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Hillmon Breaks Michigan Scoring Record in Tough Road Loss at OSU
1/21/2021 7:24:00 PM | Women's Basketball
» Naz Hillmon broke the Michigan basketball scoring record with 50 points, the most points by a man or woman in Michigan history and the first 50-point game. Her 20 field goals made also set a new program record. She grabbed 16 boards to record her Big Ten-leading eighth double-double of the season.
» Akienreh Johnson joined Hillmon in double figures with 14 points.
» Michigan had its first setback of the 2020-21 season.
Site: Columbus, Ohio (Value City Arena)
Score:#17 Ohio State 81, #11 Michigan 77
Records:Â U-M (10-1, 5-1 B1G), OSU (8-1, 4-1 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Jan. 24 -- vs. Purdue (Crisler Center), 2 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The comeback attempt by the No. 11-ranked University of Michigan women's basketball team fell short against No. 17 Ohio State as the Wolverines were defeated, 81-77, for their first loss in the 2020-21 campaign Thursday (Jan. 21) afternoon at Value City Arena.
Junior Naz Hillmon broke the Michigan basketball scoring record, netting a career-high 50 points and became just the second player in Michigan women's basketball history to score more than 40 points, joining the company of Diane Dietz, who accomplished the feat Feb. 27, 1982, with the previous program-best 45 points.
Hillmon also outscored men's basketball greats Cazzie Russell and Rudy Tomjanovich's, breaking the U-M basketball scoring record of 48 points and recording the first 50-point game in Michigan basketball history. Hillmon's 50-point performance is the first in Big Ten play since Rachel Banham of Minnesota put up 52 points at Michigan State on Feb. 21, 2016, and the first by a player this season.
Hillmon went 20-for-30 from the field and 10-for-14 from the charity stripe while recording her 27th career double-double with 16 rebounds, 10 of which were offensive.
Senior Akienreh Johnson also scored double figures for Michigan (10-1, 5-1 Big Ten) with 14 points and added six rebounds, five assists and one steal, while Amy Dilk had eight points, five rebounds and three assists and Maddie Nolan grabbed six rebounds and dished out five assists.
U-M opened the fourth quarter on an 11-0 run to come within one of the Buckeyes, 66-65, with 4:55 left to play after trailing by as many as 16 in the contest. Hillmon knotted the score at 67, grabbing an offensive board and scoring on the putback with 4:05 left.
The junior broke the U-M women's basketball scoring record on the next possession pulling down her 10th offensive board to put Michigan up, 69-67, with 2:55 remaining. The lead changed hands six times in the final three minutes with OSU outlasting the Wolverines for the win.
Both teams started slow start, but the Wolverines found the first points and took an 11-8 lead on a Johnson offensive putback before the media break with 4:49 left in the first quarter. After exchanging baskets, OSU went on a 9-0 run to take a 20-13 advantage, but Hillmon stopped the run with a layup off a pass from Nolan with 1:21 left to play in the opening stanza.
Both teams scored a basket with the Buckeyes taking a 22-17 lead into the second quarter. Ohio State (8-1, 4-1 Big Ten) put together another short run and kept the Wolverines off the scoreboard for three minutes to extend its lead to 33-19 with just over five minutes to play in the first half.
Hillmon dominated the final five minutes of the opening half, scoring 11 points, and Dilk added a triple to bring U-M within four at 37-33, heading into the locker room at the halftime break. Hillmon scored 19 points in the first 20 minutes with five rebounds, while Dilk added eight points and three assists.
Back-to-back scores from Hillmon 1:30 into the third quarter brought the Wolverines within two, 51-39, but OSU answered back with a 10-0 run over a two-minute span to take a 49-39 advantage.
The Buckeyes hit seven of their next nine shots and carried a 13-point, 63-50, lead into a media timeout with 1:52 remaining in the third quarter. Hillmon added a final four points in the quarter as U-M went into the final 10 minutes of play trailing, 66-54.
Michigan will return home to host Purdue on Sunday (Jan. 24) at Crisler Center. The game is set for 2 p.m. and will be broadcast live on Big Ten Network.
