WBB vs Minnesota game notes
Opponent: Minnesota (12-3, 2-2 B1G)
Result: Loss, 82-66
Record: 11-5, 2-2 B1G
Date: 1/9, Home
Starters: Laila Phelia, Lauren Hansen, Jordan Hobbs, Chyra Evans, Elissa Brett (same as last 5 games)
Injuries/inactives: Elissa Brett was injured on the very last play of the third quarter and got carted off in a wheelchair. She jumped for a ball against a Minnesota player, absorbed normal contact, and came down awkwardly on her right knee that already has a brace. Losing one of the best three-point shooters and scrappiest defenders on the team is not great and hopefully she will return soon.
- Sollom and Brown dressed, but did not play
Offense:
- Michigan was having a lot of trouble early getting down low as Minnesota clogged the paint
- Elissa Brett opened the three-point scoring after misses from Hansen and Hobbs
- Phelia had a nice layup in the first quarter when she denied a screen and wove through three defenders to pull Michigan within 2. Hansen followed with a long two to tie the ball game with a minute left in the first quarter.
- Hobbs gave Michigan a two point lead with a nice three with six minutes left in the second quarter
- After Braun and Battle teamed up to steal the ball from Phelia, Phelia got a steal of her own on the next possession and took it back for the and-one
- Cameron Williams went 0-4 and her offensive struggles were summed up on a possession where she got an offensive rebound in great position, her put back didn’t go down, then she got it back but missed again
- Michigan retook the lead in the third quarter off a series of four made free throws by Phelia, finishing off a 7-0 run and scoring the last points of the quarter
Defense:
- Minnesota started 6-6, capped by a high-arcing contested three from Mara Braun
- Thankfully Minnesota did not have Indiana’s shooting skill, as they followed their perfect opening with an 0-8 shooting streak
- Despite Phelia contesting many of her shots, Mara Braun sank plenty, scoring 17 points and dishing 4 assists
- Chyra Evans successfully took a charge on Sophie Hart in the third quarter, Hart’s second foul in the span of a minute
- Sophie Hart got credit for a layup with three minutes left in the fourth that really just bounced off a forest of fingers and back into the bucket. Minnesota could not miss in the fourth
- Michigan did break out the 1-2-2 press in the fourth and it did slow down MInnesota a bit, but it does not feel like they’re willing to commit to the press in more critical moments and I’m not sure why
Notable stats:
- Michigan had four players score in double digits, but nobody else got over 4 points.
- Phelia and Hansen with 16, Brett with 14, Hobbs with 11
- Minnesota shot 54% from deep on 15-28 shooting
- 6 of Minnesota’s three-pointers came in the fourth quarter
- Turnovers and fouls were weirdly tied, both teams with 9 turnovers and 15 fouls
Overall:
- While the game was back and forth in the second and third quarters, Minnesota pulled away in the fourth quarter after Brett’s injury by outscoring Michigan 29-12. Michigan has now lost back-to-back games for the first time this season and lost their first game at home. On a team that wants to shoot the three more than past years, Michigan’s lack of a post player that can score and draw double teams really limits their ceiling.
Miscellaneous:
- The football team unfortunately did not show up, though it looks like their welcome back was joyous
Up next:
- 1/13: home vs. Wisconsin (8-6, 1-3 B1G) at 2pm on B1G+
- Sophomore forward Serah Williams leads in points, rebounds, and steals
- Sophomore guard Ronnie Porter leads in assists and steals
- Got first B1G win of the season against Illinois on 1/7
- No big wins, not expected to make March Madness, anything besides a comfortable win would be concerning
- 1/17: away at Nebraska (11-4, 3-1 B1G) at 8pm on B1G+
- Junior center Alexis Markowski leads the team in points and rebounds with 17.5 points per game and 9.7 rebounds per game.
- Senior guard Jaz Shelley is second in points per game (12.1) and leads the team in assists (5.1 per game) and steals (1.4 per game)
- Freshman forward Natalie Potts has won B1G freshman of the week 4 times, averaging 11.5 ppg and the best field goal percentage on the team (60.2%)
- No wins yet over ranked opponents, losses to #22 Creighton, TCU, Kansas, and Indiana
- First B1G loss of the season came against Indiana on 1/7
Most recent bracketology:
- ESPN has Michigan as a 10 seed (updated 1/8)
- Her Hoop Stats has Michigan as an 11 seed (1/8)
- College Sports Madness has Michigan as a 7 seed (12/21)
January 10th, 2024 at 6:48 AM ^
brett’s injury was the turning point. the last few minutes of the third were a great stretch on both ends, and - whoosh - the energy was completely sucked out of the building. KBA credited minnesota in her postgame, but she also suggested that the injury really affected the team, and you could feel it. she didn’t come right out and say it, but it sounded bad.
minnesota got just silly hot the fourth. every time we got something going they’d make another prayer, to an absurd degree. 24 and 25 were just throwing shit up there and making all of them.
and i’m not “boo, referees” guy, but that crew is just the worst, without exception. fouls were probably even, but they shouldn’t have been. we got jobbed.
January 10th, 2024 at 8:03 AM ^
I think it's always hard to read how vibes affect play accurately, but it definitely felt like Brett leaving the floor was the turning point.
On the other hand, I don't know that you can fully attribute the 4th quarter to that happening. Minnesota just shot out of their minds in that quarter. I don't know how if having Brett on the court or removing the bad vibes does much to change that; sometimes that stuff just happens. Last year, Rikki Harris (OSU) -- who shot 23% from 3 and averaged 6.6 ppg on the season -- went 3/4 from 3 and put up 23 points against Michigan. Sometimes it just be like that.
Regarding Brett's injury, I didn't think what happened looked all that bad live, but she was very clearly in a lot of pain, needed to be helped off, and went straight to the locker room in a wheelchair. She's averaging 23 mpg and 9 points, is a good defender, and is currently shooting 44% from 3. She would be a significant loss, and I would feel so bad for her given that she's a grad student and any sort of season-ending injury would be it for her college career.
I did find it interesting that KBA went with Taylor Woodson down the stretch. She took a couple shots which didn't look all that great, but she doesn't seem totally lost when she's out there despite being a freshman. That's a good sign.
January 10th, 2024 at 8:52 AM ^
well said.
i meant to mention woodson too - those were good minutes when the game was still in the balance. she looks good out there - she was matched up against braun for a good portion of her minutes and didn't look at all out of place. i'd like to see her be a bit more aggressive on the offensive end. there were a few times when she had all sorts of room at 15-18 feet and she passed it off. fire it up, girl!
speaking of 'taylors,' i wonder about taylor williams' minutes. not sure why we don't see more of her when we're having trouble in the post - she's not huge, but she's active and aggressive on both ends, and she always hustles. i think we waited too long to bring her on.
January 10th, 2024 at 7:13 AM ^
Really unfortunate about Elissa. Hopefully not too serious (though getting wheelchaired off doesn't seem good). Wishing her a swift and full recovery.