Near the end of the third quarter, the Wolverines saw the game slipping away.
Brendan Roose
Daily Sports Writer
Women's Basketball
After Michigan’s first four field goals all came from right at the hoop, it was clear that its offense against Penn State would run through the paint.
After two straight losses to ranked teams, Michigan came out guns blazing on Tuesday afternoon. With quick inside points and a defense that confounded Penn State, nothing was going to stop its enthusiasm.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Michigan was right in it.
A pair of layups from sophomore and senior forwards Naz Hillmon and Kayla Robbins cut Maryland’s lead to seven, and with shots finally falling, the Wolverines looked poised to stage a comeback.
But the No. 24 Wolverines (9-2) couldn’t take this momentum into the second half, en route to a 79-69 loss to No. 8 Florida State (12-0). They couldn’t convert on the offensive end to start the third quarter, while the Seminoles fed their bigs in the paint with success. Sophomore forward Naz Hillmon and junior forward Hailey Brown both picked up two fouls in the first half, and had to play conservative defensively. Florida State had taken a five point lead before Michigan scored in the second half — over four minutes into the half.
In her three years as a starter, junior forward Hailey Brown has consistently produced solid numbers for the Michigan women’s basketball team.
Sophomore forward Naz Hillmon had the ball in the paint as Appalachian State defenders crowded around her. Rather than force up a shot, she found Akienreh Johnson open in the corner. The senior guard drained a 3-pointer just 13 seconds into the game.
Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico and the players showed Thursday that they had learned their lesson. With just under six minutes left in the game, the Wolverines unveiled a stifling full-court press. They had shown this look from time to time throughout their past few games — even for a few possessions in the first half against Syracuse — but they had never looked as energized in the formation as they had down the stretch of Thursday’s game.
Oakland had just cut the Michigan women’s basketball team’s lead to seven, in the midst of a 10-4 run, and Amy Dilk had the ball at the top of the key.
A grueling, late-night victory against one of the country’s most consistent powerhouses can leave a team limping unsuspectingly into a game two days later against a weaker in-state opponent, ripe to be upset.