– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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EAST LANSING, MICHIGAN — We were hoping that the first top-15 matchup in the history of Michigan vs. Michigan State in women’s basketball would be the exciting and passionate rollercoaster that the best rivalry games across the country and world produce.
That was the case, and then some!
The backcourt duo of Mila Holloway and Olivia Olson combined for 49 points as the ninth-ranked Wolverines held off No. 13 Michigan State 94-91 in overtime inside the Breslin Center on Sunday afternoon. The Wolverines extended their Big Ten winning streak to eight games and should remaining in the league’s top two when No. 3 UCLA visits Ann Arbor next weekend.
Michigan could not hold on to an eight-point lead midway through the third quarter, then saw the Spartans score the final four points of regulation and almost win the game when a half-court heave at the buzzer by Inés Sotelo rimmed out.
But after Michigan State scored on the first possession of overtime, the Wolverines ran off the next 10 points of the game to take control for good. Holloway tied the game on a layup before Olson’s three-point play on the following possession broke the final tie of the contest. Olson then hit a three before assisting on Syla Swords’ layup to open up Michigan’s lead to 91-83.
“We want to win at everything,” said Olson, who scored 23 points. “And so we came at it like it’s a new game. We need to attack right away. We need to punch first. And I think we all did a great job at having that mentality going into [overtime].”
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Sunday afternoon’s game, with photos taken by ALOST staff photographer Aaron J. Thornton. After clicking on a photo to enlarge the picture, press the left and right arrow buttons on either side of the caption to scroll through the rest of the pictures that appear on the first page, Also, click on the numbers and/or arrow appearing immediately below the picture grid to load the next set of photos. There are 30 pictures in total.
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