WBB vs Oakland game notes

Opponent: Oakland

Date:  11/14, Home, W 80-39

Starters: Laila Phelia, Jordan Hobbs, Cameron Williams, Lauren Hansen, Taylor Williams

Injuries/inactives: Elise Stuck was in a walking boot on her right foot

Offense:

• Taylor Williams had a couple coast to coast plays, which are quickly becoming a signature
  • One ended with a layoff to Cam for the score
  • One started with a steal and ended with an impressive spin move into a layup
• Sollom had a nice play after missing a layup where she stayed high, got her own rebound and put it back for the score
• Oakland’s defense played with busy hands leading to some steals and jump balls

Defense:

• Hobbs had a nice steal that she took to the rack and got fouled. Part of 7 steals and 7 blocks for the team. 
• The 1-2-2 press only came out one time, Oakland broke it, and Michigan put it back on the shelf
• Phelia had 2 impressive blocks by staying in front of her person and keeping her hands active. The box score says she had a third that I missed
• Oakland only got above 10 points with 3:18 left in second quarter

Notable stats:

• Cam Williams was dominant down low because of her size and ability to stay on the court this year. Finished with her first double double of the season: 12 points, 12 rebounds
• The team finished with 13 turnovers, but caused 21 from Oakland

Overall: 

• I think this game really showed the size advantage Michigan had over an overmatched Oakland team as well as the depth of this team all around. 12 Wolverines saw the floor and 11 of them scored 4 points or more. The lone exception being Macy Brown who went 0 for 2 on three point shots. 
• My wife was unable to come to this game with me and when I got home she looked at the box score (10 points on 5-12 shooting) and said “What happened to Laila tonight?” I’ll give the same answer here, which is I think Phelia played fine, but this was a blowout from start to finish, so she didn’t play her usual minutes and everybody was scoring tonight, so the impetus was not there for her to be the top dog. If we can see this type of depth as we get further into the season, this will be a dangerous team. 

Miscellaneous: 

• It felt like there were a lot of fouls called, some of them obvious and some a bit soft, but it felt like they were called evenly. 17 fouls for Michigan, 20 for Oakland. 
• Chyra Evans made her season debut with 2:18 left in the first quarter. She played 12 minutes throughout the game and finished 4-7 from the field with 8 points and 5 rebounds.
• Elissa Brett made her Michigan debut at the start of the second quarter. She played 10 minutes, most/all in the second quarter and finished 2-2 from the field with 5 points and 2 fouls. 
• Michigan ran out the “all transfers” lineup for a couple minutes in the second quarter with Brett, Taylor Williams, and Hansen on the floor alongside Phelia and Cam Williams. Nothing significant happened, but it was fun to see.