SAN ANTONIO – It has been a season of firsts for Michigan, and now the Wolverines can add a trip to Sweet 16 to that list.
Leigha Brown scored 23 points and Naz Hillmon added 19 to lead Michigan’s No. 6 in his first appearance in the regional semifinals with a 70-55 victory over third place in Tennessee on Tuesday at the NCAA Women’s Tournament in Alamodome.
“It’s incredible, we are having a lot of firsts in our team,” said Hillmon. “For our program, this is another one. We soak the coach in the locker room.”
The Wolverines were 0-5 in the second round before winning the victory over Lady Volunteers. When the final bell rang, Michigan players gave a collective hug on the central court and sang “it’s great to be a Michigan Wolverine”.
“It’s great for our university, great for the state of Michigan. It’s great to see that Michigan is not just a football and men’s basketball school, but also a women’s basketball school,” said Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico.
Leading 18-16 with eight minutes to go before the end of the first half, Michigan (16-5) held Tennessee just one field goal for the remainder of the second period and built a 28-19 lead at halftime. The Lady Vols lost their last seven strokes of the quarter and ended their drought in 1:18 of the third quarter. Lady Vols’ deficit widened to 17 points, while Michigan continued on a 22-7 run during the quarters.
Tennessee (17-8) was down 15 points in the fourth period and was able to reduce its deficit to 54-44 with less than 5 minutes to go before Danielle Rauch’s three-point basket ended and Brown’s theft and layup restoring the 15- point cushion. Tennessee couldn’t get any closer than nine the rest of the way.
Hillmon, the Big Ten Player of the Year, also had 15 rebounds while the Wolverines more than held onto the glass against Lady Vols, overtaking them by 42-40.
“Its average height is about 2 meters,” said Hillmon. “It is something that we emphasize. They are one of the best in the country. We put on ourselves tonight to make sure we recover. … We made efforts to recover. All of us hitting the boards. It was a big emphasis for us getting into the game. “
A trip to the regional semifinals was just another novelty for the Wolverines this year. The team started 10-0 for the first time in the school’s history. They were also in the ranking all season for the first time, in addition to having Hillmon being the first player to win the All-America award as second place.
Tennessee, which has a long tradition of the NCAA with eight national championships, dropped to 28-3 in the second round.
Rennia Davis scored 12 points to lead Lady Vols, who was playing in Michigan for the first time.
“I am proud of the growth that our team has experienced as women, as basketball players, as teammates. I thought we have made some incredible advances. I am proud of that,” said Tennessee coach Kellie Harper. “We just lost control today with our execution.”
REGIONAL HEMISFAIR
SOUTH CAROLINA 59, OREGON STATE 42
SAN ANTONIO – Aliyah Boston scored 19 points and South Carolina’s top seed dominated after a tight first quarter to beat eighth-placed Oregon State at the Alamodome, advancing to their seventh consecutive Sweet 16.
Gamecocks (24-4), who will face Georgia Tech in the regional semifinals, led by one point after a quarter, but had built a 12-point lead at halftime and was 53-29 at the start of the fourth period.
South Carolina, who won a national title in 2017, improved to 8-1 in the second round under coach Dawn Staley and will appear in the regional semifinals for the 11th time overall.
Taylor Jones scored 13 points for Oregon State (12-8), which ended a streak of four consecutive appearances on Sweet 16. Jones failed with about three minutes remaining.
Sasha Goforth (Fayetteville) finished with six points and four rebounds for the Beavers.
South Carolina got only 1 out of 15 three points, but was able to control the game by overcoming the Beavers by 34-24 on the inside and winning big on the exchanges.
GEORGIA TECH 73, WEST VIRGINIA 56
SAN ANTONIO – Lotta-Maj Lahtinen scored 22 points, Lorela Cubaj had 21 points and 12 rebounds, and 5th place, Georgia Tech, defeated 4th West Virginia at the UTSA Convocation Center.
The Yellow Jackets needed a rally in the second half in the opening round against Stephen F. Austin – the fourth biggest turnaround in tournament history – but they had that game in control with a 17 point lead over the Mountaineers to start the fourth.
Lahtinen made 9 of 16 pitches and scored 17 points in the first half to get the Yellow Jackets out of a starting hole.
Georgia Tech (17-8) advanced to Sweet 16 for the second time in the program’s history and for the first time since 2012.
Esmery Martinez scored 13 points to lead West Virginia (22-7).
REGIONAL MARKET
NC STATE 79, SOUTH FLORIDA 67
SAN ANTONIO – Jakia Brown-Turner scored 19 points and the best placed in the state of North Carolina shrugged off a South Florida No. 8 challenge at Alamodome with a big third quarter, advancing to Sweet 16.
Jada Boyd had 18 points and 10 rebounds for Wolfpack (22-2), who reached their third consecutive regional semifinal and 14th overall. They will face Indiana with the fourth division or Belmont with the 12th.
The USF (19-4) led by one point at the start of the third period, before the state of North Carolina used two big runs to pull away and take a 12 point lead in the fourth period.
The Bulls reached eight points with three and a half minutes to go, but Wolfpack scored the next five points.
Elena Tsineke had 22 points to lead the Bulls, who made six three points in the first half to raise the hope of a turnaround, but hit just three more after the break.
REGIONAL ALAMO
STANFORD 73, OKLAHOMA STATE 62
SAN ANTONIO – Haley Jones scored 17 points and Stanford unleashed another flood of three points, as the NCAA tournament’s No. 1 scored yet another trip to Sweet 16 with a victory over 8th Oklahoma State at UTSA Convocation Center.
The cardinal made 13 three points after making 15 in the first round victory. All those against Oklahoma State came in the first three quarters, when Stanford built a 20 lead.
Stanford made Sweet 16 for the 27th time in search of his first national title since 1992. The Cardinal stepped forward to play the winner of today’s clash between No. 5 Missouri State and No. 13 Wright State in the Alamo region.
The Cardinal (27-2) had four players scoring at least 10 points and all five players made at least a three-point basket while the Cowgirls struggled to cover all the pitchers.
Neferatali Notoa scored 14 for the State of Oklahoma (19-9).