Hillmon, Three-Time Honoree Thome Named All-Big Ten First Teamers
3/4/2019 2:30:00 PM | Women's Basketball
ROSEMONT, Ill. -- University of Michigan women's basketball freshman Naz Hillmon earned two specialty awards and joined senior Hallie Thome in picking up All-Big Ten Conference first-team honors to highlight U-M's league awards announced Monday (March 4).
Hillmon was a consensus first-team selection, making her the first freshman in school history to earn a first-team nod. She also was named the Freshman of the Year by the media, the Sixth Player of the Year by the coaches, and a unanimous pick to the All-Freshman team by the coaches.
Thome earned her third straight first-team mention, grabbing a spot on the first team from the coaches and a second-team nod from the media. Fellow senior Nicole Munger received all-conference honorable mention from both the coaches and media, along with being Michigan's sportsmanship honoree.
Hillmon appeared in all 30 games off the bench, leading Michigan in points per game (13.1), rebounds per game (6.9) and field goal percentage (.638). She recorded seven double-doubles and scored in double figures in 17 contests. Hillmon had eight 20-point games, finishing the regular season with a team-high 393 points. She was second on the team with 29 steals, highlighted by a six-steal performance at Michigan State (Feb. 24).
She was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week six times, tying a school record. Hillmon becomes the second player in school history to be named the Sixth Player of the Year (Katelynn Flaherty, 2015) and second to earn Freshman of the Year (Stacey Thomas, 1997).
Thome joins Flaherty as the only three-time All-Big Ten first teamers in program history. The senior started all 30 games for Michigan and averaged 12.3 points and 6.0 rebounds in 25.8 minutes per game. The third player in program history to reach the 2,000-point mark for a career, Thome is third all-time in scoring with 2,047 points and second with 866 rebounds. She was named the Big Ten Player of the Week earlier this season and has tallied four double-doubles.
Munger started all 30 games this season and averaged 10.1 points and 3.1 rebounds in 30.8 minutes per game to earn her first recognition from the Big Ten in her career. She is Michigan's leader in three-pointers with 57, pushing her career total to 174 to rank sixth all-time. Munger was named to the all-tournament team at the Gulf Coast Showcase.
Michigan finished the regular season with a 20-10 overall record to go along with an 11-7 Big Ten mark. U-M won eight of its final nine games to finish fourth in the conference and earn the No. 4 seed for the upcoming Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis. The Wolverines will face either Ohio State, Wisconsin or Penn State in the second quarterfinal Friday (March 8) at approximately 2:30 p.m.
