Friday’s March Madness: Purdue Falls to No. 16 Seed Fairleigh Dickinson

L.S.U. will play sixth-seeded Michigan, which beat U.N.L.V. earlier Friday, in the second round on its home floor on Sunday before a crowd that should be even larger than Friday’s 8,608, with students returning from spring break. — Evan Easterling

Michigan ended U.N.LV.’s 22-game winning streak.

BATON ROUGE, La. — After studying U.N.L.V., Michigan’s players felt confident enough to call out a couple of the Rebels’ offensive plays during Friday’s game.

“We were dead wrong,” the graduate forward Emily Kiser said.

Still, the Wolverines forced U.N.L.V. into uncharacteristic turnovers and stifled the star center Desi-Rae Young in a 71-59 win on Friday. Sixth-seeded Michigan will face No. 3 Louisiana State, the host for these first- and second-round games, on Sunday.

U.N.L.V.’s 22-game winning streak ended with a second consecutive loss in the first round of the women’s N.C.A.A. tournament. Young did not score her first field goal until there were 8 minutes 15 seconds left in the second half; she finished with 11 points and 8 rebounds.

The Rebels, one of the best teams in Division I at limiting turnovers, nearly matched their season average in the first half.

On the offensive end, the Wolverines knew the Rebels’ press-and-zone style would open up opportunities for corner 3-pointers and gaps for Kiser to work in the middle of the floor, guard Maddie Nolan said. Kiser had a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds while adding 6 assists, and the fifth-year guard Leigha Brown had 17 points and 7 assists.

U.N.L.V. battled back after an early run by Michigan, but after a 3-pointer by Alyssa Brown cut the deficit to 5 midway through the third quarter, the Rebels went scoreless for the next 4:33, allowing Michigan to rebuild a double-digit lead. Nolan had 18 points and shot 4 of 6 from 3-point range, including a 3 during the 12-0 run in the third quarter that allowed the Wolverines to gain separation.

“I think she saved us a couple of times,” Kiser said. “When that score starts to get closer and closer, a 3 is huge, I think, just a huge momentum change.” — Evan Easterling

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/17/sports/ncaabasketball/march-madness-friday.html