WBB vs Miami NTM game notes

Opponent: Miami of Ohio

Result: Win, 75-49

Date:  12/16, Home

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

Injuries/inactives: Taylor Williams dressed and participated in warmups, but did not play

Offense:

• Brett did well early with an assist to Hansen for the first bucket, an assist to Crockett for a three, and draining two threes herself
• Taylor Woodson got a steal off a trap in the second quarter, finished off the open layup in transition
• Phelia did not score until she hit back to back threes halfway through the second quarter to put Michigan up 17
• Miami had a 6-3 scoring advantage before the third quarter media timeout. Michigan really couldn't get anything going offensively in the third and kept turning the ball over
  • Brett and Kampschroeder immediately hit threes out of the media timeout, causing Miami to call timeout
• Miami got within 6 in the fourth quarter until Hobbs had two nice drives drawing a foul on both, hitting one of the shots and two of three free throws. Hobbs also assisted Evans on the following play to put Michigan up 11.

Defense:

• Active hands causing turnovers, the team finished with 11 steals
• Hobbs at the four was trying to take charges whenever she could, two were successful and one was called a block
• Miami struggled to score in the first quarter, they got their first points five minutes in by hitting two free throws
• Miami got within four in the second quarter off an open transition bucket when both Stuck and Hobbs ended up on the floor in the offensive end

Notable stats:

• Elissa Brett had an amazing day with 27 points on 8-11 shooting from three. Also 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 4 fouls. 
• Evans struggled until the 4th quarter, scoring all 6 of her points in the final frame. Over the whole game, she tallied 9 rebounds, 7 of them offensive, but also committed 4 fouls.
• Hobbs was also quiet until the fourth quarter, scoring 10 of her 12 points in the fourth on 2-3 shooting (6-7 free throws) to go with 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals
• Michigan did struggle with turnovers again (20) after a promising game against Illinois

Overall: 

• Michigan controlled the game the whole way, starting with a 7-0 lead that they never lost. They put the game out of reach in the second quarter with the team shooting 4-7 from three. Michigan used a lot of active passing and rotating to generate open deep shots and lanes to drive into. This was also Kim Barnes Arico’s 250th win at Michigan; only she and Beilein have reached that mark as Michigan basketball coaches.

Miscellaneous: 

• Miami did not jump on the opening tip and just let Evans win
• In the last two games, KBA has favored lineups where the four can shoot from deep (Hobbs, Crockett, Stuck). We’ll see if this is a matchup thing or a trend moving forward
• 4 different dogs performed at halftime (catching frisbees and jumping double dutch), including Ripper who was apparently performing for the first time in front of a crowd. As much as I love seeing the frisbee dog at football, I think they really shine at Crisler because the crowd is closer to the action and the dogs are able to return quicker for more throws and tricks