Without both of its top scorers — fifth-year wing Leigha Brown and sophomore guard Laila Phelia — the No. 12 Michigan women’s basketball team needed to find production elsewhere.

It wasn’t easy for the Wolverines. They struggled to find consistent scoring from anyone besides graduate forward Emily Kiser, who finished the game with a double-double and a career-high 34 points. But against a subpar Rutgers squad, Michigan (21-7 overall, 11-6 Big Ten) did enough to emerge victorious over the Scarlet Knights (11-18, 5-12) on Senior Night, with Kiser leading the Wolverines to a 71-53 win.

“Tonight (was) arguably one of Emily’s best in her career,” Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico said. “… We needed all of (her points) today. She was unbelievable.”

In the first half, Kiser’s production kept the Wolverines afloat. In the second, it allowed them to pull away and secure a convincing victory.

With the exception of two nailed 3-pointers from Kiser, the first quarter progressed without any real fireworks. Michigan experimented with zone defense at times, making an effort to mix up looks and throw Rutgers off. After 10 minutes — and 14 points from Kiser — the Wolverines looked somewhat in control with an eight-point lead, but that margin quickly narrowed throughout the rest of the first half.

Just a few minutes into the second frame, a Rutgers triple followed by a steal and transition layup cut the lead to 21-17, forcing a Wolverines timeout. Not much changed out of the break, though, as poor three-point shooting and inconsistent production continued to plague Michigan. 

“Sometimes we settled almost too much and relied on our three,” senior guard Maddie Nolan said. “Where we do have a lot of really good three-point shooters, we also need to look at ‘alright, like they’re not hitting right now.’ ”

Only three Wolverines went into the locker room at halftime with points to their name, and the team shot a measly 2-for-11 from behind the arc. Kiser led the group with 18 first-half points, followed by junior forward Cameron Williams’s five and Nolan’s four. Excluding Kiser and Williams, the rest of the team shot 1-for-13 from the floor as Michigan clung to a 27-26 lead at the break.

The Wolverines continued to rely on Kiser throughout the second half. She scored the team’s first six points out of the break, taking offensive efforts into her own hands and giving Michigan some breathing room.

Kiser sustained that scoring as the game wore on, but those points don’t capture the full extent of her impact. Not only did she contribute as a scorer, but Kiser also led the Wolverines with 10 rebounds and served as a spark for the rest of the offense.

“Her rebounding the ball also was just tremendous,” Barnes Arico said. “So, just a super special night on her last home game.”

By the end of the third quarter, her efforts had jumpstarted the Wolverines’ offense and propelled them to a 12-point advantage — a lead that they never relinquished. 

Kiser credited her success heavily to the guards, pointing out their impressive passes to her in the post. Michigan finished the game with 20 assists, a number that they hadn’t reached since the beginning of January.

“Our team really has worked on passing (Kiser) the ball,” Barnes Arico said. “Her catches were great. Our delivery was great, you know, 20 assists. We haven’t had that in a minute. So it was kind of nice to get back to really sharing the basketball.”

Midway through the fourth, two back-to-back triples from Nolan and sophomore guard Jordan Hobbs added depth scoring to extend Michigan’s lead to 15. Nolan went on to nail three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter after starting 0-for-6 from deep — exemplifying the offensive turnaround.

The Wolverines ultimately resurfaced in the second half against the struggling Scarlet Knights after overcoming their first-half blunders — in large part thanks to Kiser’s career-high performance.