WBB vs Indiana: Came back in the third, shut the door in the fourth

Opponent: #12 Indiana (24-5, 15-4 B1G, 3rd seed)

B1G Tournament Quarterfinals

Result: Win, 69-56

Record: 20-12, 11-9 B1G, 6th place

Date:  3/8, B1G tournament in Minneapolis

Starters: Laila Phelia, Lauren Hansen, Jordan Hobbs, Chyra Evans, Elissa Brett (15 starts together this season)

Injuries/inactives: 

• Sollom, Brown, Crocket, Taylor Williams, and Kampschroeder all dressed, but did not play
• Mackenzie Holmes technically played five minutes in the fourth, but missed both her shots and went back to the bench with a minute left in the game

1st quarter:

• Hansen had Michigan’s first points off an inbounds play curling towards the baseline, then hitting the midrange jumper
• After a quick Moore-McNeil bucket, Michigan’s defense held Indiana without a point for almost four minutes. Unfortunately Michigan also missed five shots in a row and couldn’t capitalize
• Phelia broke Michigan’s scoring drought with the shot clock winding down. She used a pick to wind her way into the lane and elevated for a short jumper
• The teams combined to start 0-7 from deep until Sara Scalia made one for Indiana with just under two minutes left
• Taylor Woodson got a defensive rebound, brought it down the court quickly, then found Phelia for a jumper in the paint
• Michigan and Indiana both started slow on offense until Sara Scalia hit two 3’s late in the quarter to take a three point lead

2nd quarter: 

• Cam Williams received the ball high in the paint, pinned Meister, then spun around her for two
• Michigan almost forced a shot clock violation, but Bargesser hit a difficult shot down low
• Evans finished through contact and spun the ball in off the glass
• Cam Williams turned the ball over when she couldn’t handle an entry pass, but got down the floor and deflected the ball off an Indiana player to get it back
• Elissa Brett took her one and only shot of the game in the second quarter, a contested corner three that she missed
• Indiana built a 14 point lead in the second quarter because of 4 Michigan turnovers and 9-16 shooting, including three from deep

3rd quarter: 

• Evans got a block on Indiana’s first possession, but Michigan couldn’t capitalize with points. Instead, Indiana came down and hit a three to take a 17 point lead
• Michigan then went on a 12-0 run to cut the lead to five, led by Phelia with 8 points
  • Evans made 1-2 free throws
  • Phelia got a quick layoff from an inbounds
  • Hansen hit a three when Evans passed the ball around the arc
  • Phelia drove and drew a foul, then hit both free throws
  • Phelia picked her way through the lane and laid it in
  • Phelia got into the lane, then spun away for a short jumper
• Brett ran into a moving pick by Meister and emphasized the contact to give Meister her third foul
• Michigan finished with the last 7 points of the quarter to go into the fourth down just 3 points after starting the quarter down 17
  • Hobbs almost lost the ball, but recovered for a jump ball, possession Michigan. Cam Williams got the ball, backed down Meister with two dribbles, then used the backboard to score
  • Brett drew a charge on Bargesser, then Phelia drove from the three point line and hit a jumper off balance
  • Hobbs received a cross court pass from Phelia and drained a three with a hand in her face
• The announcers may have jinxed Indiana with their talk about not needing to play Mackenzie Holmes because they were up so big. Whatever KBA said at half, it worked

4th quarter: 

• Michigan took the lead because of 5 straight points from Cam Williams
  • Cam got the ball in the high post and spun around Garzon for the layup
  • Cam ran a pick and roll with Hobbs, drew the foul, and completed the three point play for a two point Michigan lead
• Brett got an offensive rebound and went to the floor to keep the ball for Michigan, then Phelia made it count with a jumper in the paint
• Hobbs hit a deep three when Phelia drove into the lane and kicked it out to her
• Phelia got a steal, missed her first attempt, but got it back and made the second one
• With 2 seconds left on the shot clock, Indiana knocked the ball away from Cam Williams and out of bounds. On the inbounds, Hobbs found Hansen open beyond the arc and Hansen hit the catch and shoot three. 
• Sydney Parrish hit a three to cut Michigan’s lead to 7, then Indiana called timeout to try and regroup
  • Indiana came out in a full court press that Michigan handled perfectly, then Hansen hit another three to answer parrish
  • On the ensuing possession, Scalia’s attempt from three was good, but invalidated by an offensive foul on Mackenzie Holmes when Hobbs ran into her moving screen
• Hansen hit another three, then Phelia got another steal, finished the layup, drew a foul, and hit the free throw. Michigan was up 16 with two minutes to go and the game was over
• Michigan scored 22 points in the last seven minutes of the game to take a win from an Indiana team that wanted to give their superstar another day to heal

Notable stats:

• Phelia had a career-high 30 points on 12-22 shooting, all from inside the arc, and 6-7 from the free throw line
  • Hansen, Hobbs, and Cam Williams produced all but three of the rest of the team’s points
• Cam Williams again produced effectively from the bench with 10 points on 4-6 shooting, only committed two fouls and one turnover
• Michigan again limited their turnovers with 11 total and none in the fourth quarter, while Indiana had 14
• Michigan shot 43% from deep (6-14) with all their makes coming from Hobbs (2-3) and Hansen (4-6)
• Sara Scalia was Indiana’s leading scorer with only 14 points on 5-16 shooting

Overall: 

• Michigan could have faded away after halftime, but lit the flamethrower in the second half to come back from down 17 and win by 13. Phelia looked every bit the super star we hoped she would become at the beginning of the season as she led Michigan to its sixth straight NCAA Tournament. 

Up next: 

• That team that has Caitlin Clark (27-4, 15-3 B1G, 2nd seed) today 3/9 at 4:30pm on Big Ten Network. Iowa looks poised to win the Big Ten Tournament, but Michigan has a chance to add another signature win to their resume and improve their seeding in March Madness.

Most recent bracketology: 

• ESPN has Michigan as a 10 seed and one of the “last four byes” (updated 3/8)
  • 8 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