Michigan
21-4,12-2Big Ten
Northwestern
8-16,2-11Big Ten
Wolverines Erase Deficit, Take Down Wildcats on Road
2/12/2026 11:43:00 PM | Women's Basketball
EVANSTON, Ill. -- The No.7-ranked University of Michigan women's basketball team used a 14-0 run in the third quarter and put up 49 points in the second half en route to an 80-58 win over Northwestern on Thursday evening (Feb. 12) at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Michigan (21-4, 12-2 Big Ten) had a trio of double-figures, led by Olivia Olson's sixth straight 20-point game. Olson went for 21 points on 9-for-17 shooting, eight rebounds, seven assists and two steals in 31 minutes. Syla Swords had 16 points, five rebounds, three assists and a steal, with Kendall Dudley chipping in 12 points and six rebounds off the bench. Brooke Quarles Daniels had an all-around performance with eight points, seven rebounds and six assists. Michigan had 26 assists and forced 20 turnovers, resulting in 23 points.
Down six at the half, Michigan fell behind by seven points when Northwestern banked in a three-pointer at the 7:59 mark of the third quarter. U-M uncorked a 14-0 run from there, taking the lead and never relinquishing it the rest of the way. A Swords layup ignited the run, followed by back-to-back baskets from Ashley Sofilkanich. Another Swords layup, a steal-and-score from Quarles Daniels and consecutive layups from Sofilkanich and Dudley completed the run, pushing Michigan ahead by seven with 3:30 left in the third.
U-M ended the third on a 5-0 run after a three-point play from Olson and another Dudley layup gave Michigan a 56-45 lead after 30 minutes.
Michigan put up another 24 points in the fourth quarter, leading by as many as 23 points in the final frame. Nine Wolverines found the scoring column in the contest, the 12th Big Ten win of the season.
Michigan raced out to a 10-4 lead just over two minutes into the game, getting a triple from Swords, a bucket from Sofilkanich and five straight from Olson. Six straight points from Northwestern pulled the Wildcats level at 10 before Michigan scored eight of the next 10 points for an 18-12 advantage off an Ally VanTimmeren bucket at the 1:54 mark of the first quarter. U-M eventually took a 20-17 lead after 10 minutes of action.
Northwestern opened the second quarter on a 6-0 run, grabbing a 23-20 lead in the opening minutes of the quarter. Four straight points from Swords stemmed the tide, with Michigan grabbing a 31-28 lead with just over three minutes remaining in the second quarter.Â
Northwestern answered with a 9-0 run on three three-pointers the rest of the way, taking a 37-31 lead into the locker room.
Michigan returns home on Sunday (Feb. 15) to Crash Crisler against Michigan State at 4 p.m. Naz Hillmon will have her jersey retired prior to the contest at approximately 3:45 p.m. Doors will open at 2:45 p.m., with limited tickets remaining.
