Michigan soundly defeats Morgan State at home; weekend Big Ten notes
By Ben Rosof
The Wolverines throttle the Bears at home
Free throw shooting and turnovers — two areas of concern for Michigan entering its game against Morgan State on Sunday.
The Wolverines alleviated both in the process of their 80-48 home thumping of the Bears, giving the ball away just three times in the second half and going 17-for-23 from the stripe for the game after just 8-for-22 on Wednesday at Eastern Michigan.
Although the Wolverines shot efficiently from the field all day — they finished the game 29-for-52 from the field for 56% — they turned the ball over 12 times in the first half. Michigan opened the second quarter by giving it away on four of their first five possessions, with two miscues each for guards Amy Dilk and Akienreh Johnson.
Coach Kim Barnes Arico quickly substituted each, giving them a chance to assess their errors from the bench. Both players returned later in the quarter, and Michigan drastically improved their ball security from that point in game.
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“I think that’s obviously a point of emphasis of ours, is to really start to take care of the ball…” said Barnes Arico after the game. “Taking [Dilk and Johnson] out gives them an opportunity to regroup, talk about what’s open, talk about where you should be looking and then move on from there. I thought they both came back out and did a tremendous job.”
Johnson had an accurate game, scoring 16 points on 6-for-6 shooting including 4-for-6 from the line, and grabbing four rebounds. It was the senior’s second highest-scoring game of the year after turning in a career high 21 points earlier in the season against Kent State.
Johnson was one of three Wolverines who reached double-figure scoring on the night, with sophomore Naz Hillmon posting 15 points and five rebounds and freshman Michelle Sidor recording a career-high 16 points. Sidor — a 3,000 point scorer in high school — has logged at least 15 minutes in all seven games off the bench this season, and raised her three-point shooting percentage to 43% on the year by converting on 4-for-5 attempts from behind the arc on Sunday.
“It’s amazing,” Barnes Arico said of Sidor’s performance. “I think her teammates were really excited for her, and it’s just a great confidence boost for her as well. As a freshman, sometimes you hit the wall and you lose some confidence, and for her to have a breakout game like she did today was great for her individually but also great for our team.”
Though Sidor made two shots in the first half, it was the fourth quarter in which the guard exploded — she scored 11 points in the final frame.
“Every game I’m getting more and more comfortable. I can shoot the ball a little bit,” Sidor said postgame with a smile. “I was open, I was shooting, I wasn’t forcing too much. I knew that it would come, took what I got… Once I hit a couple, I start feeling myself, so I was trying to get open.”
Michigan as a team kicked things into gear in the final 20 minutes offensively, largely because of their reduction in turnovers — the Wolverines scored 48 points in the second half after just 32 in the first.
“I think we gathered ourselves coming out of halftime, talking about it, and we had a much better second half,” said Sidor. We could get any shot we wanted in the second half when we passed it, whether it was seals from posts or guard shots outside.”
Another positive takeaway for the home team was the continuation of its strong defense, holding the Bears to just 33% from the field after holding Eastern Michigan to 24% on Wednesday. Morgan State also committed 18 turnovers of their own, struggling to navigate the full-court pressure the Wolverines employed throughout the later stages off the game. Barnes Arico credited the effectiveness of the strategy to the team’s depth and resiliency.
“Really, being able to stop teams on the defensive end even when things aren’t going well on the offensive end… that’s kind of been a focus of ours,” Barnes Arico said. “We’re really just trying to be a more consistent team on the defensive end. I think our kids have really bought into that and they’re doing a great job.”
NOTABLE: Katelynn Flaherty, the all-time leading scorer in Michigan history — man or woman — was in attendance on Sunday afternoon. The 2018 graduate amassed 2,776 points over the course of her decorated career in Ann Arbor, and noted that she had been in town since Saturday to watch the team prepare for its game against Morgan State.
“It’s great to be back, just makes me realize I definitely made the best decision ever,” Flaherty said during an address to the crowd after the final buzzer, praising her alma mater.
NEXT UP: Michigan will host Syracuse in the Big Ten / ACC Challenge on Thursday. The Orange — ranked No. 18 at the moment — will likely drop in, if not fall out of, this week’s AP Poll after losing three of their last four games, including setbacks to No. 1 Oregon and No. 3 Stanford.
Notable around the conference
Indiana had an extremely productive three-day showing at the Reef Division of the Paradise Jam, upsetting No. 5 South Carolina, 71-57, on Thanksgiving Day and smothering Washington State, 78-44 on Saturday. They fell short to No. 2 Baylor, 77-62, on Friday.
For the Hoosiers, a 2-1 record is undoubtedly a victory in an event that had them face two top-five programs. Redshirt junior Ali Patberg posted 47 total points in the three games. Up next for Indiana is another ranked matchup, as it travels to No. 19 Miami (FL) to play the Hurricanes on Wednesday evening.
As I wrote last week, Maryland has rebounded nicely from its home loss to South Carolina on November 10 and has continued to roll ever since. The 7-1 Terps most recently swept their two-game stint at the Dayton Beach Invitational, beating Clemson 63-44 on Friday before utterly crushing Belmont on Saturday, 90-26.
After impressive road wins earlier this season at Marquette and Duke, Northwestern suffered its first loss of the year to No. 16 DePaul on Sunday, 70-68. DePaul Head Coach Doug Bruno claimed his 700th victory at the helm of the Blue Demons, as Sonya Morris knocked down a game-winning jumper in the final minute of the game. For the Wildcats, senior Abbie Wolf led the way with 18 points.
Purdue also endured its first loss of the season, falling to No. 22 Gonzaga on Sunday in the Gulf Coast Showcase, 63-50. For the Boilermakers, nobody scored in double-figures — senior Dominique Oden led the team with nine points.
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