2021-22 Michigan Women's Basketball Awards and Honors
3/10/2022 1:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
• Hillmon Selected 15th in WNBA Draft by Atlanta Dream (4/11/2022)
• Hillmon Named to WBCA All-America Team for Second Time (3/31/2022)
• Brown, Hillmon Named WBCA All-Region (3/24/2022)
• Hillmon Becomes First AP All-America First Teamer (3/16/2022)
• KBA Named Coach of the Year, Hillmon, Brown and Phelia Honored by Big Ten (3/1/2022)
• Michigan Quartet Named CoSIDA Academic All-District (2/17/2022)
Naz Hillmon (March 10)
Katrina McClain Award Finalist -- For the third straight year, Naz Hillmon was named one of five finalists for the Katrina McClain Award, given to the nation's top power forward. She joins Baylor's NaLyssa Smith, Stanford's Cameron Brink, Maryland's Angel Reese and DePaul's Aneesah Morrow as finalists. On the season, Hillmon is averaging 21.0 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 33.2 minutes per game. She has tallied 14 double-doubles to move into first place all-time at Michigan. Hillmon became the first member of the 2,000-point, 1,000-rebound club at Michigan and is up to second in career scoring with 2,097 points. She was named to the All-Big Ten first team and all-defensive team after earning four Big Ten Player of the Week awards throughout the season.
Naz Hillmon (Feb. 21)
Big Ten Player of the Week -- Naz Hillmon was named the Big Ten Player of the Week for the fourth time this season and eighth time in her career after leading Michigan past No. 13 Maryland (Feb. 20) for the first season sweep of the Terrapins in program history. Hillmon recorded her 11th double-double of the season with 29 points on 10-for-15 shooting with 11 boards in 37 minutes. She also contributed three assists and a steal as Michigan moved atop the Big Ten standings with the win. » Big Ten Release
KimBarnes Arico (Feb. 16)
Werner Ladder Naismith Women's Coach of the Year Late-Season Watch List -- Head coach Kim Barnes Arico was one of 15 coaches named to the Werner Ladder Naismith Women's Coach of the Year late-season watch list. Michigan is currently 20-4 on the season and ranked No. 9 in the latest Associated Press poll after peaking at No. 4. The Wolverines are 7-1 this season against top-25 opponents and have recorded a pair of top-five wins. With three games remaining in the regular season, Michigan is still in the hunt for its first-ever Big Ten championship. » Werner Ladder Naismith Women's Coach of the Year 2022 Late-Season Watch List
Naz Hillmon (Feb. 10)
Katrina McClain Award Watch List Candidate -- Naz Hillmon was named one of 10 late-season watch list candidates for the Katrina McClain Award, given to the top power forward, for the third straight season. Hillmon has appeared in all but one game this season, averaging 20.5 points and 8.8 rebounds per game with 10 double-doubles. She has scored in double figures in all but one game this season, while racking up a pair of 30-point games. She became Michigan's all-time leading rebounder this season and is tied for the program lead with 44 career double-doubles.
Leigha Brown (Feb. 8)
Ann Meyers-Drysdale Award Watch List Candidate -- Leigha Brown was named one of 10 late season watch list candidates for the Ann Meyers-Drysdale Award, given to the top shooting guard. Brown has appeared in 18 games this season, averaging 14.8 points per game on 46.9 percent shooting from the floor and 36.7 percent shooting from three-point range. Brown is also averaging 3.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. She has scored in double figures 16 times, highlighted by three 20-point games.
Laila Phelia, Naz Hillmon (Feb. 7)
Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Week -- Laila Phelia earned the nod for the second time this season after helping Michigan to a pair of ranked wins over No. 5 Indiana (Jan. 31) and No. 21 Iowa (Feb. 6). In Michigan's win over the Hoosiers, Phelia tallied in 11 points, four boards and a steal in 24 minutes of action. Phelia was back in the starting lineup against Iowa, pouring in a career-best 24 points on 9-for-16 shooting from the floor and a 6-for-8 showing at the line. She also grabbed four boards and had a career-best three assists. » Big Ten Release
Big Ten Honor Roll -- Naz Hillmon grabbed a spot on the Honor Roll after tallying a pair of 20-point games in Michigan's 2-0 week. Against Indiana, she went for 21 points and five rebounds with an assist in 37 minutes. She recorded the 44th double-double of her career in U-M's win over Iowa, tying Trish Andrew's program record. Hillmon turned in 26 points on 9-for-15 shooting with 10 boards, two assists and two blocks. » Big Ten Release
Naz Hillmon (Feb. 1)
USBWA Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of the Week -- Senior forward Naz Hillmon helped Michigan to wins over Purdue (Jan. 24) and No. 22 Ohio State (Jan. 27) to earn her second career national weekly honor from the USBWA. Hillmon recorded a pair of double-doubles in the two games and became Michigan's career leading rebounder. Against Purdue, Hillmon turned in 32 points on 12-for-14 shooting to go with 12 boards and two assists. In the 77-58 win at Ohio State, Hillmon had 20 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and two steals. With her 12 rebounds, she passed Trish Andrew's career mark of 928 rebounds that was set in 1993. » USBWA Release
Naz Hillmon (Jan. 31)
Wooden Award Late Season Top 20 Watch List -- Senior forward Naz Hillmon was named to the Wooden Award Late Season Top 20 Watch List. Hillmon has appeared in 20 games this season, averaging 20.2 points per game on 58.3 percent shooting while grabbing 8.8 boards per contest. She has a pair of 30-point games on the season and seven double-doubles to her name. The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2022 John R. Wooden Award Women's Player of the Year presented by Wendy's.
Big Ten Player of the Week -- Senior forward Naz Hillmon was named the Big Ten Player of the Week after helping Michigan to wins over Purdue (Jan. 24) and No. 22 Ohio State (Jan. 27). It is her third weekly honor of the season and the seventh of her career. Hillmon recorded a pair of double-doubles in the two games and became Michigan's career-leading rebounder. Against Purdue, Hillmon turned in 32 points on 12-for-14 shooting to go with 12 boards and two assists. In the 77-58 win at Ohio State, Hillmon had 20 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and two steals. With her 12 rebounds, she passed Trish Andrew's career mark of 928 rebounds that was set in 1993. » Big Ten Release
Naz Hillmon (Jan. 24)
Big Ten Honor Roll -- Senior forward Naz Hillmon earned a spot on the Big Ten Player of the Week Honor Roll after helping Michigan to its fourth straight win. Hillmon recorded her seventh double-double of the season with 21 points on 8-for-13 shooting and 11 rebounds in just 23 minutes against Wisconsin (Jan. 20). She also recorded two assists and two steals in the 83-44 win. This marks Hillmon's third time on the honor roll this season. » Big Ten Release
Maddie Nolan (Jan. 17)
Big Ten Honor Roll -- Junior guard Maddie Nolan was named to the Big Ten Player of the Week Honor Roll for the first time in her career after averaging 18.0 points per game to help Michigan to a 2-0 week, including the program's first win at Maryland. In U-M's 69-49 win at No. 8 Maryland (Jan. 16), Nolan hit a career-best seven triples en route to tying her career high of 21 points. She became the fourth different Wolverine to hit at least seven three-pointers in a game, with her effort tied for the fourth-best single-game mark. Nolan also grabbed five boards and had three assists in the game. Nolan recorded 15 points, six boards, three steals and two assists in Michigan's 74-57 victory at Penn State (Jan. 13) to kick off the week. Nolan made 10 three-pointers over the two-game span on 55.5 percent shooting from distance. » Big Ten Release
Naz Hillmon (Jan. 3)
Co-Big Ten Player of the Week -- Senior forward Naz Hillmon was named the Co-Big Ten Player of the Week after helping Michigan to a 90-71 win over No. 25-ranked Ohio State (Dec. 31). It is her second weekly honor of the season and the sixth of her career. Hillmon racked up the 40th double-double of her career in the win over the Buckeyes, going for 29 points on 9-for-14 shooting from the floor with 15 rebounds. She also dished out a pair of assists in 34 minutes of action. Hillmon is the second player in program history to record at least 40 double-doubles in a career with her sixth double dip of the season. » Big Ten Release
Laila Phelia, and Team (Dec. 21)
USWBA National Freshman of the Week -- Guard Laila Phelia earned the national nod after Michigan recorded its first top-five victory in program history in a 74-68 overtime win over No. 5 Baylor on Sunday (Dec. 19). Phelia recorded her fourth double-figure scoring effort of her freshman campaign, tying her career high with 12 points against the Bears. She also hit a pair of triples to double her season total, while also recording five boards and two steals. » USBWA Release
USBWA National Team of the Week, NCAA Team of the Week -- The Wolverines were named the team of the week twice on Tuesday after taking down No. 5 Baylor for their first top-five win in program history. U-M entered the top 10 of the Associated Press poll for the first time, coming in at No. 9. » USBWA Release
Laila Phelia, Leigha Brown (Dec. 20)
Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Week -- Guard Laila Phelia earned the nod after Michigan recorded its first top-five victory in program history in a 74-68 overtime win over No. 5 Baylor on Sunday (Dec. 19). Phelia is the first Wolverine to earn Freshman of the Week honors since Naz Hillmon won it six times during her freshman season (2018-19). Phelia recorded her fourth double-figure scoring effort of her freshman campaign, tying her career high with 12 points against the Bears. She also hit a pair of triples to double her season total, while also recording five boards and two steals. » Big Ten Release
Big Ten Honor Roll -- Leigha Brown was named the MVP of the game against Baylor, going for a game-high 25 points. She also had five boards, four assists and two steals in the contest, with 12 of her 25 points coming in the fourth quarter and overtime. » Big Ten Release
Naz Hillmon (Dec. 13)
Big Ten Honor Roll -- Senior forward Naz Hillmon was named to the Big Ten Player of the Week Honor Roll after helping Michigan to a 2-0 week with wins over Wisconsin and Minnesota to start conference action with a 2-0 mark. Hillmon averaged 23.0 points per game on 57.6 percent shooting to go with 7.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game over the stretch. In Michigan's win at Wisconsin (Dec. 9), Hillmon turned in a game-high 21 points with six boards and a season-high five assists. Hillmon followed that up with 25 points, eight boards and three assists in a victory over Minnesota (Dec. 12). She now has five 20-point games this season and 42 for her career.
Naz Hillmon (Nov. 29)
Big Ten Player of the Week -- Senior forward Naz Hillmon was named the Big Ten Player of the Week after helping Michigan to a 3-0 week. It is Hillmon's first weekly honor of the season and the fifth of her career. Hillmon strung together three double-doubles as Michigan got wins over Oakland, No. 16 Oregon State and Mississippi State. In Michigan's win over Oakland (Nov. 22), Hillmon went for 25 points on 11-for-13 shooting with 11 rebounds in just 24 minutes of action. She followed that up with a 20-point, 13-rebound, four-steal performance in a victory over No. 16 Oregon State (Nov. 26) and an 18-point, 10-rebound double-double against Mississippi State (Nov. 27). Her three double-doubles pushed her into second place all-time at Michigan (38) and she became the third member of the 1,600-point and 800-rebound club. Hillmon was also named the MVP of the Daytona Beach Invitational.
Emily Kiser (Nov. 22)
Big Ten Honor Roll -- Senior forward Emily Kiser was named to the Big Ten Player of the Week Honor Roll after helping Michigan to a 2-0 week with wins over UMass Lowell (Nov. 16) and Central Michigan (Nov. 20). Kiser recorded the first double-double of her career in the win over the River Hawks, going for 13 points and 11 rebounds in 30 minutes of action. She also drew three charges, dished out three assists and blocked three shots. Kiser followed that up with a career day at CMU, leading a short-handed Wolverine squad to a 24-point victory with a career-best 16 points, eight boards, three assists, two blocks and a drawn charge in 32 minutes. Kiser is fourth in the Big Ten in both rebounding (10.0 rpg) and blocks (1.8 bpg).
Naz Hillmon (Nov. 15)
Big Ten Honor Roll -- Senior Naz Hillmon was named to the Big Ten Player of the Week Honor Roll after averaging 24.5 points and 10.0 rebounds in a pair of Michigan wins to start the season. Hillmon turned in the sixth 30-point game of her career in the opening win over IUPUI (Nov. 9), going for 30 points and 15 rebounds. She followed that up with a 19-point performance on 9-for-10 shooting against St. Francis Brooklyn (Nov. 13), with five rebounds. Through the first week of play, she is leading the Big Ten in scoring and is fifth in rebounding.
Leigha Brown, Naz Hillmon (Nov. 9)
Wooden Award Watch List, Wade Trophy Watch List -- Seniors Naz Hillmon and Leigha Brown were each named to the Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 Watch List and the Wade Trophy Watch List. The Wade Trophy -- now in its 45th year -- is the oldest and most prestigious national player of the year award in college women's basketball. Created in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award Program recognizes the Wooden Award Most Outstanding Player for men and women, the Wooden Award All-American Teams for men and women and the annual selection of the Wooden Award Legends of Coaching recipient.
Brown finds herself on a pair of watch lists for the first time in her career after appearing in 18 contests last season for the Wolverines. She was named to the All-Big Ten second team by both the coaches and media, along with earning a Player of the Week honor (Jan. 4) during the 2020-21 campaign. In her first season in Ann Arbor, Brown averaged 18.2 points and 4.5 rebounds in 33.5 minutes per game. She scored in double figures in all but one game with nine 20-point performances. She racked up three 20-point games during Michigan's NCAA Tournament run, highlighted by a 28-point showing against Florida Gulf Coast, averaging 24.7 points per game over the three tourney contests.
Hillmon, a finalist for the 2021 Wade Trophy and a WBCA All-American, is coming off a junior season where she started all 22 games and averaged 23.9 points and 11.4 rebounds in 33.8 minutes per contest, while shooting 62.3 percent from the field. She racked up 15 double-doubles on the season, ranking 11th nationally, while ranking among the nation's best in field-goal percentage (second), scoring average (seventh) and rebounding average (15th). She scored in double figures in all but one game, with three 30-point games and 15 20-point games. Hillmon recorded the first 50-point game in Michigan history with a 50-point, 16-rebound performance at Ohio State (Jan. 21).
Michigan is one of six teams with multiple players on the Wade Trophy Watch List and one of 12 schools with multiple players on the Wooden Preseason Top 50.
Naz Hillmon (Oct. 28)
Katrina McClain Award Watch List -- For the third consecutive season, senior Naz Hillmon was named to the watch list for the Katrina McClain Award after finishing as a finalist the last two seasons. The award recognizes the top power forward in women's NCAA Division I college basketball, named after the two-time All-American and 1987 National Player of the Year. Hillmon, the 2021 Big Ten Player of the Year, was recently named the 2021-22 preseason Big Ten Player of the Year and a unanimous pick to the All-Big Ten team. She is coming off a junior season where she started all 22 games and averaged 23.9 points and 11.4 rebounds in 33.8 minutes per contest while shooting 62.3 percent from the field. She racked up 15 double-doubles on the season, ranking 11th nationally, while ranking among the nation's best in field-goal percentage (second), scoring average (seventh) and rebounding average (15th). The list will be narrowed down to 10 in mid-February and then five finalists will be selected in March to be presented to McClain and the selection committee.
Amy Dilk (Oct. 25)
Nancy Lieberman Award Watch List -- For the second consecutive year, senior Amy Dilk was named to the watch list for the Nancy Lieberman Award. The award recognizes the top point guard in women's NCAA Division I college basketball, named after the 1996 Hall of Famer. Dilk is coming off a junior season where she appeared in 19 games with 18 starts, averaging 7.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 28.1 minutes per contest. Dilk scored in double figures seven times throughout the season and had 11 games with at least four assists. The list will be narrowed down to 10 in mid-February and then five finalists will be selected in March to be presented to Lieberman and the selection committee.
