Michigan
25-7,13-4Big Ten
#4 Louisville
29-4,15-2ACC
Michigan's Historic NCAA Run Ends in Elite Eight After Tight Battle with Louisville
3/28/2022 11:58:00 PM | Women's Basketball
WICHITA, Kan. -- The No. 3-seeded University of Michigan women's basketball team saw its historic 2021-22 season come to a close with a 62-50 loss to No. 1-seeded Louisville in the NCAA Elite Eight on Monday night (March 29) at Intrust Bank Arena. Michigan's 25 wins is the second-highest total in program history.
» Playing in the program's first-ever Elite Eight, Michigan fell to Louisville by 12 points after dropping a 22-point contest to the Cardinals earlier this season.
» Naz Hillmon recorded her 52nd career double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
» The Wolverines led on two occasions during the contest and were within two points, 52-50, before Louisville closed on a 10-0 run.
In Michigan's first NCAA Elite Eight game, senior Naz Hillmon recorded her 52nd career double-double and the fourth of the 2022 NCAA Tournament with 18 points, 10 of which came from free throws, and 11 rebounds. Sophomore Maddie Nolan had nine points, all by way of three-pointers, and senior Emily Kiser had six points, six rebounds and three assists for the Wolverines. Freshman Laila Phelia added eight points and four rebounds.
Michigan called a timeout less than three minutes into the final quarter, which was not in vain as the Wolverines netted four straight points out of the break to come within three, 52-49. A free throw by Hillmon cut the deficit to two, 52-50, with 5:42 left, but that was the final point for the Wolverines, as Louisville tallied the game's final 10 points to claim the last Final Four spot.
After a slow start to the game, Hillmon started the Wolverine scoring with an and-one play to pull U-M within three, 6-3, halfway through the first quarter. Nolan continued to hit clutch three-pointers as she drained two out of the media timeout to start a 10-3 Michigan run and allow the Wolverines to take the 13-12 advantage over the Cardinals with just under two minutes to play in the opening stanza. Louisville responded with five straight points of its own and led 17-13 at the end of the first quarter.
The Cardinals worked their way to a seven-point lead, but the Wolverine defense stepped up to put Louisville on a 2:15 scoring drought to work its way within three, 26-23, following a Kiser layup and two free throws from Leigha Brown with 2:41 left in the first half. Michigan's defense continued to stifle the Cardinals as they suffered another drought of over two minutes, allowing U-M to come within one, but Louisville grabbed an offensive board and one final bucket to take a 30-27 lead into the halftime break.
Hillmon led the Wolverines in the first half with nine points and five rebounds while adding a huge block just before halftime. Nolan knocked down two three-pointers, and both Phelia and Kiser added four points.
Phelia came out and scored the first four points of the third quarter for the Wolverines to keep them within one of Louisville, but a quick 6-0 run allowed the Cardinals to go up by seven just two minutes into the quarter. The Wolverines could not find a basket for almost three minutes and trailed 41-33 at the media break.
Nolan dropped her third trey of the game when Phelia found her in the corner with the cross-court pass, and Hillmon followed with two free throws to again bring U-M within two of Louisville, 43-41, with 1:09 left in the third quarter. Hillmon added two more points from the charity stripe to make it a two-point game, 45-43, after 30 minutes of play.
U-M (25-7) closed out a historic season with its first trip to the Elite Eight after earning its highest NCAA Tournament seed ever (No. 3) and hosting the first and second rounds at Crisler Center. Michigan defeated eight ranked opponents including two teams ranked in the top five. The Wolverines also earned their highest ranking in program history (No. 4), while Hillmon was named U-M's first first-team Associated Press All-American.
