Michigan
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Central Michigan
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Five Starters in Double Digits Propel U-M to Season-Opening Victory
11/25/2020 3:39:00 PM | Women's Basketball
» Michigan shot 61.7 percent from the floor to earn its season-opening victory over Central Michigan.
» Naz Hillmon recorded a double-double with 26 points and 11 rebounds.
» All five starters netted double figures in the Wolverine victory.
» Leigha Brown scored 22 points in her Michigan debut.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Crisler Center)
Score: #25 Michigan 93, Central Michigan 75
Records: U-M (1-0), CMU (0-1)
Next U-M Event: Friday, Nov. 27 -- at Oakland (Rochester, Mich.), 6 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Behind a double-double from junior Naz Hillmon and double-digit scoring from all five of its starters, the No. 25-ranked University of Michigan women's basketball team earned a 93-75 victory over Central Michigan to open the 2020-21 season at Crisler Center on Wednesday (Nov. 25) afternoon.
Hillmon scored 26 points and pulled down 11 rebounds for the Maize and Blue, while Leigha Brown netted 22 points and added five assists and three steals in her U-M debut. Junior Amy Dilk scored 15 ponits for U-M, while graduate student Akienreh Johnson contributed 11 and senior Hailey Brown added 10 to her tally. Sophomore Maddie Nolan scored seven points and pulled down six rebounds.
Michigan (1-0) shot an impressive 61.7 percent (37-for-60) from the floor, including 67.7 percent shooting in the second half of the game.
An and-one play from Hillmon followed by a Leigha Brown drive gave Michigan a slight two-point lead, 11-9, which they would maintain through the remainder of the first half. The Wolverines defense put the Chippewas on ice for a three-minute span as the U-M extended its lead to 17-9 on a Hillmon layup with just over three minutes to play in the opening quarter.
The squads exchanged baskets in the closing minutes of the opening stanza with U-M taking a seven-point lead, 22-15, into the second quarter.
Back-to-back buckets from Hillmon in the second quarter gave Michigan its first double-digit advantage of the game, 27-17, with seven minutes left to play in the half. CMU battled back within five late in the second quarter before a Leigha Brown triple extended the Wolverines lead back to eight, 38-30, with two minutes remaining.
Junior Danielle Rauch pulled down a defensive rebound and got the ball up the floor quickly to Nolan, who made the fastbreak layup before Leigha Brown added her 10th point of the game with the final score of the half for the Maize and Blue.
The Wolverines carried a 42-34 lead into the locker room at halftime with Hillmon scoring a team-best 13 points and bringing down eight rebounds, while Leigha Brown added 10 points and Johnson scored nine, while grabbing five boards.
Central Michigan (0-1) came out quick to start the third quarter, cutting the Michigan lead to three. However, the U-M offense added six straight points, capped off with a Dilk steal and fastbreak basket with 7:04 left in the quarter.
The teams continued to exchange baskets over the next three minutes with Michigan taking a 57-52 lead into the media timeout at 4:52.
Michigan worked its way back to a double-digit lead when Hillmon scored from under the hoop then forced a CMU turnover on the opposite end of the floor putting the ball back in the Wolverines hands. On the next possession, Nolan knocked down a three-pointer from the top of the arc giving U-M a 66-56 advantage with just over two minutes to play in the third quarter.
Over a course of three minutes, the Wolverines went on a 11-0 run and went 6-for-6 from the floor in the closing three minutes of play to take a 75-59 lead at the end of three quarters.
Hillmon came out of the break to secure her first double-double of the season with a rebound before scoring on a layup. The Wolverines offense did not let up during the closing minutes of the game, extending its lead to as many as 25 to take a decisive victory over Central Michigan.
The Wolverines will be back in action Friday (Nov. 27) when they take on Oakland at the O'rena in Rochester, Mich. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m., and the game will be streamed live on ESPN Plus.
