Two weeks ago, against then-No. 23 Northwestern, Michigan learned a hard lesson: In the Big Ten, if you don’t start well, you don’t win.
Kent Schwartz
Daily Sports Writer
Women's Basketball
Late in the third quarter of Thursday’s game against Purdue, the Michigan women’s basketball team saw the game slipping away. Thanks to a poor shooting quarter, its once-15-point lead had dwindled down to just six.
Thursday night, freshman Maddie Nolan started her first game for the Wolverines against Purdue. Locking down the defensive end, Nolan refused to let the Boilermakers get hot, even as they targeted her. She ended the game with two points, six rebounds and four blocks. She wasn’t flashy and didn’t make much of an offensive impact. But she found ways to contribute when a team suffering from injuries needed her.
Thursday night, freshman Maddie Nolan started her first game for the Wolverines against Purdue. Locking down the defensive end, Nolan refused to let the Boilermakers get hot, even as they targeted her. She ended the game with two points, six rebounds and four blocks. She wasn’t flashy and didn’t make much of an offensive impact. But she found ways to contribute when a team suffering from injuries needed her.
After a tough stretch of losses and the loss of Kayla Robbins, the Michigan women’s basketball team had a week off to try and right the ship. Based on recent results, they seem to have turned things around.
Michigan came out of the timeout up by eight over Iowa. With the massive lead that it had built up over the first 13 minutes of the game dwindling, it needed a momentum changer.
But when you watch her play, you see a much different story. On defense, she keeps her feet moving and disrupts opponents’ offensive flow. On offense, she helps her point guard — sophomore Amy Dilk — direct traffic. When a loose ball hits the floor, she’ll be on the floor with it in moments.
It’s tough to find anything about sophomore forward Naz Hillmon that hasn’t already been said.
Her teammates love her. Her coaches rave about her. Opposing coaches have nightmares about her. All of them have plenty to say.
And yet, she created even more to talk about on Sunday at Crisler Center. In Michigan’s 78-63 win over Iowa, the Wolverines’ most consistent player one-upped herself again, scoring 30 points on 14-for-19 shooting. She added 10 rebounds to secure her seventh double-double of the season. Even though fans have grown accustomed to seeing her dominate, Hillmon continues to find new ways to impress.
After the Wolverines (14-7 overall, 5-5 Big Ten) shot 75 percent from the floor in the first quarter and led by as much as 12, poor second quarter shooting allowed No. 18 Iowa (18-4, 9-2) to cut the lead to six with five minutes left in the first half. Sophomore forward Naz Hillmon was the only Michigan player to make a shot in the quarter — scoring all six of the team’s second quarter points to that point.
Down nine midway through the second quarter, and with sloppy play preventing any sort of rhythm, the Michigan women’s basketball team needed a spark.
Amy Dilk had been at the forefront of the Wolverines’ ugly first quarter. After turning the ball over twice in the first two minutes of the game, it looked like it might be a lost night for the sophomore guard. But rather than letting her work out the kinks on the court, Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico took her out four minutes into the game and talked to her. And the message resonated.