Kornacki: Is Johnson the X-Factor for U-M Down the Stretch?

By Steve Kornacki

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- It's time to step up, plain and simple.

Amy Dilk, the University of Michigan's slick freshman point guard, went down with a knee injury in the first quarter of Thursday's (Feb. 7) game, and senior guard Nicole Munger is playing on a bad ankle that has seriously limited her ability to impact outcomes in the last three games.

So, others are required to step up and fill the voids. Akienreh Johnson was one of those raising her hand in a 67-61 win over Nebraska that required plenty of guts and glue throughout the lineup.

The Wolverines are finding ways to win despite having two hobbled starters, and have won three consecutive games for the first time this season in Big Ten play to improve to 15-9 overall and 6-6 in conference play.

Johnson, a 6-foot junior guard from Toledo, Ohio, came off the bench to score 14 points, including four points in the final two minutes, and also played a dominant defensive game. She had six steals -- two more than any Michigan player has had in one game this season. And just for good measure, Johnson shared the team's lead in assists with three and had nary a turnover.

It was a very impressive, all-around performance by a player just now finding her stride.

Johnson missed 30 practices and the first two games of the season with a broken left (non-shooting) hand that required surgery, but is now making a difference at a very opportune time for her team. She's averaging 12.0 points and 4.3 rebounds in the last three games, and has made .571 of 21 field goal attempts with .444 accuracy on nine three-pointers.

"It's been a tough start to the season for Akienreh breaking her hand early on," said Wolverines coach Kim Barnes Arico. "Finishing the year last year she was just so incredible, and then she got hurt early (one week into fall practices), and in her transition back she was getting frustrated. It took a little longer than she wanted to.

"But she's playing with an extreme amount of confidence now. She's back and feeling great. She's just a big, strong guard who can do so many things for us. We've been able to see that the last three games. That our bench has been able to help has been the difference between us being successful (now) and early in league play not being successful."

The Wolverines had a 37-20 scoring edge off the bench against the Cornhuskers, and freshman forward Naz Hillmon was huge with team highs of 18 points and 11 rebounds. She's become a consistent force off the bench with five double-doubles, and in this game moved ahead of senior center Hallie Thome as the team scoring leader by pushing her scoring average to 13.0 per game.

If Johnson can play anything close to what Hillmon's done and Dilk and Munger get healthy, Michigan would have a formidable seven-player rotation for the rest of the season.

"She's just being outstanding," Barnes Arico said of Johnson. "She made big plays tonight and was just tremendous for us."

It was a nip-and-tuck game until Johnson made two big plays down the stretch.

Defense! Michigan 55, Nebraska 51. 2:25 left. #goblue pic.twitter.com/o2zjIv80ej
— Michigan Women's Basketball (@umichwbball) February 8, 2019

She made a steal shortly after a Nebraska inbounds pass and quickly drove for the basket that made it 55-51 with 2:25 remaining. That supplied some cushion.

Johnson also pulled down a missed Cornhusker shot before being fouled immediately with 1:10 left to play. She calmly made both free throws to make it 60-53, requiring Nebraska to make at least three baskets to force overtime or win.

Akienreh did it all in this game.

"She can rebound the ball better than most guards," said Barnes Arico. "She also anticipates and has a great feel for the game. She's a really great passer, too. She's a kid that can do so many things for her team, and everyone's starting to see that now.

"A lot of her game is based on her confidence, and she's becoming more and more confident as the season progresses, and that's great for us."

Johnson scored 67 points in her first 18 games, but now has 36 in the last three. Her breakout game came in Friday's (Feb. 1) upset of No. 13 Iowa, when she contributed career highs with 19 points and seven rebounds.

"Before the season ever starts, to break my hand, I think now I'm starting to get my momentum back and my confidence back," said Johnson. "Coach has been challenging me the whole season, but I think now it's just starting to click for me."

She was surprised upon learning of her six steals in the game.

"Really?" said Johnson. "Oh, my God.

"I'm using my length, and yesterday in practice Coach Mel (assistant Melanie Moore) told me that with my length I'm a great defender. So, I get tips, deflections and steals. That's one thing I want to improve in my game and work on, getting more steals for my team.

"I'm good at reading eyes and picking up on plays fast. So, I knew they were going to give a ball fake and then pass opposite. So, I just kind of baited them ... I jump plays and mess up their offense."

Johnson
Deja Church (20) looks to execute an entry pass to Johnson down low in the paint.

She said that size and length also have allowed her to post up smaller guards to score.

Johnson, however, gets on the scoreboard with both power and finesse. She displayed good shooting form and poise in scoring with a shot from the baseline that just beat the first half buzzer, and also took a feed from Munger on the break to score a nifty reverse layup.

Johnson also epitomized the grit and will to win the Wolverines displayed in taking the fourth quarter, 19-12.

"Before the fourth quarter even started," said Johnson, "we were all kind of tensed up. I think we could feel that. So, Hallie (Thome) told us, "Guys, no matter what happens, just go out and have fun.' That kind of calmed (us) down a little bit.

"It was like, "Yeah, it's tough. But this is basketball. We've done it our whole life, and we want to have fun. We're in Crisler (Center), we're at home, our fans are here.' So, once she said that it calmed us down, and no matter what happens, as long as we know we worked 100 percent and we had fun, there's nothing else to do. That motivated us the whole fourth quarter to let loose and have fun."

Hillmon said the Wolverines fed off one another's energy, and eight different players scored at least five points.

It was a team effort down the stretch, but also a game in which Johnson showed her big contributions could come with some consistency.

"She's given a lot to the team," Hillmon said of Johnson. "After her slow start, being able to step up, that's huge. Some people get down on themselves, but she still came to practice every day ready to work.

"She brings things to our teams that others don't have because of her build and her skill set. So, it's a different look for other teams."

Johnson could be the X-factor for these Wolverines, a variable who decides outcomes.