Michigan
Fairfield
End-of-Quarter Runs Send Michigan Past Fairfield
11/20/2022 5:11:00 PM | Women's Basketball
FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- The No. 23-ranked University of Michigan women's basketball team used runs at the end of both the first and second quarters to create space, leading by as many as 21 points in a 69-53 win over Fairfield on Sunday (Nov. 20) at Leo D. Mahoney Arena.
Emily Kiser tallied another 20-point game and added two boards and three steals in 37 minutes. Leigha Brown stuffed the stat sheet with 17 points, seven boards and six assists, with Laila Phelia turning in 17 points, three rebounds and a pair of steals. Michigan forced the Stags into 24 turnovers, scoring 31 points off the miscues
After falling behind by three after the opening possession, back-to-back Maddie Nolan triples pushed Michigan ahead for the first time, 6-5, with 7:20 remaining in the quarter. Fairfield countered with six straight of its own, grabbing an 11-6 lead at the 4:03 mark.
A bucket from Kiser stopped the Fairfield run, while igniting a Michigan 12-2 run to end the quarter. The spurt was capped by a Phelia banked triple from the left wing as time expired for an 18-13 lead.
Much like the first quarter, Michigan ended the second quarter with a big run, scoring the final eight points over the last 1:45 for a 34-25 halftime advantage. Brown accounted for four points during the spurt, also while getting the assist on the Kiser bucket and hockey assist on an Elise Stuck layup.
The Maize and Blue opened the third quarter by scoring seven of the first 10 points, with Brown again pulling all the strings for Michigan. She found Phelia off the out-of-bounds play, hit a left-wing triple and followed her own miss as U-M's lead swelled to 41-28 and Fairfield was forced to call timeout with 7:34 left in the period.
Michigan extended its lead to 20, 53-33, on a Brown fast-break jumper to force another Fairfield timeout with 2:20 remaining in the period. The Stags scored the final four points of the quarter as Michigan took a 53-37 lead into the final 10 minutes.
Fairfield got Michigan in some foul trouble in the fourth quarter, entering the bonus with 6:55 remaining. The Stags cut the Michigan lead to 14, 58-44, with 5:42 to go before Michigan got buckets from Brown and Kiser to regain an 18-point lead, 62-44. Michigan called timeout following Kiser's bucket with 4:35 remaining and that 18-point advantage.
Michigan led by as many as 21 points in the final period, cruising to the 16-point road win.
U-M continues its road swing over the upcoming holiday weekend, heading to Estero, Fla., for the Gulf Coast Showcase. First up for U-M is Air Force on Friday (Nov. 25) at 5 p.m.
