Thome -- at 1,999 Points -- Helps Lead Wolverines to Victory Over Indiana
2/14/2019 11:49:00 PM | Women's Basketball, Features
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The next point Hallie Thome scores will be No. 2,000. It will put her behind only three-year teammate Katelynn Flaherty (2,776) and Diane Dietz (2,076, 1979-83) on the University of Michigan women's basketball team's career scoring list.
So, a significant milestone awaits the 6-foot-5 senior center from Chagrin Falls, Ohio. However, Thome scored some pretty big points down the stretch of Thursday's (Feb. 14) 67-58 comeback win over Indiana.
Thome had her fourth double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds, and scored five points in the fourth quarter. Her left-handed hook with 4:38 remaining gave Michigan a 56-55 lead after trailing by as many as nine points early in the third quarter.
Then, Thome triggered a critical possession by pulling down a defensive rebound. Thome swished a right-handed hook and was fouled on the play. She stepped to the free throw line with no hesitation and drained that shot for a four-point lead with 1:56 to play.
The margin widened from there, and Wolverines head coach Kim Barnes Arico removed Thome with 15 seconds to play and the outcome decided. But still one point from 2,000.
"I had no idea," said Barnes Arico. "Actually, at the end of the game, when she was sitting next to me for that last possession, I said, 'Congratulations, did you get it?' Because I knew she had a great night. She said, 'No, Coach. I needed one.' I said, 'Oh, no! I'm sorry.'
"But then she said, 'Coach, all I care about is us getting the win. That's the important thing. I'm fine.'"
Thome said of coming so close to the milestone: "Isn't it crazy? Selfishly, I wanted someone to pass me the ball so I could score it. I especially wanted to do it in front of our fans, who have been there for me. But at the end of the day, I'm not really worried about the points. As long as we win, I'm a happy camper."
Thome celebrates with head coach Kim Barnes Arico.
Hitting those clutch hooks, one with each hand, changed the game.
"I give a lot of credit to my teammates," said Thome. "I mean, I'm not the one having to dribble the ball up 94 feet against pressure and they're giving me good passes to be able to make those kinds of plays. So, credit to them for finding me. Even if I miss a few shots, they're coming back to me."
Thome is a natural lefty, but said Michigan assistant coach Melanie Moore works with her on the right-handed hook and encourages her to take it. Thome estimates 70 percent of her hooks are still from the left, but taking 30 percent with her right make her that much tougher to anticipate for a defender.
"That definitely helps a lot because they definitely have to play (me) straight up," said Thome. "So, it's exciting to know you can do every move. But if you over think it, you get in trouble. But overall, it's nice. Credit to Coach Mel for giving me the confidence in going right even though it's not my strong hand. And credit to our practice players for making me have to go right in practice."
Thome sounds, plays and acts like the co-captain she is along with classmate Nicole Munger.
"It's very inspirational," guard Akienreh Johnson, who had 16 points and seven rebounds, said of Thome's play. "Having a player like Hallie in the game is very calming. Her and Munger are experienced, and the shots that Hallie makes are incredible. I've never seen anybody make a hook shot almost at the three-point line."
Thome also has an impact in timeout huddles. She helped get her team back on track in the fourth quarter of last week's home win over Nebraska by emphasizing the need to simply "have fun" while playing hard. She was at it again in this win over the Hoosiers.
"In the fourth quarter," Thome said, "it was pretty close and we said, 'You know, we've been here every game.' So, just having the confidence in each other, and we all know that each other has the best interest of the team. So, we're just playing it play by play and picking it up on defense. A lot of times, our defense ignites our offense.
"That excites us and the whole arena. So, it's just exciting to play in that kind of environment."
Thome
Thome helped do whatever it took to win.
"She was just outstanding," said Barnes Arico. "She had a tremendous fourth quarter. She rebounded the ball exceptionally well. She played with a lot of confidence. She wanted the ball down the stretch. She was just terrific -- the player we're used to seeing night in and night out."
Thome, a two-time All-Big Ten first team selection, could very well end up as both Michigan's No. 2 scorer and rebounder of all time.
How's that for what amounts to a career double-double?
She's fourth with 844 rebounds, trailing Trish Andrew (928, 1989-93), three-year teammate Jillian Dunston (859) and Stacey Thomas (851, 1996-2000).
Even when she had her worst shooting night of the season (0-for-11 with one point at the free throw line), Thome had seven rebounds, six assists and two blocked shots in Sunday's (Feb. 10) pivotal win at Penn State.
Thome said, "At Penn State, I was so proud of our team and I had one point. As long as we win at the end of the day, and keep this thing rolling and stay together a team, that's all I can ask for."
The Wolverines (17-9, 8-6 Big Ten) won their fifth consecutive game to move into fifth place in the conference with four regular-season games remaining. They play Sunday (Feb. 17) at Illinois and return to Crisler Center on Feb. 21 to play Rutgers.
Michigan is winning with Munger playing on a bad ankle and point guard Amy Dilk out with a knee injury. They are finding a way to come out on top no matter what.
Thome has literally and figuratively been at the center of it all. And as if what she does on the court wasn't enough, Thome also brightens every room she enters and puts smiles on faces. She wished everyone a "Happy Valentine's Day" upon departing the press conference, and joked about how happy her grandfather back in Florida will be that she took the three-point shot he always encourages her to take -- even if she missed and is now 1-for-9 out there in her career.
Coaches treasure players like that, and I asked Barnes Arico what she's enjoyed most about coaching Thome.
"She's such a talented kid," said Barnes Arico. "I think sometimes, she doesn't even understand how talented she is for a player of her size, and her ability to have the hands and the finishing touches, and the rebounding ability. She's smart with a great understanding of the game.
"She's really just a phenomenal player. I don't know if I've ever coached in my career a 6-5 kid that has the skills and abilities that Hallie Thome has."
The 2,000th point will come. So might a 900th rebound.
Those numbers will forever cement Thome as one of the best to ever play for the Wolverines. But don't discount the intangibles she brings. That's what completes the package and brings her the title that best describes her.
Thome's a winner, plain and simple.
