Michigan
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Michigan State
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Wolverines Drop Road Contest at Michigan State
1/27/2024 2:57:00 PM | Women's Basketball
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's basketball team dropped an 82-61 contest to Michigan State on Saturday (Jan. 27) afternoon at the Breslin Center.
Michigan State opened the second quarter on a 9-0 run that turned a four-point lead into a 13-point lead as Michigan could never close the gap the rest of the way. Michigan State took advantage of a doubling up the Wolverines in free throw attempts, 34-17, and scored 20 points off turnovers in the game.
Laila Phelia turned in a game-high 21 points but battled foul trouble in the contest, picking up three fouls in the first half and her fourth early in the third quarter. Jordan Hobbs joined her in double figures with 11, while Chyra Evans and Lauren Hansen each chipped in nine.
After a back-and-forth first few minutes, Elissa Brett picked up her second foul as the contest was tied at 11 with 5:19 remaining in the first quarter. MSU responded with five straight points for a 16-11 lead before a pair of Hobbs three throws stemmed the tide with just under five minutes left in the first.
With a 27-22 lead after the first 10 minutes of action, the Spartans scored the first nine points of the second quarter for a 36-23 advantage with 5:39 left in the period. A Cameron Williams layup trimmed the MSU lead to 11, 38-27, with 3:49 on the clock before halftime but the Spartans scored 10 of the final 13 points for a 48-30 halftime lead.
Michigan scored seven straight -- five from Hansen and an Elise Stuck layup -- to close the Michigan State lead to 13, 50-37, with 7:22 on the third-quarter clock. After a pair of Michigan State free throws, U-M got a layup from Evans a pair of free throws from Hobbs to close within 11, 52-41, with just over six minutes remaining in the third. Michigan had several chances to close the gap but could not sustain the run. An MSU three-point play with 4:56 left in the quarter pushed the lead back to 14, 55-41.
That three-point play ignited a 10-0 run for the Spartans to end the third quarter, giving MSU a 62-41 lead after 30 minutes of action.
The Wolverines used an 8-0 run and held the Spartans scoreless for more than two minutes in the middle stages of the fourth quarter to pull within 16 but could not get any closer.
Michigan will return home on Wednesday (Jan. 31) to host Illinois at 7 p.m. to conclude the month of January.
