Michigan women's basketball season ends with blowout loss to LSU in NCAA Tournament
Michigan Wolverines women’s basketball saw its season come to an end in the NCAA Tournament round of 32 Sunday evening in Baton Rouge. The Maize and Blue, a No. 6 seed, lost to third-seeded LSU, 66-42. The 24-point disparity marked the Wolverines’ largest loss of the season. Head coach Kim Barnes Arico and Michigan finished the year 23-10 overall.
Here’s a recap of how the game unfolded.
First half
Michigan trailed 30-15 at halftime, with LSU having its way with the Maize and Blue. It’s a game of possessions, and LSU shot 41 field goals compared to the Wolverines’ 21.
The Tigers shot just 29 percent from the field in the first half but made up for it by grabbing 15 offensive rebounds that turned into 12 second-chance points, turning it over just twice to Michigan’s 9 giveaways and playing stifling defense.
From the 1:51 mark of the first quarter until the 6:23 juncture of the second stanza, LSU went on a 15-2 run. Freshman forward Chyra Evans provided a spark off the bench, scoring 2 layups and stopping the Tigers’ surge.
The Tigers forced Michigan into many one-on-one situations, and the Wolverines were ice cold, shooting 7-of-21 from the field, including a 1-of-5 mark from long range.
One of the top players in the country, LSU forward Angel Reese had 13 points, 14 rebounds and 3 assists in the first half, beating the Wolverines up on the inside. All told, LSU had 18 points in the paint and made 3 triples. While at Maryland last season, Reese totaled 15 points on 20 field goal attempts in two meetings against Michigan but changed the narrative Sunday evening in Baton Rouge.
Michigan fifth-year senior guard Leigha Brown was 0-for-4 from the field in the first half, while sophomore guard Laila Phelia contributed a team-high 5 points but on 7 shots.
Second half
Michigan came out with some juice to begin the third quarter. Phelia drew a foul and knocked down both free throws, before Brown drained a triple for her first points of the game. LSU called timeout just 1:29 into the half and with its cut to 30-20. The Wolverines’ run continued with a junior forward Cameron Williams layup to make it 30-22.
Top 10
- 1
Historic upset of No. 1 Vols
Florida makes history
- 2New
Cotton Bowl weather threat
Emergency management consulted
- 3
Joel Klatt
Kicking dirt on the SEC
- 4Hot
Herbstreit almost left CGD
Saban, McAfee helped stop the move
- 5
Booger McFarland
Taking issue with Steve Sarkisian
Get the On3 Top 10 to your inbox every morning
By clicking "Subscribe to Newsletter", I agree to On3's Privacy Notice, Terms, and use of my personal information described therein.
LSU answered with 5-straight points, at which point the crowd got back into the game.
Michigan scored 16 points in the third quarter after totaling a combined 15 in the previous two stanzas, but the Wolverines didn’t slow LSU down enough. The Tigers put up 17 and extended their halftime lead to 16, 47-31.
Michigan trailed 64-40 with four minutes to go, with LSU beginning to pull away and not let up. The Wolverines continued to struggle offensively, other than 7 points from Phelia at that juncture.
LSU won the game, 66-42, behind a stellar performance from Reese, who finished with 25 points and 24 rebounds. The NCAA Tournament record for rebounds in a game is 27, with Reese coming up 3 shy.
Michigan ended the game on a 4:03 scoring drought, unsurprising given how the game went. The Wolverines shot just 35 percent overall and turned the ball over 16 times. LSU, meanwhile, heated up in the second half, shooting 44 percent from the field. All told for the game, the Tigers had 22 offensive rebounds that turned into 18 second-chance points
Michigan senior guard Maddie Nolan (2 points), Brown (3) and graduate forward Emily Kiser (4) combined for 9 points, after totaling 53 combined points in the first-round win over UNLV.
