#4 Michigan 73, #13 Wisconsin 65, 2OT
The clock struck midnight for the Cinderella story that was the Wisconsin Badgers, a team whose two wins became the first by a 13-seed in B1G conference tournament history. After dispatching #12 Penn State and #5 Ohio State in the first two rounds, Wisconsin had their opportunities but couldn’t capitalize.
“Obviously the last game of the season is always the hardest when you know you have a team
that is playing its best basketball and being led by two seniors seated next to me,” said Badgers head coach Jonathan Tsipis referring to Marsha Howard and Kelly Karlis. “You know, in the last three days they’ve played 38, 38, and then Kelly played almost 48 today, Marsha played 45. They gave us everything they had, and again, we knew coming in — this is our sixth game in 11 days. We didn’t share that with the team. We hoped they didn’t do that math. But it’s pretty remarkable on this run we’ve had and history has been made.”
Howard and Karlis scored 12 and 10 points, respectively, in their last career game, but the notion of the legacy they built wasn’t lost on them.
“They were already telling me the legacy that I left for them as I was walking off the court or as we entered the locker room,” said Howard. “But proud to say that I was a part of a group that was able to expand our game to the third round of the Big Ten Tournament, and to leave behind my underclassmen, the will and the fight to power — to power through, just knowing that nothing is ever over. You can always overcome obstacles and to keep fighting until the clock says zero.”
As for Michigan, senior Hallie Thome scored 18 big points, while freshman and Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year Naz Hillmon put in 15, leading the Wolverines to their first semifinal appearance since 2001.
“Great win for our program. Wisconsin obviously is playing really well right now. They’re playing without any pressure. They’re playing loose, and they’re playing confident. And they challenged us to two overtimes tonight. Just a great basketball game,” said Michigan head coach Kim Barnes Arico. “I was really happy with the way that they hung tough, even when things weren’t going our way, to figure out a way to grind it out.”
Michigan is now 21-10 on the season. Wisconsin finishes at 15-18.