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Olivia Olson and Syla Swords lead Michigan over Louisville 71-52 in Sweet 16 of March Madness
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- Olivia Olson and Syla Swords lead Michigan over Louisville 71-52 in Sweet 16 of March Madness
FORT WORTH, Texas — Olivia Olson and the Michigan Wolverines already had weathered a six-minute scoring drought to start the game when they scored 17 consecutive third-quarter points in their Sweet 16 meeting with Louisville.
"When we just take a breath and relax, we have so much fun," Olson said. "So just that third quarter we were just really playing loose and having fun, and I think that's what ignited our run."
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Olson scored 19 points, fellow sophomore Syla Swords added 16 and No. 2 seed Michigan overcame a sluggish start for a 71-52 victory over the Cardinals in March Madness on Saturday.
The Wolverines had a 16-0 run in the second quarter to erase an 11-point deficit, their biggest, then broke a tie in the third with the 17-0 burst that let them cruise to their second Elite Eight, both in the past five seasons.
Michigan (28-6) tied a school record for victories and will play top-seeded Texas on Monday night for a spot in the Final Four.
"It took us a minute to settle," coach Kim Barnes Arico said. "But then once we did, I think our confidence exploded and we just were really disruptive on the defensive end, which we pride ourselves with being, and that allowed the floodgates to open on offense."
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Elif Istanbulluoglu scored 18 points but was the only player in double figures for the third-seeded Cardinals (29-8), who shot 35% and were outscored 49-16 over a two-quarter stretch from midway through the second to the middle of the fourth.
"It was not a good performance at all by us. It was actually the worst we've had all year," said Louisville coach Jeff Walz, who has overseen all 13 of the program's Sweet 16 trips during his 19 seasons. "It's what they did, but a lot of it was because what we didn't do."
Olson, the top scorer among a bevy of sophomores leading both teams, missed four of her first five shots, and the Wolverines didn't score until Swords' bucket made it 8-2 with 3:46 left in the first quarter.
Te'Yala Delfosse, who had 10 points, eight rebounds and two blocks, had a 3-pointer during the second-quarter run that she capped with a three-point play for Michigan's first lead at 28-25.
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Swords and Olson connected on consecutive 3-pointers late in the 17-0 run that put Michigan in control for good. The sophomore standouts combined to go 9 of 16 from the field in the second half.
Louisville had won both of the previous meetings in the NCAA Tournament, including a victory four years ago that sent the Cardinals to the Final Four.
"Early in my career, it seemed like we got them in every bracket," Barnes Arico said. "I'm not up here complaining. I know there's been a lot of coaches come through that said they get the same. So I was not looking forward to playing them at all, but heck, it feels so great to be on the other side of that."
Shooting struggles
Louisville's three double-figure scorers — Tajianna Roberts, Laura Ziegler and Imari Berry — combined to make just eight of 34 from the field. They were 2 of 12 from 3-point range as the Cardinals finished 3 of 14 (21%) from deep.
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"I think you definitely have to stay present and trust the work that you put in all year, because the work you put in is going to show," Roberts said.
Coaching jersey
Barnes Arico was wearing a maize No. 11 softball jersey on the sideline, and her staff members also had on baseball or softball jerseys.
She said she wore a similar jersey the other time the Wolverines reached the Sweet 16 four years ago, a squad featuring Naz Hillmon, Michigan's first Associated Press All-American. Barnes Arico said 11 was the number for both her late brother and her father, who died this year.
"It just gives us a different look," Barnes Arico said. "If we keep this thing going, it will be our Sweet 16 thing."
