Great Players in Michigan History

Trish Andrew: She came to Ann Arbor from suburban Chicago, having won high school All-American honors. In her four seasons as a Wolverine (1990-1993) , Andrew was a dominant force at the center position. She scored 1,647 points which ranks second on the all time Michigan honor roll (as of the start of the 2001-02 season). Her 928 rebounds are a Michigan career record, and her 367 blocked shots are 249 ahead of the second best in school history. She led the Big Ten in rebounding twice and in blocked shots all four years of her college career. Andrew also did well in the classroom, earning Academic All-Big Ten honors in 1993 as well as the University's Athletic-Academic Achievement award.

LeeAnn Bies: Over the course of four seasons, LeeAnn Bies established herself as one of Michigan's best ever. The 6 foot 3 center from Lakeview, MI burst on the scene as a freshman in 1999-00, averaging just over 10 points and an even six rebounds a game. In her second season, she boosted these numbers to 12 points and seven boards a game. Perhaps her best individual game was the Feb. 25, 2001 contest against Penn State in which she burned the Nittany Lions for 26 points and 13 rebounds. She won the Michigan Athletic-Academic Achievement award in her first two seasons at the University, and Academic All-District as a junior while also winning the team MVP award. As a junior in 2001-02, she led the team in scoring (15.8 ppg) and rebounding (8.2 rpg). Bies finished her Michigan career in 2002-03, once again doing excellent work both in the classroom and on the basketball court.

Wendy Bradetich: Bradetich, a guard from Eugene, Oregon, played for Michigan from 1983 to 1986. She currently ranks third on the all time Michigan scoring chart with 1,587 points. She also is in Michigan's top ten in the rebounding and assists categories. Bradetich co-captained the 1985-86 team along with Orethia Lilly. She was named to the All-Tournament team for the 1983 Domino's Pizza Classic.

Tempie Brown: A native of Denver, Tempie Brown won four varsity letters (1987-1990) at Michigan. Her 1,142 career points place her ninth on the all time Michigan list. She also ranks high in free throw percentage, assists, and steals. Among her more memorable performances are a 26 point effort against Eastern Michigan as well as 19 points and six rebounds against Minnesota, both during the 1989-90 season. Brown twice served as co-captain of the team, and was named Most Improved Player in 1988.

Jennifer Brzezinski: Brzezinski, originally from the Detroit suburb of Warren, lettered at Michigan four times from 1993-96. She is in the all time Michigan top ten in field goal percentage, rebounds, and blocked shots. Among her honors are two Academic All Big Ten awards, three University Athletic-Academic Achievement awards, and the 1995 Michigan Most Valuable Player.

Abby Currier: A guard from Lake City, MI, Abby Currier was a top performer from 1978-81. She tallied 1,550 points which currently is the fifth best in Michigan history. A fine all around player, she also ranks near the top in several other Michigan statistical categories. Currier was named to the All Tournament team in the 1980 Motor City tourney, and was co-captain of the 1979-80 squad. A couple of her biggest games included a 33 point, 14 rebound effort against Michigan State, and a 30 point, 15 rebound outing versus Boston University.

Diane Dietz: Nearly two decades after she played her final game, no one has surpassed Diane Dietz as the all time scoring champion of the Wolverines. She finished with 2,066 points for an average of 19.6 per game. She excelled at other facets of the game as well, with high rankings in rebounds, assists, and steals. She was the MVP of the 1981 Grand Rapids Press Invitational tournament and made the all tournament team in two other tourneys. Dietz won Academic All-America honors twice. In 1995, she won the University's Gerald R. Ford Award, which is awarded annually to a former Michigan student-athlete who has gone on to great achievements in life. In Dietz' case, she is currently an executive in the cable television industry.

Lorea Feldman: A three-time letter winner, Feldman came to Michigan from Hoosier Country. She finished her Wolverine career with 1,260 points and an excellent .501 field goal percentage which as of the 2001-02 season is tied for second best in Michigan history. Feldman was just as good at the free throw line, making good 86 percent of the time which is the current Michigan record. She is also in the all time Michigan top 20 for rebounds, steals, and blocked shots. Feldman was twice named Michigan's Most Valuable Player, and won all-tournament honors in the 1986 Investor's Women's Classic.

Lori Gnatkowski: A guard from Carrollton, MI, Gnatkowski established career records in assists (402) and steals (266) that stood until the late 90s/early 2000s when they were broken by Anne Thorius and Stacey Thomas respectively.

Raina Goodlow: Co-captain of the 2001-02 Wolverines, Raina Goodlow has been a key part of the Michigan program's rise to the top. Her three year statistics include 9.2 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, as well as 50 percent field goal shooting. She was a prep star at Detroit Dominican High School, where she was named the best player in the state by the Detroit Free Press. In the Wolverines' 2000-01 win over Louisiana Tech, Goodlow led the Maize and Blue with 17 points. She turned in another prime time performance in the 2000-01 Big Ten tournament against Penn State with 17 points and 14 rebounds. An injury ended her senior season prematurely, but she was granted an additional year of eligibility and returned in 2002-03.

Shimmy Gray: Yeshimbra Gray of Flint, MI lettered at Michigan in 1992, 93, and 94. She captained the 1993-94 squad, and was named to the all tournament team at the 1993 Oklahoma Holiday Classic. "Shimmy" ranks in the all time Michigan top ten in steals and in the top 15 in rebounds.

Peg Harte: In only two seasons on the Michigan varsity, Peg Harte managed to post very impressive numbers. She lettered in 1982 and 1983, finishing with 1,133 points which places her in Michigan's all time top ten. Her points per game average of 21.0 is the best in Wolverine history, and she also is among the best in field goal percentage.

Alayne Ingram: A graduate of Lansing Waverly High School, Alayne Ingram chose the University of Michigan over the more nearby Michigan State. She was co-captain of the 2001-02 team. Ingram holds the Michigan career record for three point field goals.  She had many outstanding performances in her college career, including 27 points against Virginia in the 2001 NCAA tournament opening round and 24 points against Iowa in February 2002. Alayne has earned All Big Ten honorable mention in both her sophomore and junior seasons, and made the second team as a senior. She became the fourth Michigan player to be drafted by a WNBA team when the Sacramento Monarchs selected her.

Pollyanna Johns: Pollyanna Johns, originally from Evanston, IL, won four varsity letters at Michigan from 1995 to 1998. Her career field goal percentage of 55 percent is the best in Wolverine history, and she is in the top ten in several other categories including scoring, rebounding, and blocked shots. She led the Big Ten in rebounding twice and was named to the all-conference first team in 1998. Johns made history in 1998 when she became the first Michigan player to be drafted by a WNBA team. Currently, she is a member of the Cleveland Rockers.

Carol Klomparens: She was one of the original Wolverine Women's hoopsters, and the first to win four letters in basketball. A native of Holland, MI, Klomparens majored in Physical Education. In 1986, she was inducted into the M-Women Academic Hall of Honor for her academic and athletic achievements. The other basketball player to be so honored is Christine Tuerk, who graduated summa cum laude in computer engineering.

Orethia Lilly: Co-captain of the 1985-86 squad, Orethia Lilly scored 1,063 points in her four-year Michigan career. She is among the all time top ten in assists and steals.

Molly Murray: Murray was a prep star at Grand Rapids (MI) Catholic Central where she won honorable mention All America honors from Street and Smith's magazine. She earned four varsity letters while playing on Trish Roberts' last two teams and Sue Guevara's first two. As of the start of the 2001-02 season, she held the Michigan record for career three point field goals, and is in the top 20 all time Michigan scorers. Murray served as an assistant coach at Butler University for two years, before returning to Michigan as the Director of Basketball Operations for the women's program.

Tabitha Pool: A graduate of Ann Arbor Huron High, Tabitha Pool did not have to go far to find her place in the college basketball world. She started out with an impressive freshman campaign and got gradually better each season. As a senior, she averaged 16.3 points and nine rebounds per game under very difficult circumstances (seven of the team's ten players were frosh). Pool finished her college career with 1384 points for an average of 11.9 per game, and was drafted by the WNBA's New York Liberty.  

Tanya Powell: A forward from Grand Rapids, MI, Powell was a four-time Wolverine letterwinner from 1987 to 1990. She finished her Michigan career with 1,135 points for an average of 11.2 per game. As of the start of the 2001-02 season, her 325 career free throws made stands as the all time team record. Powell was also a great rebounder, and her 7.5 rpg places her third on the Michigan career list. In Michigan's 1990 NCAA tournament win over Oklahoma State, she snared 14 boards. Another of her best individual games was in 1990 versus Illinois, when she scored 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

Silver Shellman: Shellman twice served as co-captain of the Wolverines, and won the Defensive Player of the Year award in 1995. She ranks fifth on the all time Michigan steals list, and is in the top 20 in assists and rebounds.

Lydia Sims: A member of the original Michigan women's varsity team, Lydia Sims won three letters (1974, 76, 77). Among the highlights of her time at Michigan are a 32 point performance against Jackson Community College (1973-74) and 16 points to lead the Wolverine Women to their first ever win over archrival Michigan State.

Jennifer Smith: Michigan's second all time leading scorer as of 2005, Smith tallied 1714 points in her four years as a Wolverine. Her 659 points in her senior year of 2003-04 is the all time single season record at Michigan. She also ranks high on the rebounding, field goal percentage, and free throw charts. Jennifer was drafted by the Detroit Shock in 2004 and currently plays for the New York Liberty.

Leslie Spicer: "Spice," a forward from Albion, MI, won four varsity letters from 1987-1990. She was a member of the 1989-90 team that qualified for the NCAA tournament. She had back-to-back 20 point games in 1989-90 wins over Wisconsin (20) and Northwestern (22).

Carol Szczechowski: A high school star at Wyandotte (MI) Mount Carmel, Szczechowski earned four letters at Michigan from 1988 to 1991. She was a key member of the 1989-90 team that participated in the NCAA national tournament. Szczechowski scored 1,127 points which is currently eleventh best in Michigan history. She ranks in the all time top five in assists with 385, steals with 214, and free throw percent with .771. She was Michigan's MVP in 1991, and won the Hustle Award in three of her four seasons. In the 1989-90 NCAA first round game, she led the Michigan with 21 points as they knocked off the favored Oklahoma State team 77-68.

Stacey Thomas: Stacey Thomas came to the University from Flint Southwestern Academy, where she excelled in the classroom (National Honor Society member) as well as in the athletic arena. At Michigan, she continued to do very well in both of these pursuits. Thomas holds the Big Ten and Michigan career records for steals, is fourth on the Michigan career scoring chart, and second in rebounds. Among Thomas' many great moments as a Wolverine, perhaps the best was her 32 point, eight rebound effort against Iowa in January 2000. Stacey Thomas became the second Wolverine to be chosen in the WNBA draft, by the Portland Fire. During the 2003 season, she returned home to Michigan as a member of the WNBA's Detroit Shock.

Anne Thorius: Michigan opened the 1994-95 season with a win over the Horsholm Club team from Denmark. Three seasons later, one of the players on that Horsholm team arrived in Ann Arbor and quickly established herself as one of the Wolverines' all time greats. Anne Thorius led Michigan in assists in all four of her seasons, and stands alone at the top of the career assists list with 537. She is one of only two Michigan basketball players, female or male, to reach the career milestones of 1,000 points (1,112), 500 assists, and 400 rebounds (408). In Michigan's history-making win over Louisiana Tech on 11/17/00, Thorius scored 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.  Later in her senior year, she connected on a three point shot with six seconds on the clock to boost Michigan to victory over Penn State. Thorius closed out her collegiate career by winning Michigan's Most Outstanding Player and Defensive Player of the Year awards, and was drafted by Orlando of the WNBA.