Michigan
19-5,9-4Big Ten
Michigan State
11-12,3-9Big Ten
Wolverines Complete Season Sweep of MSU
2/5/2023 6:20:00 PM | Women's Basketball
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- The No. 18-ranked University of Michigan women's basketball team trailed by as many as 12 points in the first quarter before rallying for a 77-67 win over Michigan State on Sunday afternoon (Feb. 5) at the Breslin Center to complete the season sweep of the Spartans.
U-M got yet another sparkling performance from Leigha Brown, who nearly tallied a triple-double with 29 points, 12 boards and eight assists. Maddie Nolan turned in a career-high 22 points, hitting 5-for-8 three-pointers. The Wolverines shot 46.9 percent (23-for-49) from the floor, while holding the Spartans to 31.2 percent (24-for-77). U-M also had a 48-37 advantage on the glass and scored 24 points in transition.
MSU opened the game on a 10-0 run, resulting in a Michigan timeout just 7:04 into the game. Cameron Williams got Michigan on the board on a putback with 6:30 left in the first quarter.
Michigan chipped away at the Spartan lead over the final minutes of the first quarter, closing within six, 21-15, after Nolan hit a pair of free throws on Michigan's final possession.
U-M got four straight points from Brown, all coming in transition, to tie the game at 31-31 and force an MSU timeout with 2:59 left before the half. The Spartans converted three triples over the final three minutes, with Michigan getting a pair of free throws from Wiggins to provide a 40-33 halftime score.
The Wolverines opened the third quarter by scoring the first four points on buckets from Brown and Emily Kiser. With the Spartans only hitting a free throw in the early going of the third, Michigan knotted the contest up for the first time with 6:45 remaining on an Ari Wiggins layup.
Michigan took its first lead of the game on a deep triple from Brown with 5:57 remaining, but the lead was short-lived as the Spartans answered with a triple of their own.
The teams went back-and-forth over the final minutes of the third quarter, with Chyra Evans scoring four points and Kiser putting in a lefty hook on Michigan's final possession of the period for a 56-52 lead. MSU made good on a buzzer-beater from halfcourt to trim the lead to one, 56-55, heading into the final 10 minutes.
The Maize and Blue scored the first 10 points of the fourth quarter, getting a pair of Nolan triples in transition and four free throws from Brown for a 66-55 lead. Nolan's second triple of the run resulted in an MSU timeout at the 7:29 mark and Michigan's lead at 11.
MSU countered with a 5-0 spurt to bring Michigan's lead back down to five, 66-60, but Brown came up big again with a three-point play off a baseline out-of-bounds play for a 69-60 Michigan advantage with 5:45 to go. Brown and Nolan combined for four free throws over the next three minutes, pushing Michigan's lead to double digits, 73-60, at the 2:44 mark.
Michigan's lead never dipped below double digits the rest of the way in the 10-point rivalry win.
U-M has the week off before returning to action next Sunday (Feb. 12), hosting Nebraska at 1 p.m. at Crisler Center in its annual Pink Game.
