Michigan
5-0,0-0Big Ten
Oakland
2-3,1-1Horizon
Wolverines Hold Off Golden Grizzlies, Remain Perfect
11/22/2021 9:40:00 PM | Women's Basketball
» Oakland trimmed Michigan's lead to one point twice in the fourth but a triple from Maddie Nolan triple with 4:56 remaining pushed Michigan's lead back to four.
» Naz Hillmon scored 12 of her 25 points on 6-for-7 shooting in the fourth quarter as U-M held off a fourth-quarter surge from the Golden Grizzlies.
» Maddie Nolan had a career-best eight rebounds, grabbing seven of those in the first half.
» Naz Hillmon notched her second double-double of the season with 25 points and 11 rebounds.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Crisler Center)
Score: #13 Michigan 69, Oakland 58
Records: U-M (5-0) Oakland (2-3)
Next U-M Event: Friday, Nov. 26 -- vs. Oregon State (Daytona Beach, Fla.), 6:45 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 13-ranked University of Michigan women's basketball team moved to a perfect 5-0 on the season after holding off Oakland, 69-58, Monday evening (Nov. 22) at Crisler Center. It is the second straight season that U-M has started 5-0.
Senior Naz Hillmon paced the Wolverines, recording a 25-point, 11-rebound double-double and posting her 39th career 20-point game. Of Hillmon's 25 points, 12 of them came in the final seven minutes of the contest.
Also reaching double figures for the Maize and Blue were Emily Kiser and Danielle Rauch, who scored 11 and 10 points, respectively. Freshman Laila Phelia ended the evening with eight points and two steals, including four clutch points down the stretch.
Kiser and sophomore Maddie Nolan each pulled down eight boards against the Golden Grizzlies, which marked a career-best for Nolan.
U-M forced Oakland into 17 turnovers, 13 of which came in the first half, and held a 43-24 advantage on the glass. The Wolverines scored 17 points of turnovers and held a 42-18 advantage in the paint.
Michigan hit four straight shots, including a triple from the left side of the arc from Nolan to take an 11-6 lead into the media timeout in the first quarter. The Wolverines used a 10-0 run, capped off with a Kiser three-pointer, and seven Oakland turnovers to close out the first 10 minutes of play and take a 19-6 advantage into the second quarter.
Elise Stuck laced a pass into Kiser for the layup and Rauch>followed it up with a trey in transition off the pass from Michelle Sidor, which forced the Golden Grizzlies to burn a timeout with U-M leading 26-11 with just over six minutes to play in the half. Oakland strung together six straight points but the Michigan defense forced the Golden Grizzlies into a scoring drought of two and a half minutes to close out the half. The Wolverines took a 33-21 lead into the locker room at the break.
Michigan continued to determine the pace of the game and forced the Golden Grizzlies to foul five times in the first five minutes of the third quarter, pushing U-M's lead to 42-28 with 4:38 left in the quarter. With six straight points from Hillmon and four points from Phelia, the Wolverines took a 50-37 lead into the final 10 minutes of the contest.
Oakland worked its way within two, 50-48, with 7:25 left in the game and U-M used a timeout to re-group. Coming out of the media break, Hillmon scored six straight points, but Oakland answered each time, cutting the Michigan lead to just one, 56-55, with 5:18 left to play.
Hillmon continued to wreak havoc on the Golden Grizzlies' defense, adding another four points while Nolan dropped a triple and Phelia drove the right lane to put U-M up by eight, 66-58, with just over two minutes to play.
The Wolverines tacked on a final three points and did not give up another basket to Oakland, locking up the 69-58 win at Crisler Center to maintain a perfect record this season.
Michigan will hit the road for the Daytona Beach Invitational starting Friday (Nov. 26) against Oregon State at 6:45 p.m. The Wolverines will conclude the holiday weekend with a contest on Saturday (Nov. 27) against Mississippi State at 4:30 p.m.
