Michigan beat No. 19 Penn State for the third time this season by the score of 66-60 in its first game of the Big Ten Tournament this past Friday.
Senior guard Anne Thorius hit a 3-pointer with 23 seconds left to all but clinch the victory for Michigan. The shot was reminiscent of Michigan”s regular season finale, in which Thorius hit the game-winning 3-pointer to give the Wolverines the 75-74 lead with six seconds remaining. The shot capped a late comeback from 16 points down and handed the Lady Lions just their second home loss on the year.
Michigan”s first win over Penn State was in Ann Arbor with a 71-62 score.
The Wolverines used 69-percent shooting in the second half to surge past Penn State. Despite a dismal first-half shooting performance of 27 percent from the field, Michigan still managed to enter the lockerroom down just 24-22. After the break, Stephanie Gandy (5-for-6), Raina Goodlow (7-for-9) and Thorius (3-for-3, all 3-pointers) had the hot hands to lead the Wolverines.