Michigan beat undefeated Kansas on Thursday night, 75-67, after trailing by 13 points at the half. It was the first time this season that the Wolverines (5-4) have come back to win after being down at the half.
“Obviously, we are very excited to beat a great Big 12 team,” Michigan coach Kevin Borseth said after the game. “Kansas is very good, we had to play hard and play well to beat them and I thought we did. That’s a big win for us.”
In a fast-paced matchup from early on, the Jayhawks were first to find their rhythm with a 10-0 run midway through the first half. Kansas continued to control the rest of the half, capitalizing on high balls, screen shots and lob passes. The Jayhawks outshot Michigan 59.3 percent to 36.4 percent on the half.
Unable to defend against the quick movement and height of the Kansas players, Michigan allowed 41 points, including a last-second shot by the Jayhawks at the buzzer to send the Wolverines into the locker room.
But Michigan came back onto the court in the second half as a different team. According to Borseth, there were three things that the team wanted to accomplish during the game: conversion, offensive rebounds and foul shots.
And in the second half, the Wolverines did each of these things.
Michigan made more than 50 percent of its field goals and 3-pointers in the second half and quickly built up a 9-0 run in the opening minutes. Four Wolverines scored in double figures, including sophomore forward Nya Jordan.
Jordan scored 11 points in the game, but it was her 3-pointer with less than eight minutes left in the game that changed the momentum. Her basket tied the score for the first time in the second half, providing that extra offensive spark that the Wolverines needed.
“We can get on a roll whenever we want to because we just have that in our arsenal,” senior guard Veronica Hicks said. “When we start heating up and knocking down those shots, that’s when we really build our confidence. Basketball is a game of momentum. Once you see that first shot go in, it’s kind of like, ‘Okay, I feel it now.’ ”
But Michigan didn’t take the lead until there were just over five minutes left in the game. Junior guard Carmen Reynolds hit a jumper to bring the score to 58-57, and sophomore forward Sam Arnold followed, sinking a basket as the shot clock elapsed.
Arnold and junior guard Courtney Boylan gave Michigan a breath of fresh air from the bench. Boylan — who has seen minimal time on the court this season — played for a total of 19 minutes and scored nine points. She also snagged two of the Wolverines’ 11 offensive rebounds. It was the first time since Michigan’s home opener against Alcorn State that the Wolverines have won the offensive board battle.
“I thought Courtney came in and handled the ball confidently and got to the rim a couple of times,” Borseth said. “She hit a layup or two right in the first half there and hit a big three down the stretch. I’m happy for her because she hasn’t played a whole lot, but got in tonight and played positively and aggressively.”
Arnold also showed a strong presence off the bench, coming in as Michigan’s second-leading scorer and tallying 12 points. But it was her final free throws that ended the game.
With 1.2 seconds remaining in regulation, Arnold drained both of her shots receiving a standing ovation in Crisler Arena and placing the first blemish on the undefeated Kansas’s record.