No. 3 Michigan reaches first Elite Eight in 52-49 battle against No. 10 South Dakota

No. 3 Michigan is into its first Elite Eight in program history.

The Wolverines held off No. 10 South Dakota, 52-49, in the final minute to reach the Wichita region final in front of a heavy Coyotes crowd that almost saw their team pull another upset in the NCAA women's basketball tournament.

Freshman guard Laila Phelia drove in and hit from an improbable angle to give Michigan the late 50-48 lead. South Dakota set up a look for Lamb from behind the arc that bounced off the rim and into the hands of star Michigan forward Naz Hillmon in the final 15 seconds. Leigha Brown hit both free throws to make it a two-possession game.

South Dakota kept itself alive with a free throw by Maddie Krull and an offensive rebound, but again the 3-point attempt fell short as the Wolverines defense continued its strong stand.

Michigan's defense suffocated the Coyotes in the second half, forcing them deep into the shot clock for tough attempts. Center Hannah Sjerven played most of the fourth with four fouls and fouled out with 2:20 to play, leaving Hillmon with more room to work in the post.

The game was within single-digits the entire way. Baskets by Brown and Emily Kiser put Michigan up five with two minutes to go. Kyah Watson hit a 3-pointer at 1:43 to draw South Dakota back within two after Sjerven exited and Leigha Brown was called for a foul on the other end. Chloe Lamb hit the jumper to tie it, 48-48, with 48.5 seconds left and set up the final-minute winner.

No. 1 Louisville awaits in the Elite Eight on Monday night. The Cardinals advanced with a complete and balanced showing against No. 4 seed Tennessee earlier on Saturday.

Naz Hillmon keys Michigan

Hillmon, a projected WNBA lottery pick in the April 11 draft, kept up her hot tournament as Michigan's go-to option even while fighting double-and-triple teams under the basket. The clutch late rebound gave her a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double and she had nearly as many offensive rebounds (6) as the entire South Dakota team (9). She also had three assists and a block.

Hillmon came into the Sweet 16 matchup with back-to-back 20-point double-doubles that led Michigan in both categories. She had 24 points and 11 rebounds against No. 14 American and 27/11 against No. 11 Villanova.

Phelia kept Michigan going in the first half of a tight game that never went more than six points either way. She was 5-of-7, including 2-of-3 from 3-point range for 14 points. Brown had 10 points off the bench with three rebounds and two assists. Kiser had nine rebounds as they won by seven on the boards.

The Wolverines were 38.5% from the floor (3-of-17 from 3) and 9-of-11 from the free throw line. South Dakota shot a similar 36.5% (5-of-20 from 3) and 6-of-10 from the free throw line. It came down to the one basket in the end.

South Dakota team, fans come out strong

It's about a six-hour drive covering about 400 miles from the University of South Dakota to Wichita, Kansas, and fans packed the house at INTRUST Bank Arena. It sounded like a home game in momentum-shifting Coyote moments.

They were the closest regional semifinal school to the site. Louisville and Tennessee are approximately 10-hour drives and it's 14 hours from the University of Michigan. Had Baylor come out of the draw, the Bears would have been the closest at six hours north to Wichita.

South Dakota came into the Sweet 16 having never trailed in their two tournament games, wins over No. 7 Ole Miss and No. 2 Baylor. Their first deficit was at the 3:03 mark of the second quarter and they railed for 2:13 before taking it back. Michigan went ahead again in the third quarter, 35-32, on a Hillmon and-1. The Wolverines held the lead until the tie game with less than a minute left.

Sjerven had 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting with eight rebounds. The four other starters scored five or six points each and they had nine points from Grace Larkins off the bench.

South Dakota was one of the double-digits stars of the 2022 tournament and only one, No. 10 Creighton is left. Creighton will face No. 1 overall seed South Carolina on Sunday. The nine wins so far by double-digits seeds sets the women's D-I record, besting eight in 2018 and 1991.