EVANSTON, Ill. -- Michigan used a strong second-half surge to get past Northwestern early Saturday evening at Welsh-Ryan Arena, 73-66. The Wolverines erased a four-point halftime deficit to pick up their fourth Big Ten win of the season.
Northwestern bounced back from an off night from the field at Iowa to shoot 50 percent in their homecoming against the Wolverines. However, the 'Cats were limited to only 50 attempts overall as they were plagued by 21 turnovers.
NU was the aggressor early on. In front of raucous home crowd, the Wildcats raced out to a 9-0 lead in the first three minutes. Maggie Lyon opened the scoring with a 3-pointer and three other players contributed during the early run. Lyon's shot from distance marked the 22nd game in a row that she made at least one triple. She finished with three in the game.
Michigan answered with an 11-6 run that chopped the deficit to four points with 11:53 to go in the half. On the next possession Ashley Deary found Alex Cohen for a layup and the Wildcats went off to the races once again. A 9-2 run that was capped by a 3-pointer from Cohen at the 8:14 mark gave Northwestern its largest lead of the day at 13 points. Leading 26-13, the 'Cats went cold. The Purple and White netted only five points over the next 8-plus minutes with Christen Inman notching a layup and Deary hitting a step-back three to account for the tallies. The Wolverines, meanwhile, chipped away and made it a four-point game at the break, 31-27.
Northwestern led despite turning the ball over 13 times in the first half. It was helped in large part because Michigan struggled from the field throughout the opening period. U-M shot only 33.3 percent (12-for-36) from the field. The Wolverines did collect eight offensive rebounds to help accumulate seven second-chance points.
In the second half the script was flipped and Michigan roared ahead. The visitors scored 13 of the half's first 20 points to grab their first lead of the game, 40-38, with 16:02 remaining. The Wolverines expanded the lead to five points before Lyon knocked down another shot from downtown to get her team to within two with nearly 13 minutes left. Northwestern remained within striking distance later when Inman netted two of her eight points off a feed from Lyon with 8:43 to go.
Following Inman's hoop Michigan went on a 14-6 run to grab its first double-digit lead and NU was never able to fully recover. At three different points in the final 1:14, the Wildcats were within two possessions, but they were unable to get the defensive stops necessary to claw all the way back and Michigan escaped Welsh-Ryan Arena with a 73-66 victory.
Lyon finished with a team-high 17 points, one more than Cohen who had 16 to go along with five rebounds. Nia Coffey led the way with a game-high 10 rebounds and Deary notched seven assists. She's recorded seven-or-more helpers in four of Northwestern's six Big Ten games, including each of the last three. Karly Roser played tough defense in 15 minutes off the bench Saturday as she blocked a career-high three shots.
The loss was NU's first in eight games at home this season. It was also the first time that the 'Cats fell when leading at the half. For Michigan it was the first road win of the season.
Chicago's Big Ten Team will open a two-game road trip on Thursday, January 22 when head south down Interstate 57 to tangle with the Illinois Fighting Illini at 7 p.m. The journey continues Sunday, January 25 when the 'Cats will be in State College, Pa. to take on Penn State at 1 p.m.
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