Michigan to Face No. 8 Florida State in Hall of Fame Showcase

» No. 24 Michigan will face its first ranked opponent of the season, traveling to Connecticut to take on No. 8 Florida State in the Basketball Hall of Fame Women's Showcase.
» U-M is participating in the event for the first time in program history. The game is also Michigan's first contest in the state of Connecticut.
» The Wolverines have a trio of double-figure scorers in Naz Hillmon (15.6 ppg), Kayla Robbins (11.2 ppg) and Akienreh Johnson (11.0 ppg).

THIS WEEK
Sunday, Dec. 22 -- vs. No. 8 Florida State - Basketball Hall of Fame Women's Showcase (Uncasville, Conn.), 1:30 p.m.
TV: ACC Network | Live Stats | Live Audio
• Complete Game Notes (PDF)

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 24-ranked University of Michigan women's basketball team (9-1) will close out the non-conference season by taking on No. 8-ranked Florida State in the first game of the Basketball Hall of Fame Women's Showcase on Sunday (Dec. 22) at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut. The game is set for 1:30 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ACC Network.

• Michigan has won five straight games, with the winning streak kicking off at Eastern Michigan on Nov. 27. During the stretch, Michigan has knocked off the Eagles (57-38), Morgan State (80-48), Syracuse (84-76, OT), Oakland (79-64) and Appalachian State (62-35). The five-game streak moves Michigan's record to 9-1, the fourth time in school history that U-M has won nine of its first 10 games. The Wolverines also won nine of their first 10 games in 2011-12, 2001-02 and 1998-99. Michigan has started just 10-1 one time, during the 2001-02 campaign.

• U-M is participating in the Hall of Fame Women's Basketball Showcase for the first time in program history. The contest against Florida State also will mark the first game in the state of Connecticut for the Michigan women's basketball program.

• Michigan will face its first ranked opponent of the season in No. 8 Florida State. Syracuse and Notre Dame were both ranked to begin the year but fell out of the poll by the time they came to Ann Arbor. Michigan has played the No. 8-ranked team (AP Poll) 18 times in program history, the most of any rank. U-M's five top-10 wins in school history have all come against the No. 8-ranked team, the most recent coming in an 84-75 win at Ohio State on Jan. 16, 2018.

• Michigan will see some familiar faces on the Florida State sideline in Joy McCorvey and Jillian Dunston. McCorvey played for head coach Kim Barnes Arico at St. John's and served on her coaching staff at Michigan for six seasons (2012-2018). Dunston was a four-year letterwinner for the Maize and Blue (2015-18), and ranks third all-time with 862 rebounds. Dunston was named to the All-Big Ten defensive team during her senior season and helped Michigan to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2018 after winning the WNIT in 2017. McCorvey is an assistant coach for the Seminoles and Dunston is serving as a graduate assistant.

• The senior duo of Akienreh Johnson and Kayla Robbins is making the most of their senior seasons. Johnson and Robbins are two of Michigan's double-figure scorers on the season, as each are averaging career highs in scoring, rebounding and minutes. Johnson entered the season with career averages of 4.5 points and 2.7 rebounds in 13.5 minutes per game. This season, Johnson is averaging 11.0 points and 5.5 rebounds in 26.3 minutes per contest. Robbins came into the season averaging 4.0 points and 2.7 rebounds in 11.5 minutes per game in her 101 appearances. As a senior, Robbins is starting for the first time and averaging 11.2 points and 5.3 rebounds in 25.4 minutes per contest. Both players have set new career highs in scoring this year, as Robbins turned in 23 points against Syracuse (Dec. 5) and Johnson went for 21 against Kent State (Nov. 15).

• No. 8 Florida State (11-0) is one of 11 unbeaten teams in the country after picking up a 70-41 win over North Florida on Wednesday (Dec. 18). FSU is averaging 77.8 points per game on 46.9 percent shooting while allowing its opponents 54.2 points per contest on 35.0 percent shooting. The Seminoles feature a trio of double-figure scorers in Kiah Gillespie (15.6 ppg, 9.8 rpg), Nausia Woolfolk (14.6 ppg) and Nicki Ekhomu (13.5 ppg). The series between Michigan and Florida State is tied at 1-1 after FSU recorded a win in the 2016 Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands.