As deemed by Michigan women’s basketball coach Kevin Borseth, Thursday night was a “slugfest.”

Michigan (3-0) shot just 33 percent from the field and 14 percent from behind the arc but squeaked out a 55-50 win over Utah (2-1).

In the first half, the Wolverines came out flat. Michigan missed layups and went 1-for-11 on 3-point attempts. Michigan fed the ball into the paint to try to get the offense rolling, but shots just weren’t falling. Junior center Rachel Sheffer and senior forward Carmen Reynolds combined for 5-for-21 from the floor, which stalled the post play for the Wolverines.

The biggest struggle for Michigan was overcoming Utah’s height. Three of the Utes’ five starters stood at 6-foot-4, and Michigan had a hard time adjusting to their size and physicality in the paint. Utah put up 32 points in the paint and outrebounded Michigan 42-31, resulting in 10 second-chance points.

“We had a tough time,” Borseth said. “Our post players couldn’t score on that block. It was extremely physical down inside there, and we knew that coming in.”

Michigan countered Utah’s height advantage by consistently driving into the lane. Junior guard Nya Jordan and senior guard Courtney Boylan were both successful penetrating into the lane, relieving pressure on Reynolds and Sheffer.

After struggling offensively all night, the Wolverines attributed the win to their solid defensive effort, forcing 18 turnovers and pressuring Utah into missing 12 of 15 shots from downtown.

Michigan’s speed and quickness ignited its defense. Reynolds noted that the team’s strategy was to speed up the game to gain an advantage over Utah’s forwards — and it worked well. Junior guard Jenny Ryan led the team with five steals, which came from strong man-to-man defense and pressure on Utah’s guards. In the second half, Ryan helped convert back-to-back steals into layups to give Michigan some breathing room.

“We played extremely well defensively,” Borseth said. “I thought we had a great game defensively. We obviously didn’t shoot very well, but we beat a very good team.”

Though shots weren’t falling for the Wolverines, junior forward Kate Thompson had a stellar night. She led the team with 17 points through numerous drives to the basket, and Reynolds and Boylan also broke double digits with 12 points and 11 points, respectively.

Though Michigan’s post was inefficient, the penetration by Boylan and Jordan was successful in sparking the offense down low.

“Coach told us to go at them, to go into the paint because Nya and Courtney are very explosive,” Thompson said. “They did a great job, Courtney is so crafty in there — she can finish it going to the rim.”

The penetration from the guards earned the Wolverines numerous trips to the free throw line, which was a key factor in the game.

Michigan was perfect from the charity stripe deep into the second half, and ended up 16-for-19. The Wolverines shot most of their free throws in the bonus, and Thompson and Boylan converted key free throws down the stretch to secure the win.

Since Michigan couldn’t convert their shots down low, Borseth said their game plan in the second half was to penetrate and draw fouls since the Wolverines were hitting their free throws.

“Rebounds and free throws win games, especially in the last three minutes of the game,” Borseth said. “We tried to get to the free-throw line.”

Though Michigan’s record is better than it was at this time last year (1-2 overall), there still are things to work on.

The Wolverines have historically struggled scoring in the paint, but they have shown improvement this season. Reynolds believes the team can do better.

“We need to make shots and continue to get the ball in the paint,” Reynolds said. “We do want to continue getting in the paint by penetration or by passing it in and posting it up.”