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Olson and Swords help No. 7 Michigan rally past Northwestern for an 80-58 win

EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — Olivia Olson had 21 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, and No. 7 Michigan beat Northwestern 80-58 on Thursday night.

Michigan (21-4, 12-2 Big Ten) shook off a slow start while bouncing back from a 69-66 home loss to No. 2 UCLA on Sunday. Next up is a big matchup with rival Michigan State on Sunday.

Syla Swords scored 16 points for the Wolverines, and Kendall Dudley had 12 points on 6-for-9 shooting.

Northwestern (8-16, 2-11) dropped its sixth consecutive game. Caroline Lau had 16 points and six assists for the Wildcats. Grace Sullivan also scored 16, and Tayla Thomas finished with 13.

Michigan erased a seven-point deficit with a 21-3 run in the third quarter. The Wolverines went ahead to stay on Swords’ driving layup with 5:42 left, and Dudley’s basket made it 56-45 with 1:19 to go.

Thomas missed two foul shots for Northwestern during the decisive sequence, and Sullivan had a costly turnover.

The Wolverines led by 23 on Olson’s jumper with 3:30 left. The sophomore guard scored 14 points in the second half.

Northwestern closed the first half with a 9-0 run for a 37-31 lead at the break. Lau banked home a tying 3, Thomas connected from deep and Lau hit another 3 with 59 seconds left in the first half.

Michigan missed nine of its last 10 shots from the field in the second quarter. It shot 38% (14 for 37) from the field in the first half, compared to 61% (14 for 23) for Northwestern.

Up next

Michigan hosts No. 13 Michigan State on Sunday.

Northwestern visits Penn State on Sunday.

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Hawkeyes are set to play Vanderbilt in a November women’s basketball game in Sioux City, Iowa

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Vanderbilt and Iowa, both ranked in the top 10 late last season, will meet in a women's basketball game early next season in northwest Iowa, the schools announced Tuesday. The neutral-site game is set for Nov. 15 at the Tyson Events Center, which is 290 miles from Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City. Vanderbilt is 4-0 all-time against the Hawkeyes. This will be the teams' first meeting since 1997. The Commodores are expected to return national scoring leader Mikayla Blakes. She averaged 27 points per game and was Southeastern Conference player of the year. Vanderbilt was ranked as high as No. 5 and finished No. 10 with a 29-5 record after reaching the NCAA Sweet 16.
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