ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Laila Phelia scored 24 points, Leigha Brown had 22 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, and No. 14 Michigan beat Penn State 82-72 on Tuesday.
Phelia, Brown and Maddie Nolan combined for Michigan’s opening 20 points of the fourth quarter, including a 10-0 run to pull away. Brown started the run with a three-point play and Nolan capped it with a 3-pointer to give Michigan the first double-digit lead of the game at 72-62 with 5:34 left.
Nolan finished with 17 points and five 3-pointers and Emily Kiser had 10 points, eight rebounds and four assists for Michigan (13-2, 3-1 Big Ten), which was coming off a 66-57 loss to No. 3 Ohio State. The Wolverines outrebounded Penn State 40-29.
Phelia and Brown each scored 11 points in the first half as Michigan led 38-34 after closing on a 9-0 run. Phelia scored 11 of Michigan’s opening 26 points.
Shay Ciezki scored 15 of her 21 points in the first half and Makenna Marisa added 14 points for Penn State (10-5, 1-3). Leilani Kapinus and Taniyah Thompson each had 10 points.
Penn State shot 47% from the field despite making just three of its last 13 shots. The Nittany Lions have lost seven straight games against Michigan, and 10 of the last 11.
Michigan’s next contest on Saturday against No. 16 Iowa will be the conference’s first women’s basketball game televised live on FOX.
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