Hillmon delivers in 2nd half as U-M rallies vs. Gophers

On an emotional day in which the Michigan women’s basketball team honored the Oxford shooting victims with a jersey patch, the No. 11 Wolverines got off to a slow start, trailing Minnesota by four at the half.

And then Naz Hillmon took over. The Michigan senior scored 17 points after halftime as Michigan (10-1, 2-0 Big Ten) poured in 44 points in the third and fourth quarters while holding the Golden Gophers to just 28 in a 73-61 victory.

Hillmon finished with 25 points and added eight rebounds and three assists to give the Wolverines their third straight victory.

The big difference for Michigan, in addition to Hillmon’s performance? The Wolverines kept the Gophers off the free throw line. After allowing Minnesota to go to the line 12 times in the first two quarters, Michigan committed just five fouls, and none on shooting plays, in the second half. Hillmon, meanwhile, drew six fouls herself after halftime, and went to the line five times (with three makes).

The Wolverines turned it up another notch in the fourth quarter, hitting 70.6% (12-for-17) of their shots after hitting 46.2% over the first three quarters.

Leigha Brown also got hot in the second half for Michigan, scoring 10 points en route to 19 points on the afternoon, with five assists and two rebounds. Emily Kiser added six points, nine rebounds and two steals for the Wolverines.

The win came with members of the Oxford women’s basketball teams in the building in Ann Arbor. Michigan honored the teams and the victims of the Dec. 7 Oxford shooting with a patch referencing Madisyn Baldwin, Tate Myre, Hana St. Juliana and Justin Shilling. The octagonal maize-andblue patch on the left chest of their maize jerseys will feature the letters, “HSJ,” and the number, “52,” worn by St. Juliana, an Oxford basketball player. It also features four hearts, for the four slain students.

The patch is similar to the one worn by the football team — which had Myre’s initials (”TM”) and his number (42) — in the Big Ten championship game on Dec. 4 when the Wolverines beat Iowa, 42-3.

Sunday’s victory was the first for Michigan over Minnesota since Feb. 10, 2020. The Wolverines and Gophers had two games last season canceled due to COVID-19 outbreaks

Michigan has the rest of the week off before traveling to Uncasville, Connecticut, to take on No. 5 Baylor in the Basketball Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase at 1 p.m. Sunday (ESPN).