Phelia's 23 points lead Michigan past Minnesota 76-57, advance to Big Ten quarterfinals

Updated: Mar 8, 2024, 12:03 am

MINNEAPOLIS -- — Laila Phelia scored 23 points and sixth-seeded Michigan beat 11th-seeded Minnesota 76-57 to earn a berth in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Women's basketball tournament Thursday night.

Michigan takes on No. 3 seed and 12th-ranked Indiana in the quarterfinals on Friday night.

Lauren Hansen hit two 3-pointers and a jumper to help Michigan to a 12-5 lead to start the game and the Wolverines built an 11-point lead after one quarter and Elise Stuck's jumper with 15 seconds left sent them into intermisson with a 37-24 advantage. Phelia opened the second half with a layup, a 3-pointer and a jumper to push the lead to 44-27 and Michigan pulled away steadily.

Phelia hit 2 of 3 from beyond the arc and was 7 of 8 from the line to lead Michigan (19-12). Hansen added 14 points and dished six assists and Cameron Williams added 11 points off the bench. The Wolverines hit 7 of 18 from 3-point range and was 13 of 17 from the free-throw line.

Amaya Battle scored 22 points to lead Minnesota (16-15). Freshman Ayianna Johnson had 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds and freshman Ajok Madol came off the bench to hit 2 of 4 from distance and add 11 points. The Gophers were 28 of 64 from the field, including 4 of 17 from deep.

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AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball