WBB vs Minnesota: led the whole way, won by 19

Opponent: Minnesota (16-15, 5-14 B1G, 11th place)

B1G tournament second round

Result: Win, 76-57

Record: 19-12, 10-9 B1G, 6th place

Date:  3/7, B1G tournament in Minneapolis

Starters: Laila Phelia, Lauren Hansen, Jordan Hobbs, Chyra Evans, Elissa Brett (14 starts together this season)

Injuries/inactives: 

• Taylor Williams was in sweats and did not play

• Minnesota was without both Mara Braun and Sophie Hart, two of their top five scorers

1st quarter:

• Hansen scored Michigan’s first bucket on a transition three after Evans blocked Minnesota’s first shot
• Hansen made another from the corner a few minutes later when Phelia dumped it in to Evans, who popped it back out quickly to Hansen
• Phelia grabbed a defensive rebound, took it coast to coast and laid it in through traffic, drew the foul, and hit the free throw
• Michigan forced a shot clock violation when Minnesota got the ball down low, but couldn’t find an open shot. They got the ball out to Amaya Battle at the three point line, but she airballed it
• Michigan went on a 10-0 run over 3 minutes until Amaya Battle picked her way through the defense with two and a half minutes left
• Taylor Woodson came in to play the point of the 1-2-2 full court press, which Minnesota broke successfully twice and Michigan abandoned
• Michigan jumped out to a quick lead in the first quarter behind 8 points from Hansen and 7 from Phelia. They looked ready to take a 14 point lead into the second quarter until Amaya Battle hit a desperation heave just over half court to cut it to 11

2nd quarter: 

• Elissa Brett stripped the ball along the baseline on back-to-back possessions, one a direct turnover and one leading to chaos that ended in a Michigan player’s hands. However, Michigan failed to capitalize on either chance because of a Cam Williams travel and Brett miss
• Minnesota scored twice in the first three minutes to cut the lead to 7 and cause KBA to call timeout
• Hobbs made Michigan’s first bucket of the quarter when Hansen curled into the lane, then kicked it back out to Hobbs for an open three
  • Hobbs drew a charge soon after as a Minnesota player drove down the lane
• Brett made her own three assisted by Evans to give Michigan a 13 point lead and cause Minnesota to take their own timeout
• When a Minnesota defender stopped her drive, Hobbs spun and hit an impressive fadeaway
• Janay Sanders committed her third foul when Brett drew a charge and Sanders went to the bench with a minute left in the half
• Michigan’s shooting cooled off in the second quarter, missing 4 three pointers after starting 4-7. However, they added two points to their lead and held Minnesota to just 12 points.

3rd quarter: 

• Michigan scored on their first five possessions with two driving buckets from Phelia, one from Hobbs, a corner three from Phelia, and a midrange jumper from Hansen
• Hobbs got Michigan’s second block of the game on Grocholski down low
  • Hobbs created another turnover when she jumped a pass. The ball slipped through her arms, but the Minnesota player couldn’t corral it before stepping out of bounds
• Cam Williams spun one way, pump faked to draw the defender, then spun the other way and hit the basket with a short hook shot
• Phelia drove into the lane, drew contact, and hit the free throw to maintain Michigan’s lead at 19
• Hansen intercepted a pass when Minnesota tried to get out in transition, but couldn’t hit her midrange jumper 
• Elise Stuck got a block when she stayed in front of her player as they shot from just beyond the free throw line
• Laila Phelia dominated the third quarter with 15 points on 5-7 shooting, 2 three pointers, and 3 free throws. Michigan led by 17 at the end of the quarter, putting the game out of reach. 

4th quarter: 

• Evans received the ball inside the free throw line and wove through two defenders with one dribble to hit a layup
• Brett drew another charge, this time from Amaya Battle
• Hobbs got another block on Grocholski along the baseline, then found Brett in transition, but she couldn’t hit the three
• Cam Williams curled towards the basket and received the inbounds from Hobbs for a short bucket. Williams also drew a foul and hit the free throw to make it a 20 point lead with seven and a half minutes left
• Star freshman Grace Grocholski didn’t score her first points until she fought through contact with five minutes left in the game
• Brett drew another charge to give Amaya Battle 4 fouls
• Whitney Sollom, Alyssa Crockett, Macy Brown, and Greta Kampschroeder all saw the floor in the last couple minutes of the game
• Kampschroeder made a corner three on a pass it looked like she was not expecting
• Michigan finished the game well in the fourth quarter, maintaining their lead and not losing their focus on either end of the floor

Notable stats:

• Phelia led Michigan with 7-17 shooting and 7-8 free throws
• Hansen contributed 14 points and Cam Williams had 11 off the bench, while Hobbs led with 7 assists
• Amaya Battle led Minnesota with 22 points on 7-15 shooting, while Mallory Heyer pulled down 17 rebounds

Overall: 

• Minnesota fought the whole way, but couldn’t overcome the lead Michigan built over the course of the game. Michigan limited their turnovers (7), dished 20 assists as a team, and shot 39% from deep. This looked like a team rounding into tournament form, but it could also be a healthy Michigan easily beating an injury-riddled Minnesota. Tonight’s game against Indiana should help determine which one. 

Miscellaneous: 

• Minnesota had so many injury issues that they started a walk on freshman in the second half

Up next: 

• Big Ten Tournament:
  • #12 Indiana (24-4, 15-3 B1G, 3rd seed) at 9pm on Big Ten Network
  • Indiana may or may not be without WNBA prospect Mackenzie Holmes and sophomore forward Lilly Meister after both got injuries in their final regular season game last Sunday. This may be a vastly different team if Holmes is out, as Michigan’s loss to Indiana this season was in large part due to not being able to stop Holmes down low. Meister came off the bench this season, but averaged 10 minutes and would limit Indiana’s depth if she is out

Most recent bracketology: 

• ESPN has Michigan as a 10 seed and one of the “last four byes” (updated 3/4)
  • 7 B1G teams in the field
• Her Hoop Stats has Michigan as a 10 seed (3/6)
  • 7 B1G teams in field
• College Sports Madness has Michigan as an 11 seed (3/4)
  • 8 B1G teams in field