Michigan
13-10, 5-7
Illinois
8-15, 1-11
Wolverines Run Past Illinois Behind Flaherty, Thome
2/7/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 7, 2016
» Michigan shot 55.9 percent from the floor in the game, the 11th time this season that the Wolverines have shot at least 50 percent.
» U-M had 25 assists on 33 made field goals, its second-highest assist total of the season.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Crisler Center)
Score: Michigan 96, Illinois 83
Records: U-M (13-10, 5-7 Big Ten), ILL (8-15, 1-11 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Thursday, Feb. 11 -- vs. Wisconsin (Crisler Center), 7 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Sophomore Katelynn Flaherty scored a career-best 36 points and became the second sophomore in school history to reach the 1,000-point mark as the University of Michigan women's basketball team ran past Illinois, 96-83, on Sunday afternoon (Feb. 7) inside Crisler Center.
Flaherty topped the 30-point mark for the fifth time this season, hitting 13-of-18 shots from the floor. Freshman Hallie Thome went for 25 points on 9-for-10 shooting, with junior Siera Thompson chipping in 11 points, eight assists and six rebounds. In her first career start, freshman Boogie Brozoski had six points, four rebounds and a career-best seven assists. Michigan shot 55.9 percent (33-for-59) from the floor and held a 32-23 advantage on the glass.
Michigan fell behind in the opening moments of the game before going on an 11-0 run, capped by a Flaherty triple, forcing an Illinois timeout with 6:31 left as Michigan held a 15-6 lead. The Wolverines held a 10-point lead, 27-17, after the first 10 minutes of action as Flaherty nearly outscored Illinois by herself with 14 points.
The Wolverines led by as many as 18 points in the second quarter, as the team was 9-for-16 from the floor. Illinois made all 12 free throws in the quarter to offset a 3-for-13 performance from the field in the second stanza.
Michigan took a 48-36 lead into the locker room behind 19 first-half points from Flaherty. Michigan shot 59.4 percent (19-for-32) from the floor in the first 20 minutes while limiting Illinois to 36.0-percent (9-for-25) shooting.
Illinois cut Michigan's lead to six points, 54-48, with 6:56 remaining in the third quarter. Flaherty hit back-to-back three-pointers from the left corner to push Michigan's lead back to 12 points, 60-48, just 34 seconds later.
The Illini ended the third quarter on a 10-2 run to trim Michigan's lead to 71-64. Brozoski nailed a corner triple to start the fourth, pushing Michigan's lead back to double figures. Following a defensive stop, Flaherty was good from the top of the key, and Thome made good on a high-low pass from senior Madison Ristovski as Michigan upped its lead back to 14, 78-64.
U-M's lead stayed in double digits the rest of the way as Michigan went 7-for-8 at the free throw line to seal the win.
U-M completes a two-game homestand on Thursday (Feb. 11), hosting Wisconsin at 7 p.m. at Crisler Center. [ Tickets ]
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96 | 83 |
Communications Contact: Sarah VanMetre
