Following a hard-fought overtime victory in East Lansing just two weeks ago, the No. 7 Michigan women’s basketball team faced a relatively quick turnaround against No. 13 Michigan State. The Spartans entered Ann Arbor with revenge on their mind, and as “go green, go white” chants echoed through Crisler Center, they looked ready to ignite an early storm.
Those chants didn’t last long.
The Wolverines (22-4 overall, 13-2 Big Ten) struggled out the gates, mainly with a lack of 3-point shooting success. While Michigan State (20-6, 9-6) didn’t initially click either, it was much more efficient around the rim. This was enough to build an early lead, and Michigan was forced to adjust on both sides of the ball. However, the Wolverines flipped the momentum just a quarter later and carried it all the way until the final buzzer, where the scoreboard read 86-65 in their favor.
“They jumped on us right away,” Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico said. “We weren’t able to get stops, and then we kind of settled in and really got stops for the rest of the game.”
Baskets were hard for the Wolverines to find early in the first quarter. They started just 6-for-20 from the field with their only buckets coming from inside the perimeter. Meanwhile, the Spartans clicked early, drilling seven of their first 10 shots en route to a 21-15 lead after one quarter.
The second quarter told a different story altogether. Michigan seized control early and never allowed Michigan State to re-enter the frame. After the Wolverines battled back to tie the score, sophomore guard Mila Holloway conducted a personal 7-0 run, which her teammates built off to spark a significant 17-2 scoring run.
“It started with our defense, and we knew that we had to pick that up,” sophomore guard Olivia Olson said. “We know (the Spartans) kind of punched first, so we needed to pick that up and get some easy buckets from that and also just execute on offense.”
While Holloway propelled the initial run, sophomore guard Syla Swords led the team with 10 second-quarter points. Swords left an exclamation point on her strong quarter with a 3-pointer dished by senior guard Brooke Quarles Daniels, extending the lead to 14.
Swords’ 3-pointer concluded the first-half scoring for Michigan, as Michigan State tacked on three more points to close the gap slightly. But it wasn’t much as the Wolverines led 41-30 at halftime, credited to a 26-9 quarter.
Building a relatively comfortable lead, Michigan remained dialed in for the majority of the third quarter, answering offensively whenever the Spartans converted on their end. The Wolverines began the quarter with an 8-2 run, fueled by six points from Swords, creating more breathing room.
Looking to stay aggressive, Michigan worked to push the pace throughout the quarter. Transition success developed mostly through the Wolverines’ ability to lurk passing lanes and utilize quick hands to poke the ball free. Quarles Daniels led the charge defensively, as with about one minute remaining in the quarter, she forced a turnover that led to a basket in transition. That bucket led to a Michigan State timeout as it trailed by 19 points, its highest deficit thus far.
The fourth quarter left little doubt about the result. Despite holding a lead well in double digits, Michigan refused to allow easy buckets and continued to force turnovers. Following a pair of Spartans free throws, the Wolverines ignited another run, scoring the next eight points while holding Michigan State scoreless for over four minutes.
“We did some of the things that we did in the first half,” Spartans guard Kennedy Blair said. “We didn’t rebound the ball, they kept getting second chances and that’s something that killed us. … When we’re down by 11, we have to get stops in order to come back, and we didn’t get stops when we needed to.”
After Michigan State struck first, Michigan lit the fuse and never looked back. Responding in the blink of an eye, the Wolverines extended their second-quarter momentum into the second half and completed the sweep over their in-state rival.
