Michigan
15-8,6-5Big Ten
Penn State
16-6,7-4Big Ten
Wolverines Hang On For Road Win at Penn State
2/3/2024 9:13:00 PM | Women's Basketball
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- The University of Michigan women's basketball team used a 17-2 run spanning the second half to take control en route to an 80-75 win over Penn State on Saturday evening (Feb. 3) at the Bryce Jordan Center.
Down by two in the waning moments of the second quarter, U-M scored the final six points to hit the half with a 35-31 lead. Chyra Evans made back-to-back buckets, with Laila Phelia hitting a hanging jumper off a Jordan Hobbs steal as time expired to give Michigan the lead.
Michigan (15-8, 6-5 Big Ten) opened the third quarter by scoring 11 of the first 13 points, getting triples from Lauren Hansen, Elissa Brett and Hobbs along with a jumper from Hansen for a 46-33 lead at the 7:52 mark to force a Penn State timeout.
U-M's lead ballooned to 18 in the first minute of the fourth quarter after a Hobbs three-point play and a Brett triple, forcing a PSU timeout just 37 seconds into the frame. U-M's lead stayed in double figures until the final minute of play as Michigan held on for the five-point win.
All five of Michigan's starters scored in double figures, led by a game-high 23 points on 7-for-11 shooting from Phelia. Hansen had 15 points, six assists and four rebounds, with Evans going for 12 points, six assists and zero turnovers. Brett went for 12 points before fouling out, with Hobbs turning in 10 points, five assists and five rebounds. U-M had 19 assists on its 29 made field goals and shot 47.1 percent from deep (8-for-17) to overcome a 35-25 advantage on the glass for the Lady Lions.
Neither team led by more than four points over the opening 10 minutes of action, as U-M held an 18-16 lead at the end of the first quarter. Hansen hit a pair of triples in the opening minutes for six points, with Cameron Williams making 3-of-3 shots from the floor for six points. U-M assisted on seven of its eight opening-quarter buckets.
Penn State (16-6, 7-4 Big Ten) struck first in the second quarter, knotting the game at 18. A Phelia triple and a Brett pull-up pushed Michigan back ahead by three points before a second-chance PSU triple tied the game for the fourth time at 23 at the 6:42 mark of the second quarter.
Michigan battled a scoreless drought for nearly three minutes until Hansen hit a jumper to again tie the game at 27 with an even three minutes to go. The teams traded points over the next two minutes as neither team led by more than two points down the stretch of the second quarter.
The decisive run came after, giving Michigan a lead it kept the rest of the way in its third Big Ten road game of the season.
Michigan returns to home action on Tuesday (Feb. 6) to take on Nebraska at 7 p.m.
