Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament: Maryland, Nebraska, Penn State, Michigan win on Day 2
Day 2 of the Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament is in the books as the hometown Minnesota Golden Gophers were eliminated by Michigan in the final game of the day at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn.
Along with Michigan, also advancing was Penn State, Nebraska and Maryland. It sets the stage for Friday's conference tournament quarterfinals. The four games Friday:
- #1 Ohio State vs. #8 Maryland
- #4 Michigan State vs. #5 Nebraska
- #2 Iowa vs. #7 Penn State
- #3 Indiana vs. #6 Michigan
Here are some tidbits and key points from each of the day's four games.
(6) Michigan 76 vs. (11) Minnesota 57
- Michigan jumps out to a 14-5 lead at the first TV timeout.
- Gophers trail 23-12 after the first quarter. Would've been worse if not for Amaya Battle hitting a 3 with one second left in the quarter.
- Michigan carries a 37-24 lead into the half. Gophers shooting just 31.3% (10 of 32) as a team.
- Wolverines red-hot to start the third quarter, build the lead to 48-29.
- Laila Phelia with 15 of her 22 points in the third quarter. Michigan leads 58-41 entering the fourth quarter.
- Michigan wins going away, 76-57.
- Amaya Battle led Minnesota with 22 points.
- Michigan will play No. 2 Indiana on Friday night.
Photo by Brad Rempel, University of Minnesota
(7) Penn State 80 vs. (10) Wisconsin 56
- Penn State built a 10-point lead after the first quarter and then blossomed the gap to 16 points at 45-29 at the half.
- Nittany Lions shot 60.7% in the first half (17 of 28), with Ashley Owusu leading the way with 12 points. Makenna Marisa added 10 points in the first half.
- Penn State cruises to an 80-6=56 win.
Penn State moves on to the third round and will face No. 2 Iowa at 5:30 p.m. CT on Friday.
(5) Nebraska 64 vs. (12) Purdue 56
- Tied 25-25 at the half after Nebraska scored just seven points in the first quarter.
- Jaz Shelley has hit 4-of-8 shots from 3-point range and is leading the Cornhuskers with 14 points, six rebounds and six assists through three quarters.
- Nebraska leads 40-37 entering the fourth quarter.
- Sophie Swanson helping keep Purdue alive. The freshman has hit four triples and has 16 points off the bench.
- Nebraska on an 11-3 run to take a 51-43 lead with 5:55 to go.
Nebraska saved its best for last as they turned a 40-40 tie game after three quarters into a 64-56 win. Sophie Swanson hit seven 3s and led Purdue with 25 points off the bench, but the rest of the Boilermakers were ice-cold. Jaz Shelley led Nebraska with 19 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
Nebraska advances to the quarterfinals to face No. 4 Michigan State on Friday.
(8) Maryland 75 vs. (9) Illinois 65
- Illini jump out to a 24-10 lead in the first quarter.
- Terrapins trim the lead to seven points three times in the second quarter, trailing 33-26 with under three to play in the half.
- Maryland dominates second quarter by outscoring Illinois 25-13.
- Halftime score: Illinois 37, Maryland 35
- Maryland dominates the third quarter 20-13 to continue their surge. They needed just two quarters to turn a 14-point deficit into a five-point lead entering the fourth quarter.
- Terrapins outscored Illinois 65-31 after the first quarter.
- Final score: Maryland 75, Illinois 65
- Maryland will play No. 1 Ohio State at 11:30 a.m. Friday.
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