Michigan
11-3,2-1Big Ten
Michigan State
8-6,1-2Big Ten
Dilk, Hillmon Help Lead Michigan to Big Win Over MSU
1/5/2020 3:34:00 PM | Women's Basketball
» Michigan earned a decisive 20-point victory over MSU, the second-largest margin of victory over the Spartans in the series.
» Naz Hillmon produced her third double-double of the season with 21 points and 12 boards, with Amy Dilk going for 23 points, five boards and three assists. Akienreh Johnson (15) and Hailey Brown (11) rounded out Michigan's double-figure scorers.
» Michigan used a 16-point run spanning the third and fourth quarters to turn a one-point lead into a 17-point lead. U-M held MSU off the scoreboard for the first five minutes of the final quarter.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Crisler Center)
Score: Michigan 89, Michigan State 69
Records: U-M (11-3, 2-1 B1G), MSU (8-6, 1-2 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Thursday, Jan. 9 -- at Ohio State (Columbus, Ohio), 6 p.m.
• Watch: Highlights vs. Michigan State
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The sophomore duo of Naz Hillmon and Amy Dilk each produced 20-point games to propel the University of Michigan women's basketball team to a decisive 89-69 victory over in-state rival Michigan State at Crisler Center on Sunday (Jan. 5) afternoon.
Hillmon led the Wolverines with her third double-double of the season, scoring 21 points and adding 12 rebounds, while Dilk notched her second 20-point contest with 23 points. The sophomore point guard also added five rebounds and three assists to her stat line.
As a team, Michigan shot 56.7 percent (34-for-60) from the floor in the contest, including 91.7 percent (11-for-12) shooting in the third quarter. U-M scored an impressive 54 points in the paint, while making five shots from long-range.
Senior Akienreh Johnson and Hailey Brown also added double-digit scoring for the Maize and Blue with 15 and 11 points, respectively. Brown made three from beyond the arc and Johnson added six rebounds.
Defensively, Michigan forced Michigan State into 18 turnovers, scoring 11 points off Spartan miscues, while outrebounding the MSU, 32-27, including 10 offensive boards.
A three-pointer from Brown with 3:32 left in the first quarter sparked the Michigan offense as it took the slight two-point lead. The Wolverines went on to make two straight shots and took a 20-17 lead behind six points and six rebounds from Hillmon and six points from Brown.
The Michigan defense stepped up in the second quarter, causing four MSU miscues in the first five minutes, and the Wolverines took a 29-26 advantage. The Spartans used five makes to cut the Wolverine lead to three as Michigan took a 35-32 lead into the locker room.
Hillmon led the Wolverines with 11 points and eight rebounds, while Dilk added eight points, three assists and two rebounds.
In a back-and-forth start to the third quarter, U-M used drives in the paint to maintain its lead, including back-to-back layups from Hillmon before she forced an MSU turnover heading into the media timeout. A drive from Dilk followed by the offensive rebound on her and-one free throw led to a Brown triple from the top of the arc to help the Wolverines extend their lead to eight, 56-48, with under four minutes to play in the third quarter.
With the ball in their hands and 17 seconds on the clock, the Wolverines brought the ball up the court and Brown made a pass from the top of the arc to Dilk on the left side of the floor. Dilk drained a three-pointer with less than five seconds remaining to put Michigan up, 63-59.
Johnson opened up the fourth quarter with a trey from the opposite side of the court. A Dilk drive brought the lead to nine and a shot clock violation put the ball back into the hands of the Wolverines. Michigan took the ball down the court for another quick layup, forcing MSU to burn a timeout with 8:10 remaining in the quarter with the U-M lead extended to 70-59.
Michigan put MSU on ice for just over five minutes, as a Johnson layup capped off a 16-0 Wolverine run that started in the third quarter and pushed the U-M lead to 76-59. MSU scored 10 more points, but they would not be enough to cut into the large Michigan advantage. Michigan led for 31:53 in the contest and never trailed after a Brown triple at the 3:32 mark of the first quarter.
The Wolverines will be back in action Thursday (Jan. 9) when they take on Ohio State at 6 p.m. in Columbus. The game will be broadcast live on Big Ten Network.
