March Madness 2022: Hillmon's 17 put Michigan women past S. Dakota in Sweet 16

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Michigan earned its chance to keep making history and believed in it.

The third-seeded Wolverines reached the Elite Eight for the first time with a 52-49 win over tenth-seeded South Dakota on Saturday night, helped by Naz Hillmon's 17 points and 10 rebounds and Laila Phelia's 14 points, including a go-ahead layup in the final minute.

"We have players that came in here with this vision and this belief that they could do something incredibly special," Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico said. "They wanted to be a part of that Block M and that excellence, and here we are sitting at the table going to the Elite Eight. It’s just a dream like you could never imagine, but it’s people that came together and created something incredibly special. It’s awesome."

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Michigan's Naz Hillmon, left, and Emily Kiser celebrate a 52-49 victory over South Dakota in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA women's tournament Saturday, March 26, 2022, in Wichita, Kan. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Michigan (25-6) will play No. 1 seed Louisville on Monday with a trip to the Final Four at stake. The teams met earlier this season on Dec. 2, when Louisville beat Michigan 70-48.

South Dakota (29-6) was trying to become just the fifth double-digit seed to reach the Elite Eight. The Coyotes had won 27 of 28 and were coming off a stunning upset of No. 2 seed Baylor.

"It’s hard to lose," South Dakota coach Dawn Plitzuweit said. "You always want one more. But it certainly wasn’t from a lack of effort, lack of anything. We just needed to make one more play in all reality."

Hannah Sjerven had 17 points and eight rebounds before fouling out for