Michigan lady cagers no longer a laughing matter

When it traveled to Penn State four years ago, the current senior class on the Michigan women's basketball team provided the Lady Lion faithful with some comic relief.

In front of thousands of amused fans at Rec Hall, Michigan was humiliated by Penn State 92-44. Things got so bad for the Wolverines that the fans erupted in mock applause whenever they put points on the board.

"They went up by 20 in the first half," senior center Pollyanna Johns said. "Whenever we scored their fans would cheer for us because we finally scored."

Friday night Michigan's seniors got the last laugh as the Wolverines defeated Penn State 67-59 at The Bryce Jordan Center.

The victory was the first in Michigan's history at Penn State and showed how the Wolverines have come full circle since that embarrassing defeat. After finishing no higher than eighth in the Big Ten for the past seven seasons, Michigan all but locked up an NCAA Tournament bid with Friday's win.

Wolverine coach Sue Guevara is largely responsible for Michigan's dramatic turnaround. In only two years on the job she has accomplished something none of her predecessors could and led Michigan to two straight winning seasons. Before Guevara came along the Wolverines were the doormat of the conference. Not anymore.

Against Penn State, Guevara put her full arsenal on display as five Wolverines scored in double digits. Despite being in foul trouble much of the game, Johns led the way with 15 points. Making matters worse for the Lions, sophomore guard Stacey Thomas played like a center and pulled down 14 rebounds.

More impressive than the balanced scoring, though, was Michigan's defense. The Wolverines suffocated Penn State's attack, holding the Lions to 37 percent shooting. Clinging to a four-point lead late in the game, Michigan put the clamps on Penn State one last time, holding the Lions scoreless for four minutes and crushing any hopes of a Lion victory.

"When you can hold Penn State to 37 percent in their house, you're doing a good job defensively," Guevara said. "We changed up a couple of times and tried to throw them off a little bit."

In addition to smothering Penn State, the Wolverines played with a resolve they lacked in recent years. Any time the Lions appeared ready to seize the lead, someone stepped forward to hit a big shot. Three times the Lions pulled within two in the second half and three times Michigan went on a run to thwart the comeback.

"I'm really proud of the way our kids have handled the other Big Ten arenas," Guevara said. "We've played with some boisterous fans and we've been able to maintain our poise and composure."

As a result, Michigan is almost a lock for the Big Dance, while Penn State is in trouble.

Who's laughing now?