The eighth-ranked Michigan women's basketball team moved one step closer to the Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament championship with a 90-58 quarterfinal win over Oregon on Friday.
After earning a double-bye into the quarterfinals after a strong regular season, the Wolverines cruised past the Ducks, despite having to deal with Olivia Olson's first-half foul trouble.
Olson, who was recently selected as an All-American, finished with 16 points. That was second on the team behind Syla Swords. The First-Team All-Big Ten selection delivered with 17 points and eight rebounds in the win. Olson added six rebounds on top of her 16 points.
Ashley Sofilkanich finished with 14 points and six rebounds. Mila Holloway also pitched in with nine points and 10 assists. That was the first time a Michigan women's basketball player has had at least 10 assists in three seasons.
Michigan women's basketball set for Big Ten tourney showdown with Iowa
The win for the Wolverines sets up a semifinal showdown against second-seeded Iowa (25-5, 15-3). Iowa won the only regular-season matchup between the two teams 62-44. The top-10 matchup (Iowa is ranked 9th) could come down to Iowa's bigs. 6-foot-4 Eva Heiden dominated the last game against Michigan women's basketball with 24 points, 10 rebounds, and two blocks. Hannah Stuelke (6-foot-2) is another All-Big Ten caliber player.
Not surprisingly, Iowa has the third-best 2-point shooting percentage in women's college basketball. The Hawkeyes shot 56 percent on 2-point attempts in the first matchup. Michigan shot 30. The Wolverines also shot 31 percent from 3-point range.
Both of those numbers will need to be higher on Saturday if the Wolverines want to advance to Sunday's Big Ten championship game between the winner of UCLA and Minnesota.
Iowa and Michigan will play on Saturday at 4:30 PM EST on CBS.