Michigan
17-13
Iowa
21-9
Michigan Falls to Iowa in Big Ten Quarterfinals
3/7/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Site: Indianapolis, Ind. (Conseco Fieldhouse)
Event: Big Ten Tournament
Score: #2 seed Iowa 58, #7 seed Michigan 37
Records: U-M (17-13),Iowa (21-9)
Next Game: TBA
Boxscore | Notes & Quotes| Video Report
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- The University of Michigan women's basketball team dropped a 58-37 decision to Iowa in the quarterfinals of the 2008 Big Ten Conference Tournament Friday (March 7)at Conseco Fieldhouse. The seventh-seeded Wolverines (17-13) were unable to rebound from an 11-point halftime deficit despite a strong defensive effort in the final 20 minutes, as U-M finished the game shooting just 27 percent (13-of-48).
Junior Carly Benson(Carney, Mich./Carney-Nadeau Public School) finished with a team-high eight points in 26 minutes. Junior Jessica Minnfield(Toledo, Ohio/Central Catholic HS) had a balanced performance with seven points, seven rebounds and four assists in 30 minutes. Junior Stephany Skrba(Toronto, Ontario/Langstaff Secondary School) and sophomore Krista Phillips(Saskatoon, Saskatchewan/Aden Bowman Collegiate HS) chipped in six points apiece.
Michigan was successful on its first possession of the game, as Minnfield drove to the rim and fired the ball to Phillips for an easy lay-up. The Hawkeyes answered with a 19-5 run over a span of 8:19 to take a 19-7 lead with 9:54 remaining in the first half. The Wolverines were held to just 3-of-11 shooting following Phillips' opening basket.
U-M was able to capitalize on some fast-break opportunities, which helped cut the deficit to 23-15 at 6:09. The Hawkeyes responded with five unanswered points to take their biggest lead of the half, 28-15, but Benson and Minnfield both found the bottom in the final 1:05 to send Michigan into the break trailing 30-19.
The Wolverines finished the first half shooting 37 percent (9-of-26) from the field. Iowa out-rebounded U-M by 10 (22-10), including six on the offensive glass that led to eight Hawkeye points.
Michigan began the second half with renewed energy, as the U-M defense stepped up its intensity and held Iowa to just nine points in the first 10 minutes of the period. The Wolverines were not able to gain much ground despite their solid effort on defense, misfiring on five of their first eight attempts during the Hawkeyes' cold stretch. A Benson triple kept Iowa's lead in single digits, 37-28, with 10:52 left in the game.
U-M had difficulty knocking down some good looks throughout the latter stages of the half, while the Hawkeyes steadily extended their lead back into double figures The final minutes saw senior Katie Dierdorf(St. Louis, Mo./Visitation Academy) enter the game and score four points, including her first career three-pointer.
The Wolverines will now await selection to the NCAA or WNIT postseason tournaments.
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
