Michigan women off to Big Ten Tournament semifinal with win over Oregon

· Yahoo Sports

Visit asg-reflektory.pl for more information.

Indianapolis – The Michigan women’s basketball team set a program record for regular-season wins and Big Ten wins, and now the eighth-ranked Wolverines want to set another bar by reaching the Big Ten Tournament final.

Michigan, the No. 3 seed, took another step toward that goal by reaching its third-straight tournament semifinals after defeating No. 11 Oregon, 80-58, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in the Big Ten Tournament’s late quarterfinal Friday night.

The Wolverines, ranked No. 8 nationally, are now 25-5 overall, 16-3 Big Ten. They went 2-0 against Oregon this season, including a 92-87 double overtime win at Oregon on Dec. 29. The Wolverines defeated Oregon in double overtime, 92-87, on Dec. 29 in Eugene, Ore.

Late in the third quarter, it was clear that Oregon, playing its third game in three days and coming off a thrilling second-round upset of No. 6 Maryland, 73-68, in which there were 11 lead changes and 10 ties, had run out of steam. That's when Michigan took advantage. The Ducks are now 22-12, 8-11 Big Ten.

Syla Swords led the Wolverines with 17 points and eight rebounds, Olivia Olson had 16 points, Ashley Sofilkanich added 14 and Kendall Dudley 10. Mila Holloway had 10 assists.

The Wolverines, who had a two-round bye, will next face ninth-ranked Iowa (25-5) on Saturday. The Hawkeyes advanced after beating Illinois, 64-58, Friday night, their seventh straight win heading into the semis.

Iowa and Michigan finished tied for second in the conference, but the Hawkeyes earned the No. 2 seed because they won the only meeting between the teams, 62-44, in Iowa City on Feb. 22. That was Michigan’s only loss in a tough four-game stretch against four top-15 opponents at the end of the regular season.

The Wolverines took over the game in the third quarter against Oregon thanks to two runs and never looked back. It helped having Olson on the court the full 10 minutes, considering two early game fouls limited her playing time in the first half. Michigan led by as many as 17 and closed out the quarter, 56-43. The Ducks had come out of halftime scoring the first two baskets to cut its deficit to four, but Michigan responded with a 6-0 run. With 4:22 left, the Wolverines went on a 7-0 run while Oregon’s shooting went cold as the Ducks made only 1 of 8 shots.

Olson, Michigan’s leading scorer who was hit with two personal fouls in the first quarter, played only eight minutes in the first half and her production clearly was missed. Despite her absence and some struggles offensively, the Wolverines led 33-24 at halftime.

Michigan shot 37.1% from the field and were 2 of 10 from the 3-point line. Swords had eight points and made both of the Wolverines’ 3-pointers. Holloway also had two early fouls and was 0 of 6 from the field. The Wolverines outrebounded Oregon, 24-16.

Michigan held an 18-13 at the end of the first quarter but Olson and Hollway each had two fouls. The Wolverines dominated the boards, outrebounding Oregon, 13-8. In the first six minutes of the game, the Wolverines were shooting 57% from the field but that dropped to 41.2% by the end of the quarter.

[email protected]

@chengelis

.oembed-frame {width:100%;height:100%;margin:0;border:0;}

Want to comment on this story? Become a subscriber today. Click here.

This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Michigan women off to Big Ten Tournament semifinal with win over Oregon

Read full story at source