Michigan women rack up turnovers, mistakes in loss to no. 10 Oklahoma

A sloppy, physical game in which most possessions included a whistle resulted in Michigan’s first loss in six weeks.

The Michigan women’s basketball team lost to the no. 10 Oklahoma 72-62 late Tuesday night in the Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The Wolverines entered the fourth quarter with just three points, but had too many wasted possessions and struggled with outside shooting all night.

Michigan committed 26 turnovers and 26 fouls, with both sides frustrated by the way the game was officiated. For Michigan, Jordan Hobbs fouled out with 6:50 left and Yulia Grabovskaia joined her with 5:09 left. Syla Swords and Greta Kampschroeder (four each) battled through foul trouble throughout.

Oklahoma’s 9-0 run turned a four-point deficit into a 44-39 lead midway through the third quarter. The Sooners led the rest of the way. A corner 3 gave them eight with 7:28 left. The next points came on another Oklahoma triple with 5:47 left, and Michigan never got closer than eight.

Michigan (9-2 and ranked No. 20) lost for the first time since the season opener against South Carolina on Nov. 4.

Mila Holloway, a Charlotte native, led all players with 20 points, although she had six turnovers. It was a similar story for Michigan’s other leading scorers: Hobbs had 14 points and seven turnovers; Swords 11 points and six giveaways. Michigan shot just 5 of 18 from 3-point range.

Oklahoma (10-1) was also sloppy (21 turnovers), but found a rhythm late to secure the victory. Star center Raegan Beers got off to a slow start, finishing with just nine points (half her season average) before coming on late.

Michigan wraps up its non-conference slate with Friday’s trip to Akron.

Inside the Spectrum Center in a game that didn’t tip off until about 9:45 p.m., the pace was fast and sloppy early. Oklahoma used its size and strength advantage to score inside. Michigan pushed the ball and tried to spread the floor offensively. Both teams struggled with turnovers.

The game was tied at 13 before Oklahoma’s 7-0 run to close the opening quarter. The Sooners attempted eight more shots than Michigan thanks to seven offensive rebounds (Michigan had none).

Midway through the second quarter, Michigan already had 12 turnovers and Oklahoma had nine. But Michigan cleaned up its rebounding woes and used a 12-0 run to take a 25-22 lead. The game was tied at 30 at halftime despite Michigan’s foul trouble: Kampschroeder picked up his third foul a little more than a minute into the second quarter and sat the rest of the half; Swords was whistled for her third late in the half on a questionable moving screen (her first was an even more outlandish offensive foul that negated her basket). Beers only attempted one shot in the first half; she played just eight minutes after picking up two fouls.

Her teammates rallied and kept Oklahoma ahead for the final 15 minutes.

• BET: Check out our guide to best michigan sportsbookswhere our team of sports betting experts have reviewed the experience, payout speed, parlay options and quality of odds for several sportsbooks.