Michigan
17-12
Penn State
13-18
Michigan Opens Big Ten Tournament with Win Over Penn State
3/6/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Site: Indianapolis, Ind. (Conseco Fieldhouse)
Event: Big Ten Tournament
Score: #7 seed Michigan 64, #10 seed Penn State 54
Records: U-M (17-12), Penn State (13-18)
Next Game: Friday, March 7 -- vs. #2 seed Iowa at Big Ten Tournament (Indianapolis, Ind.), 11:30 a.m., Big Ten Network
Boxscore | Notes & Quotes | Video Report
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- The University of Michigan women's basketball team won its first Big Ten Conference Tournament game in four years Thursday afternoon (March 6), claiming a 64-54 first-round decision over Penn Stateat Conseco Fieldhouse. Trailing by six with 13:38 to go in the game, the seventh-seeded Wolverines (17-12) put together a 17-0 run over a span of 7:05 to establish a fairly comfortable lead they would never surrender to the 10th-seeded Lady Lions (13-18).
Sophomore Krista Phillips(Saskatoon, Saskatchewan/Aden Bowman Collegiate HS) posted her fourth career double-double, finishing with team-highs of 15 points and 10 rebounds in 18 minutes. Junior Carly Benson(Carney, Mich./Carney-Nadeau Public School) scored 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting in 25 minutes, while senior Krista Clement(St. Ignace, Mich./LaSalle HS) tallied 10 points, four boards and four assists in 37 minutes. Junior Ashley Jones(Southfield, Mich./Martin Luther King HS) posted eight of her career-high 10 points in the first half.
The Wolverines immediately went inside to Phillips, who accounted for the team's first five points of the game. Phillips' first bucket came on an offensive rebound off her own miss, and she followed with a three-point play by getting around her defender and knocking down a shot as she was fouled. A Benson triple put Michigan in front 8-6 with 16:51 remaining in the first half.
With the score tied at 8-8, U-M strung together a quick 5-0 run that featured back-to-back baskets from Phillips. A Brianne O'Rourke hoop snapped a 4:19 Penn State scoring drought and cut the Wolverine lead to 13-10, but Jones came off the bench and provided a huge lift for Michigan by scoring six of the team's next eight points. Jones' aggressive play resulted in a 21-18 U-M lead at 8:24.
The Lady Lions responded with four unanswered points to take their first lead of the game, 22-21, with 7:42 to go until the break. Clement stepped up a drained a big three-pointer to give the lead back to the Wolverines, and Bensonkept Michiganin front26-24 with a one-hander off the glass at 4:18. Penn State scored seven of the final nine points of the half to take a slim 31-28 lead into the locker room.
The Wolverines were able to stay within three-points of the PSU lead early in the second half thanks to the sharp shooting of Clement and the steady post play by Phillips. A lay-up by O'Rourke followed by a triple from Kamela Gissendanner gave the Lady Lions their biggest lead of the day, 43-37, at 13:38.
Clement spearheaded the pivotal 17-0 outburst, as she scored four of the team's next five points before assisting on Veronica Hicks'(Chicago, Ill./Thornwood HS) basket inside that put U-M back into the lead, 44-43, with 11:35 to play.
Benson kept the momentum in Michigan's favor, knocking down a series of short jump shots to help push the lead to a game-high 11 points, 54-43, at 6:15. Penn State, however, stayed in contention due to a 9-3 run that cut the deficit to 57-52 with 3:35 to go on the clock. Junior Jessica Minnfield(Toledo, Ohio/Central Catholic HS) then emerged on the offensive end, hitting a pair of key free throws and a triple from the corner to push the U-M lead to double digits, 62-52, with 1:34 remaining.
The Wolverines will face No. 2 seed Iowa in the quarterfinal round Friday (March 7) at 11:30 a.m.at Conseco Fieldhouse.
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
