Michigan women’s basketball advances to the Elite Eight
Though men’s basketball in Ann Arbor was making a run of its own, it’s now sitting at home. But women’s basketball is having its best-ever season, thus far.
As a 3-seed playing in the Sweet 16 against 10-seed South Dakota, the Wolverines were in a battle, down by two at halftime. But thanks to star Naz Hillmon’s 17-point performance, along with 14 points from Laila Pheilia and 10 points off the bench from Leigha Brown, the maize and blue took down the Coyotes, 52-48, earning a berth in the Elite Eight.
The two teams certainly battled, with Michigan not shooting great overall from 3 (17.5%) while turning the ball over 13 times. The good news was that South Dakota was only marginally better in those areas.
The Coyotes led for much of the game, with the Wolverines only getting ahead for a few minutes in the second quarter, before the maize and blue took the lead with five minutes remaining in the third. From there, Michigan never relinquished, but the game remained close until Brown made two free throws to stretch the lead to four points with 12 seconds left.
In her 10th season of coaching the Wolverines, head coach Kim Barnes Arico continues to take the team to new heights. Last year’s Sweet 16 was the furthest the team had made it in history, and now the maize and blue are going a round further.
Up next, the Wolverines will face 1-seed Louisville, with tip coming at 9:00 p.m. EDT on Monday in Wichita.
