Michigan
12-5 (4-2B1G)
Northwestern
13-4 (3-3B1G)
Wolverines Rally for Road Win at Northwestern
1/17/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 17, 2015
Site: Evanston, Ill. (Welsh-Ryan Arena)
Score: Michigan 73, Northwestern 66
Records: U-M (12-5, 4-2 B1G), NU (13-4, 3-3 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Thursday, Jan. 22 -- at Iowa (Iowa City, Iowa), 8 p.m. CST
EVANSTON, Ill. -- The University of Michigan women's basketball team trailed by as many as 13 points but took the lead with 16:02 remaining and never relinquished it in a 73-66 win at Northwestern on Saturday evening (Jan. 17) at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Michigan was paced by the trio of senior Cyesha Goree (18 points, six rebounds), senior Shannon Smith (20 points, five rebounds, four assists) and sophomore Siera Thompson (20 points, six assists, three rebounds and two steals). Senior Nicole Elmblad scored three points with nine rebounds and three assists, with freshman Katelynn Flaherty chipping in eight points off the bench. Michigan shot 51.5 percent (17-for-33) from the floor in the second half to finish the game at a 42.0 percent (29-for-69) clip. The Wolverine defense forced 21 turnovers and Michigan outrebounded the Wildcats by one, 37-36.
Northwestern opened the game on a 9-0 run, forcing a Michigan a timeout at the 16:57 mark. Michigan cut the NU lead to four, 13-9, on a Goree layup with 14:32 to go before the half. Northwestern responded with a 13-4 run to push its lead to 13 points, 26-13, at the 8:08 mark and force another Michigan timeout.
The Wolverines slowly climbed back into the contest, closing the half on a 14-5 run for a 31-27 halftime deficit. Michigan scored the final six points of the frame on back-to-back triples from Smith and Thompson. Goree led the Wolverines at the break, scoring 10 points with four rebounds. Smith added nine and Thompson scored six on a pair of three-pointers. U-M shot 33.3 percent (12-for-36) during the first 20 minutes with Northwestern shooting at a 50 percent (12-for-24) clip. The Maize and Blue forced 13 Wildcat turnovers in the first and outrebounded NU by one, 20-19.
Michigan tied the game at 36-36 on Thompson's third triple of the game with 17:11 on the clock. The teams traded baskets on their next possessions before sophomore Danielle Williams gave Michigan its first lead of the day at 40-38 on a left-wing jumper with 16:02 remaining.
U-M's lead went to five, 45-40, off a Thompson steal and Smith three-point play with 13:40 left as Northwestern used a timeout to halt the Michigan run.
Goree scored at the 7:57 mark to push Michigan's lead back to four points, 52-48, after a few minutes of up-and-down action for both teams. A pair of Thompson free throws with 7:21 left gave Michigan a six-point lead, 54-48. Flaherty scored her first basket of the day to give Michigan an eight-point advantage, 56-58 at the 6:29 mark.
Northwestern scored four straight points to trim the U-M lead to four points before Thompson hit a triple on a second-chance opportunity for Michigan to nudge the lead back to seven points, 59-52. Michigan's lead ballooned to nine, 61-52, when Flaherty beat the shot clock with a finger roll in the lane with 4:04 left.
The Wolverine lead never dipped below six the rest of the contest as Michigan hit its free throws en route to the seven-point win.
Michigan continues its two-game road swing on Thursday (Jan. 22), taking on Iowa in Iowa City. The 8 p.m. CST game can be seen live on the Big Ten Network.
Communications Contact: Sarah VanMetre (734) 763-4423
