Olson and Swords help No. 7 Michigan rally past Northwestern for an 80-58 win

EVANSTON, Ill. — Olivia Olson had 21 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, and No. 7 Michigan beat Northwestern 80-58 on Thursday night.

Michigan (21-4, 12-2 Big Ten) shook off a slow start while bouncing back from a 69-66 home loss to No. 2 UCLA on Sunday. Next up is a big matchup with rival Michigan State on Sunday.

Syla Swords scored 16 points for the Wolverines, and Kendall Dudley had 12 points on 6-for-9 shooting.

Northwestern (8-16, 2-11) dropped its sixth consecutive game. Caroline Lau had 16 points and six assists for the Wildcats. Grace Sullivan also scored 16, and Tayla Thomas finished with 13.

Michigan erased a seven-point deficit with a 21-3 run in the third quarter. The Wolverines went ahead to stay on Swords’ driving layup with 5:42 left, and Dudley’s basket made it 56-45 with 1:19 to go.

Thomas missed two foul shots for Northwestern during the decisive sequence, and Sullivan had a costly turnover.

The Wolverines led by 23 on Olson’s jumper with 3:30 left. The sophomore guard scored 14 points in the second half.

Northwestern closed the first half with a 9-0 run for a 37-31 lead at the break. Lau banked home a tying 3, Thomas connected from deep and Lau hit another 3 with 59 seconds left in the first half.

Michigan missed nine of its last 10 shots from the field in the second quarter. It shot 38% (14 for 37) from the field in the first half, compared to 61% (14 for 23) for Northwestern.