this season are to USC back in November, who is now ranked #6 and to #2 UCLA on 12/18

Most recent bracketology: 

• ESPN has Michigan as an 11 seed (updated 12/19)
• Herhoopstats has Michigan as an 11 seed (12/14)
• If anybody has a different place I can find women’s bracketology, let me know. The only other one I found was on College sports madness, but it hadn’t been updated since November. (9 seed)