Michigan women top 11th-seeded UNLV, move on in NCAA Tournament

Michigan, on the strength of three players scoring in double figures and dominating rebounding, has advanced to the NCAA Tournament second round.

The No. 6-seed Wolverines (23-9) led by as many as 17 points, as they defeated No. 11 seed UNLV, 71-59, at LSU’s Pete Maravich Assembly Center on Fridayin Baton Rouge, La. They will face the host and No. 3 seed LSU in a second-round game (time and network designation to come) on Sunday. LSU defeated No. 14-seed Hawaii, 73-50, on Friday.

UNLV (31-3) entered the tournament on a 22-game win streak and ranked No. 21 nationally.

"I thought we came out and established ourselves early. I thought we set the tone defensively in the first quarter and did a tremendous job," Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico said. "It's great to still be playing in March."

The 18th-ranked Wolverines, playing in their fifth-straight NCAA Tournament appearance, are looking to better their program-best Elite 8 appearance last season. They reached the Sweet 16 the year before.

Maddie Nolan and Emily Kiser led the Wolverines with 18 points apiece. Nolan was 4-of-6 on three-pointers, and Kiser added 10 rebounds and six assists. Leigha Brown had 17 points and seven assists. Laila Phelia had eight points and 11 rebounds.

Michigan outrebounded UNLV, 41-31, and held the Rebels' leading scorer Desi-Rae Young, who entered the game averaging 18.2 points and 10.2 rebounds, to 11 points and eight rebounds.

"They had a really strong inside game, we knew that coming in," Kiser said. "It was something we really wanted to lock in on. (Young) is a really good player. We wanted to bring some of that physicality that maybe they hadn't see as much. Every single (game) in the Big Ten we get to play against that caliber of post player, so we had a little bit of experience wanted to lock that down."

The Rebels pulled within three points early in the second half, but the Wolverines went on a tear, building their biggest lead of the game, 48-31, using a 12-0 run over nearly four minutes and going 5-of-7 from the field. Phelia closed out the third just as she did the first quarter, with a layup, and Michigan entered the fourth quarter with a 54-43 lead.

UNLV never drew closer than 11 points in the fourth quarter.

Phelia is still working toward becoming fully healthy after suffering a lower-leg injury in late January, but having her back in the lineup is an emotional and talent boost for the Wolverines.

"We had confidence going into this game just getting Laila back, she brings so much to our team, changes the look," Kiser said. "Just her ability to get down the floor and really put some pressure on them offensively gave us a lot of confidence. She also brings so much on the defensive side."

Michigan led by as many as 13 points in the first half and led, 28-20, at halftime. Nolan and Brown each had seven points and Kiser six.

The Wolverines built a 17-9 lead in the first quarter, thanks to a 12-2 run, and opened the second with five unanswered points. With 6:08 left in the first half, Michigan had its biggest lead, 25-12, but UNLV cut into that lead in the next two minutes, pulling within 25-18.

Both teams struggled offensively late in the half. Michigan went cold, making only one field goal — Kiser’s layup off a turnover with 1:29 left — in its final 10 attempts, but the Rebels went scoreless the final 2:20. Part of that was because of Michigan's defense, which Kiser said carried the Wolverines throughout the game.

"That second quarter we had a little bit of a drought offensively, I think everyone saw," Kiser said. "To keep that caliber of defense really helped us get this win."

achengelis@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @chengelis