The Galen Center hosted its first Women’s NCAA Tournament basketball game on Saturday. It didn’t involve USC. Michigan and Kansas were the undercard with a start time of just after 11 a.m. in Los Angeles, preceding the Trojans’ March Madness debut in the second game of a Saturday doubleheader. It seemed that Michigan would advance in the bracket to potentially play USC, but Kansas insisted on a different outcome.
The Jayhawks, down 10 points with 6:30 left in the fourth quarter, rallied to force overtime and then scored the first five points of the extra period en route to an 81-72 win which sends them into Monday evening’s second round. The Trojans hope to win their game on Saturday afternoon versus Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and meet KU on Monday.
The turning point in the game came in the fourth quarter, when Michigan post player Cameron Williams — who had been the best player on the floor until that point — picked up her fourth foul and went to the bench. Kansas drives had been getting thwarted by Williams near the rim. After Williams left, Kansas was able to earn fouls and free throws to reduce the deficit. KU got within three points and then tied the game at 67 on a multi-bounce 3-pointer from Zakiyah Franklin with 12 seconds left. Michigan’s Lauren Hansen launched a 3-pointer in the final seconds for the win, but it missed. Kansas then outscored Michigan 14-5 in overtime for the victory.
Follow Trojans Wire for more on the Galen Center Women’s NCAA Tournament subregional this weekend.
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