Senior guard Veronica Hicks didn’t want her last game at Crisler Arena to end.

So with just second remaining in the game, Hicks hit a half-court buzzer shot to send the game against Minnesota into overtime.

“There’s always hope when someone throws up a desperation shot like that,” sophomore guard Jenny Ryan said. “I guess in my eyes you’re just not thinking, you’re holding your breath, hoping for the best and expecting the worst. As soon as it goes through the net you just breathe and you run.”

Fueled by Hicks’s long-range basket, the Wolverines (9-6 Big Ten, 16-11 overall) played two periods of overtime against the Golden Gophers. But a struggling offense that had plagued Michigan all night proved deadly in the second overtime, giving Minnesota a chance to pull ahead and win, 82-78.

Hicks claimed to have felt confident taking the game-deciding shot at the end of regulation off a play that Michigan coach Kevin Borseth said he's had in his pocket for four years.

“The funny part is that I was (shooting half-court shots) during the shoot around,” Hicks said. “So when they went up by three with only four seconds left and coach (Borseth) showed us the play, I was like, ‘I practiced it today.’ So, you know, God must have been preparing me, and it went in.”

But that confidence may have come as a surprise to the fans at the game Thursday night, as the Wolverines showed anything but strength around the basket.

Michigan shot just 27 percent in the first half, stemming from a mere 16 percent from behind the 3-point arc and a leading scorer who tallied just four points in the first stanza.

But the Wolverines were also unable to answer Minnesota (4-11, 12-16) in the second half — until the last second. The Golden Gophers came out of the locker room with a 25-19 advantage and, despite a handful of good looks from Michigan, were able to maintain a two or three-possession lead for the majority of regulation.

The Golden Gophers gave the Wolverines trouble on the interior, forcing them to shoot contested layups or dish the ball outside to shoot from long range. Michigan also had 14 turnovers on the night to add to the offensive frustration.

“Both teams struggled, it was very physical,” Borseth said. “You try to push, you get moved, you try to cut, you get moved. (Minnesota) is pretty good, they’re physical and they’re big. That was probably a lot of the reason why we struggled in the game, because of the physical-ness.”

But the Wolverines also struggled defensively, unable to get the key stops that could have sparked a run on the other end of the court. Minnesota shot just under 50 percent for the night and out-rebounded the Wolverines, 43-34.

In fact, the fans at Crisler Arena didn’t have much to excite them until the final four minutes of regulation. The Wolverines came out of hibernation and gave Minnesota a challenge.

They took the lead for the first time that half, as Hicks made two shots from the free throw line. From there, both teams rallied back and forth, junior guard Carmen Reynolds went to the line with Michigan down by two and five seconds left on the clock. Reynolds, an 85-percent free-throw shooter, only sunk one — forcing the Wolverines to foul upon the inbound.

And after Minnesota made both of its freebies, Hicks was forced to shoot her half-court buzzer beater.

In overtime, Michigan continued to struggle offensively, shooting just 5-for-17 and continuously running the shot clock down, forcing last-second drives to the basket and contested looks from long range.

“We were having a shorter shot clock because of the pressure (Minnesota) was putting on our point guard,” Ryan said. “That takes 10 seconds off the shot clock so you have just 20 seconds to run a play instead of 25. I think we just got away from what we are used to doing. I think we were just so focused on swinging the ball that maybe we didn’t get it inside the way we wanted.”

Despite producing a late comeback that forced a potential blowout into a thriller, the Wolverines still lost a crucial game. If Michigan had won, the Wolverines would have had a solid grasp on third place in the Big Ten. But with the loss, Michigan is in a three-way tie for fourth place.