Michigan
7-0
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Mississippi State
5-1
Wolverines Take Down Mississippi State for KBA's 200th Win at U-M
11/27/2021 7:22:00 PM | Women's Basketball
» Michigan used an 18-10 advantage in the third quarter to turn a three-point halftime advantage into an 11-point lead going into the fourth quarter. MSU never got closer than six the rest of the way.
» Head coach Kim Barnes Arico became the first women's basketball coach in program history to win 200 games at Michigan. She is the third basketball coach -- men's or women's -- to reach the mark.
»  Leigha Brown came off the bench to score 23 points, with Naz Hillmon recording her second straight double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
Site: Daytona Beach, Fla. (Ocean Center)
Event: Daytona Beach Invitational
Score: #12 Michigan 61, Mississippi State 48
Records: U-M (7-0), MSU (5-1)
Next U-M Event: Thursday, Dec. 2 -- at Louisville - Big Ten/ACC Challenge (Louisville, Ky.), 7 p.m.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The No. 12-ranked University of Michigan women's basketball team used an 18-10 advantage in the third quarter to turn a three-point halftime lead into an 11-point lead and never looked back in a 64-48 win over Mississippi State in the Daytona Beach Invitational on Saturday evening (Nov. 27) at the Ocean Center.
With the win, head coach Kim Barnes Arico became the first women's basketball coach in program history to win 200 games at Michigan. She is the third basketball coach -- men's or women's -- to reach the mark.
Senior Leigha Brown came off the bench to lead the Maize and Blue with 23 points, five boards and three assists in just 25 minutes of action. Senior Naz Hillmon turned in her second straight double-double with 18 points and 10 boards, with junior Maddie Nolan and freshman Laila Phelia each chipping in six. Michigan held Mississippi State to 32.8 percent shooting (19-for-58) and had a 47-33 advantage on the glass.
Michigan weathered a fast start for the Bulldogs, who jumped out to a quick 6-0 advantage. Brown came off the bench to score five straight, pushing Michigan on top for the first time with a 9-8 lead at the 5:07 mark. A Cameron Williams putback staked Michigan an 11-8 lead before Mississippi State answered with a triple to tie the contest.
The teams went back-and-forth the rest of the period as U-M held a 17-15 lead after 10 minutes.
The second quarter was one of runs, as MSU opened the period on a 10-2 run for a 25-19 lead at the 4:06 mark. Brown hit a jumper off an out-of-bounds play the next time down the floor for the Wolverines, kicking off a 12-3 run to end the half.
The run featured a pair of Hillmon three-point plays and four more points from Brown, as U-M held Mississippi State to just one basket and a free throw the rest of the way, taking a 31-28 lead after 20 minutes.
Michigan scored the first seven points of the third quarter, getting a reverse layup from Hillmon, a deep triple from Nolan and a Hillmon putback to extend the Wolverine lead to 38-29 with 6:57 on the third quarter clock.
Williams saved the ball from going out of bounds, with senior Danielle Rauch hitting a triple at the top of the key seconds later to push Michigan's lead to double figures for the first time, 41-31, with 5:20 remaining in the third period.
MSU answered with five straight to get within five, 41-36, but Brown found Williams for a layup to push Michigan's cushion back to seven at the 3:18 mark.
U-M scored eight of the final 10 points of the quarter, capped by a layup from Phelia on Michigan's final possession of the third for a 49-38 lead after 30 minutes.
Brown hit a jumper to start the fourth, giving Michigan a 51-38 lead before MSU ripped off eight straight points to trim the advantage to just five with 6:48 remaining. Hillmon answered with a tough layup the next time down the court to stop the run.
Brown hit a corner triple and followed with a layup to put any chance of a Mississippi State comeback to rest.
U-M is back in action Thursday (Dec. 2) in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge at Louisville. The game is set for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast live on the ESPN family of networks.
