NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Freshman guard Aubrey Galvan hit a late free throw and finished with 20 points as No. 5 Vanderbilt beat No. 7 Michigan 72-69 on Monday as part of a doubleheader played at the Prudential Center on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Galvan was 7 of 14 from the field and Mikayla Blakes and Justine Pissott, both New Jersey prep stars, scored 14 points apiece for Vanderbilt (19-0), which ran its season-opening winning steak to 19 games.
Syla Swords and Kendall Dudley each scored 16 points for Michigan (15-3). Olivia Olson added 14 points as the Wolverines had their four-game winning streak halted.
The Wolverines trailed by 17 points in the first half before battling back and closing within two points at 65-63 with two minutes remaining. Vanderbilt got a jumper from Aiyana Mitchell and a 3-pointer from Galvan to increase its lead to 70-63 with 3:03 left.
After two consecutive baskets by Vanderbilt that made the score 71-67, Dudley's layup with 44 seconds left pulled Michigan within 71-69.
Galvan hit a free throw with three seconds left that gave Vanderbilt a three-point lead, and a 3-point try from the corner by Swords fell short as time expired.
The Wolverines led for just 2:51 in the first quarter. Vanderbilt took its biggest lead of the first half after Sacha Washington sank two free throws for a 17-point lead, 47-30, with 43 seconds left.
Vanderbilt leads the series against Michigan, 4-1. The schools last met in 1999.
Up next
Vanderbilt: Hosts Auburn on Thursday.
Michigan: At Rutgers on Thursday.
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