Michigan routs Kent State in WNIT first-round game

Posted: Mar 19, 2010 at 10:48 PM [Mar 19, 2010]

Four-point plays are certainly an uncommon occurrence, but they’re not unheard of in the game of basketball. This four-point play, however, was something even the most diehard fan couldn’t imagine.

Because, just as any basketball junky knows, a four-point play is a largely individual effort. Right?

Midway through the first quarter of Michigan’s 69-34 win over Kent State in the opening round of the Women’s National Invitational Tournament, freshman Jenny Ryan tipped an errant Golden Flash pass and raced up the floor.

She went in for an easy lay-in, but was slammed hard in the face and landed hard on her left wrist. The bucket went in, and sophomore Courtney Boylan came in for the injured Ryan to finish off the unique four-point play.

“No, I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before,” Ryan said. “It’s just one of those plays that’s hard to explain, but we took advantage of it.”

Ryan had her hand taped up and she played the rest of the game, finishing with two points and three steals in 23 minutes of play.

And even though the play was early on, it effectively sealed the win for the Wolverines. It put Michigan up 18-6 — and that was the smallest margin for the rest of the contest.

After coming out of the gates with two early, aggressive field goals in the paint, Kent State folded offensively for the rest of the first half, suffering through a frustrating 16-and-a-half minute field goal drought.

And that’s not a typo — from the 18:17 mark to 1:41, Kent State scored just two points, both of them coming from free throws. Michigan’s offense was a bit slow to find a rhythm as well, but once the Wolverines found their groove, the game’s end result was painfully apparent.

With two quick field goals in the final minutes of the half, Kent State barely squeaked into the double-digit column with 11 points. The Golden Flashes shot a mind-numbing 13.3 percent from the field, including 1-of-13 from behind the arc.

Already up 20 at halftime, the Wolverines easily coasted to victory. The Wolverines held Kent State to 32 total points, 17 less than their previous smallest output this season.

“I thought we played very well today, particularly on defense,” Michigan coach Kevin Borseth said. “You know, the game doesn’t know that one team is supposed to win, you just have to come out and play every game.”

Junior Veronica Hicks was the star of the game, finishing with a game-high 18 points. She sliced through the Golden Flash defense to grab some easy transition points for the Wolverines.

“I really like to run,” she said with a smile. “See, I never did track or anything like that, so I always got my exercise on the court.”

After the game, Michigan coach was completely focused on the Wolverines’ next opponent, Toledo. The teams will square off Sunday afternoon at Crisler Arena.

“We scrimmaged them at the very beginning of the year,” Borseth said. “And they handled us pretty good. I think they were up about 15 on us in the 20 minutes we played, so we have our work cut out for us in the next couple days.”