Michigan
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Western Michigan
Kiser, Phelia Send Michigan Past Western Michigan
11/16/2022 9:29:00 PM | Women's Basketball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 23-ranked University of Michigan women's basketball team used a 10-0 run before the half to create some separation before outscoring Western Michigan 26-10 in the third quarter en route to a 99-67 win over WMU on Wednesday evening (Nov. 16) at Crisler Center.
Emily Kiser stuffed the stat sheet, finishing with 25 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists to just miss out on the triple-double. Laila Phelia turned in a career-best 25 points on 11-for-15 shooting. Leigha Brown recorded her first double-figure scoring game of the season with 13 points, while Maddie Nolan turned in nine points on three triples. Michigan handed out 30 assists on the evening, marking the first time since 2016 that Michigan (3-0) reached the 30-assist mark. The Wolverines held a dominant advantage on the boards, outrebounding the Broncos, 51-15.
After Michigan got off to a slow start and Western Michigan (0-3) was hanging around in the second quarter, Nolan hit back-to-back triples for a 37-27 lead, forcing a WMU timeout with 5:40 remaining in second quarter. Greta Kampschroeder hit a three-pointer of her own on Michigan's next possession, staking the home team a 40-27 advantage.
WMU answered with seven straight points to get within six, 40-34, before Phelia embarked on her own 8-0 run for the Wolverines. Kiser found her for the easy layup to ignite the run, which featured back-to-back triples from Phelia. Brown completed a 10-0 run for the Wolverines before the half, hitting a 15-foot jumper on the baseline out of an out-of-bounds play to give the Maize and Blue a 50-34 halftime lead.
U-M used a 7-0 run for a 59-37 lead, capped by a Kiser transition layup after she blocked a desperation three-point attempt by Western, in the opening stages of the third to force the WMU timeout with 7:53 remaining in the third.
Phelia hit her third triple of the game with 3:38 remaining in the third, resulting in Western's third timeout of the game with Michigan's lead up to 66-39.
The Wolverines led by as many as 38 points in the final quarter, putting up 23 points in the period to finish just one point shy of 100.
Michigan kicks off a stretch of five straight games away from Crisler on Sunday (Nov. 20), heading to Connecticut to face Fairfield at 2 p.m.
