Michigan
15-9,6-6Big Ten
Nebraska
15-8,7-5Big Ten
Michigan Drops Tight Contest to Nebraska
2/6/2024 9:53:00 PM | Women's Basketball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's basketball team dropped a 65-59 contest to Nebraska on Tuesday evening (Feb. 6) at Crisler Center.
Michigan was led by a quartet of double-figure scorers, highlighted by 16 points, two boards and four assists from Jordan Hobbs. Cameron Williams went for 14 points and five rebounds off the bench, with Lauren Hansen scoring 11 and Laila Phelia going for 10. U-M held a 35-31 advantage on the glass and made one more field goal than the Huskers, but it was a 23-10 advantage on free throw attempts that provided the Huskers an edge. Michigan was whistled for 21 fouls, with Chyra Evans and Elissa Brett each fouling out of the contest.
U-M (15-9, 6-6 B1G) jumped out to a 9-4 lead on a Hansen triple and a Williams bucket to take control early in the contest. Michigan led 15-8 after 10 minutes of action, with Phelia scoring on Michigan's final possession.
After Nebraska (15-8, 7-5 B1G) scored the first three points of the second, Michigan took a 20-11 lead on a Phelia free throw. The Huskers answered with back-to-back triples to trim the U-M lead to 20-17, but Hansen nailed a corner triple in transition for a 23-17 U-M lead at the 6:04 mark of the second quarter.
U-M was held off the board for nearly three minutes as Nebraska pulled within two, 23-21, before a Phelia putback with just over three minutes left pushed the lead back to four. Nebraska outscored the Wolverines, 20-14, in the second quarter as U-M took a 29-28 lead into halftime. Williams led Michigan offensively, going for 10 points in the first half.
The Huskers scored on the opening possession of the third quarter for their first lead of the game, but Phelia countered with a three-point play on Michigan's ensuing possession for a 32-30 U-M advantage just 40 seconds into the quarter. The teams went back-and-forth throughout the third quarter, with neither team leading by more than three points. A Williams layup at the 2:15 mark knotted the contest at 43, but a Husker three-point play with 1:06 on the third-quarter clock gave the visitors a 46-43 lead after 30 minutes.
Hobbs hit a three-pointer on Michigan's first possession of the fourth to bring the home team level at 46. Following a Nebraska layup, Michigan got four straight points on buckets from Brett and Hobbs for a 50-48 lead with 7:10 remaining.
Nebraska countered with a four-point possession for a two-point lead, one they never relinquished the rest of the way. U-M closed the gap to one point on a Hobbs layup with 5:21 remaining but got no closer. With Michigan trailing by six with just under two minutes remaining, the Wolverines called timeout. Hobbs converted on a three-point play out of the stoppage and U-M forced a turnover on the ensuing Nebraska possession but the Wolverines could not convert.
Michigan came up empty on its final possessions as Nebraska made three throws to keep the game out of reach for the Wolverines.
Michigan completes a two-game homestand on Saturday (Feb. 10), hosting Rutgers at 2 p.m. in its annual pink game.
