Michigan
5-1
Washington
3-3
Munger's Threes Lead Michigan Past Washington in Gulf Coast Showcase Finale
11/25/2018 8:03:00 PM | Women's Basketball
» Michigan outscored Washington, 25-18, in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.
» With Michigan clinging to a two-point lead, 64-62, with 5:17 remaining in regulation, Michigan scored the next six points to take control.
» Nicole Munger scored a career-best 27 points and made seven three-pointers in the contest.
» Amy Dilk went for a career-best 19 points as Michigan had four players in double figures.
Site: Estero, Fla. (Hertz Arena)
Event: Gulf Coast Showcase (Third-Place Game)
Score: Michigan 80, Washington 73
Records: U-M (5-1), Washington (3-3)
Next U-M Event: Thursday, Nov. 29 -- at NC State - Big Ten/ACC Challenge (Raleigh, N.C.), 7 p.m.
ESTERO, Fla. -- The University of Michigan women's basketball team outscored Washington, 25-18, in the fourth quarter to seal an 80-73 win over the Huskies on Sunday evening and finish third in the Gulf Coast Showcase at Hertz Arena.
Senior Nicole Munger had a career night, hitting seven triples en route to 27 points and five rebounds in 38 minutes. Freshman Amy Dilk put together an impressive stat line with 19 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Senior Hallie Thome (13) and junior Kayla Robbins (10) rounded out Michigan's double-figure scorers.
Michigan shot 47 percent (31-for-66) for the game and outrebounded UW, 38-31.
With the scored knotted at 51 entering the fourth quarter, Thome scored on a putback to open the period and the Washington bench was assessed a technical foul after the basket. Munger hit both free throws to stake Michigan to a 59-55 lead just 22 seconds into the period.
Michigan led the rest of the way, but saw its lead whittled to two points, 64-62, with 5:17 remaining. Thome made a basket and was fouled on the play, but missed the free throw. Freshman Naz Hillmon was there for the putback, essentially converting a four-point play with 3:46 to go.
Munger took over from there, hitting back-to-back triples with 2:54 and 2:24 remaining, respectively. U-M made free throws down the stretch, salting away the win.
The teams went back-and-forth in the first quarter before Michigan scored seven of the final nine points on a pair of buckets from Robbins, sandwiched around a Munger triple, for a 19-17 lead after 10 minutes.
After falling into a 28-25 hole with 5:14 left in the second quarter, U-M ripped off a 7-0 run to regain a four-point lead with 2:50 left before the half. Robbins hit a pair of free throws to start the run, which included a putback from Thome and a three-point play from Dilk on a coast-to-coast layup with a foul.
Hillmon forced a steal at midcourt with 10 seconds remaining the in the first half, and eventually found Robbins for a layup with five ticks left to give the Maize and Blue a 34-31 halftime lead.
After a frenetic three minutes to start the third quarter, the score was tied at 39 with 7:17 on the clock after a UW layup. Michigan scored six of the next seven points, getting four from Dilk and two from Hillmon while the Wolverines forced three straight turnovers and led, 45-40, lead at the third quarter media timeout (4:51).
After a Washington free throw, Munger canned a triple and junior Akienreh Johnson scored in transition for a 50-43 U-M lead as Washington called timeout with 3:36 left in the third.
Munger nailed her fifth triple of the game on the right wing to push Michigan's lead to eight, 53-45, with 3:03 left but the Huskies ended the quarter on a 10-2 run to knot the score at 55 after three quarters.
Michigan will be back in action on Thursday (Nov. 29), when they travel to Raleigh, North Carolina to battle North Carolina State in the annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at James T. Valvano Arena.
