Michigan
14-3,4-2Big Ten
Purdue
11-5,2-4Big Ten
Strong Second Half Propels Michigan to Road Win at Purdue
1/10/2023 8:55:00 PM | Women's Basketball
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- The No. 17-ranked University of Michigan women's basketball team held Purdue to just nine points in the third quarter, extending a four-point halftime lead into a 16-point advantage en route to an 80-59 win over Purdue on Tuesday evening (Jan. 10) at Mackey Arena.
Michigan (14-3, 4-2 B1G) had three players in double figures, led by Leigha Brown's 21 points, four boards, four assists and two blocks. Emily Kiser went for 17 points and seven rebounds after missing the majority of the first quarter after getting hit in the face, with Laila Phelia going for 17 points of her own and four boards. U-M topped the 80-point mark for the third straight game, shooting an even 50.0 percent (28-for-56) from the floor and 41.2 percent (7-for-17) from deep. Michigan got 17 points from its bench, with nine Wolverines finding the scoring column.
After the teams exchanged scores to start, Michigan used an 11-0 run that was capped by a deep triple from Brown to force a Purdue timeout with 4:34 remaining in the first quarter and Michigan's lead at 13-2.
Purdue answered with back-to-back triples to get within 13-8 but Chyra Evans hit a triple to double up the Boilers at 16-8. The teams exchanged free throws before Purdue went on an 8-0 run to close Michigan's lead to 21-18 with six seconds remaining. Ari Wiggins went the length of the floor and found Cameron Williams for a layup to send Michigan to the quarter break with a 23-18 lead.
Michigan extended its lead to 29-23 off a Greta Kampschroeder jumper in transition at the 4:49 mark of the second quarter, but Purdue scored five straight to force a Michigan timeout with 4:07 to go and Purdue within a point at 29-28.
Evans found Kiser for the easy two out of the timeout, with Michigan's lead growing to as many as five in the final minutes of the second quarter. Michigan hit the half with a 39-35 lead after Brown found Kiser for the layup with just two seconds remaining.
After a slow start to the third quarter, Michigan put together an 8-0 run that featured five points from Brown and a Hobbs triple to force a Purdue timeout with 7:30 to go and Michigan's lead up to 46-37.
The Wolverines continued to keep their foot on the gas; eventually turning it into a 15-4 run that was capped by a Nolan triple off an offensive board and a Phelia free throw for a 58-41 advantage with a little over a minute remaining in the period. Purdue hit a triple on its next possession but was held to single-digit scoring in the period.
Michigan again scored at the end of the period, with Phelia grabbing the offensive board off a Nolan miss to beat the buzzer for a 60-44 lead after 30 minutes.
U-M scored seven of the first nine points of the final stanza, getting another triple from Nolan, two freebies from Phelia and an acrobatic three-point play from Brown with 6:32 to go, pushing Michigan's lead to 22.
The Maize and Blue led by as many as 23 points the rest of the way, getting its fourth Big Ten win of the season.
Michigan will return to Crisler Center on Saturday (Jan. 14) to host Michigan State in the annual Crash Crisler game. Fans are encouraged to wear maize, with tip slated for 2 p.m.
