8 — Friday, December 7, 2018
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Wolverines roll against LIU Brooklyn in 83-38 win
There’s no place like home.
In front of its fans at Crisler
Center for the first time since
Nov. 19, the Michigan women’s
basketball
team
snapped
a
two-game
losing
streak,
steamrolling
LIU
Brooklyn
(0-8) in an 83-38 victory.
From the opening tip, the
Wolverines
(6-3)
suffocated
the Blackbirds, scoring at will
inside the paint and starting
the game on a 23-0 run. In
addition to their imposing
offensive frame, the defense
proved
just
as
competent,
notching seven steals in the
first quarter alone.
While they were held in
check for the most part on their
five-game road trip, Michigan’s
star bigs — freshman Naz
Hillmon and senior Hallie
Thome — each produced, as
Thome scored 11 points, with
10 in the first half. Hillmon
notched 24 and dominated
the first frame with a 14-point
performance that also saw her
snag three offensive rebounds.
“We call her Naz-Zilla,”
Thome joked after the game.
“She is one of a kind.”
The game can, in essence, be
summed up by four plays that
took place midway through
the first frame. With the
score at 9-0 with just over
six minutes to go, Hillmon
checked in for Thome and
promptly scored a layup off
of an offensive rebound on
her first possession. On the
Wolverines’ next trip down the
floor, sophomore guard Deja
Church followed up a missed
triple by senior forward Nicole
Munger to score an easy layup
of her own.
Two plays later, Hillmon
outmuscled
Brooklyn
defenders inside and scored
a layup right off the inbound
pass to stretch the lead to 15-0.
With 2:16 left in the quarter,
Hillmon
notched
another
putback to make the score 21-0
— a score line usually reserved
for Saturday afternoons in Ann
Arbor.
“Whenever I come in I just
try to bring a lot of energy and
intensity,” Hillmon said.
It
was
a
dominant
performance that was much-
needed for Michigan. After
multiple road games against
ranked opponents where the
Wolverines finished 2-3, they
were pushing for a dominant
win. Against the Blackbirds,
they got just that.
“Being
back
home
and
getting this win means a lot to
us,” Hillmon said.
Perhaps one of the most
important takeaways from the
win was that Michigan coach
Kim Barnes Arico had the
opportunity to get extended
looks at some of her freshmen
who do not normally see the
floor, such as guards Ariel
Young and Danielle Rauch.
Even
against
a
lackluster
Brooklyn squad, getting game
experience is always a huge
plus for a team, especially one
with so many young players
waiting in the wings.
“It’s important any time
they can get those minutes,”
Barnes Arico said.
Michigan shot well from the
field, making 43.6 percent of
its field goals and 70 percent
of its free throws. However, its
3-point shooting remained an
issue, with the team combining
to make just one of its 16
attempts.
“That is not the strength of
our team this year,” Barnes
Arico
said.
“It’s
definitely
an area where we need to
improve and continue to work
and hopefully that improves
throughout the course of the
season.”
While the Blackbird offense
began to wake up in the
second half, the margin that
the Wolverines had created in
the first half provided a large
enough cushion, and they were
able to take their foot off the
gas and cruise to a comfortable,
well-earned win after a tough
road stretch.
Lopsided win against LIU Brooklyn still serves a purpose
Thursday night at Crisler Center,
the Michigan women’s basketball
team dismantled LIU Brooklyn,
83-38.
As expected, the game was
never close. The Wolverines (6-3)
started the contest on a 23-0 run
and held the Blackbirds (0-8) to just
one point in the first quarter.
From the start, it was apparent
the two programs were of totally
different calibers. Top to bottom,
Michigan had the advantage.
This was the case in the
Wolverines’ first three matchups of
the season; they pummeled Mount
St. Mary’s, Western Michigan and
Detroit Mercy. This is often the
case during non-conference play,
when schools that simply lack the
resources and expertise to get top-
ranked players face Michigan.
Coaches love to talk about
taking it one game at a time, no
matter what. And this makes sense,
because for the most part, anything
can happen.
But
some
things
usually
don’t happen. For instance, the
Wolverines
smothered
LIU
Brooklyn, 86-49, a year ago, so even
if they won’t say it explicitly, they
came into Thursday’s game with a
good inclination they would win.
Many times early in the season,
that is just how it is.
So, how does a team prepare for
these uncontested contests?
Michigan
made
sure
to
incorporate some scouting reports
on the Blackbirds into its gameplan,
but the team primarily focused on
the bigger picture.
In particular, the Wolverines
could
have
concentrated
on
exploiting the height advantage
as much as possible, however that
strategy won’t work against more
physical conference opponents.
So instead, Michigan worked on
a style of play that will be more
suitable down the road.
“That’s what it has to be at this
point,” said senior center Hallie
Thome after the game. “We know
that if the opponent isn’t gonna
— I don’t wanna be rude — if the
opponent isn’t the best, then we
still gotta do the things that are
gonna help us in the long run.
So whether that’s covering back
for transition defense, getting
offensive rebounds, boxing out
and doing all that stuff, the most
important part is getting ready for
Big Ten season.”
When
playing
a
lesser
opponent, teams sometimes start
to
lower
expectations,
which
can be detrimental. Thursday’s
game offered an opportunity to
practice avoiding this. To motivate
themselves, the Wolverines entered
the game with a goal of getting 10
stickers. A sticker is awarded for
each charge taken or loose ball
forced on defense.
“That kind of keeps you locked in
on defense,” Thome said.
Despite this incentive, Thome
mentioned the defense could have
done a better job of sustaining
the intensity. Following the single
point allowed in the opening frame,
Michigan gave up 18 points in the
second quarter.
“In the beginning we set the
tone,” Thome said. “But then we
realized and started playing to our
opponent — which is something we
cannot do at all ‘cause a very good
team, they’re gonna take advantage
and then come back.”
Before the matchup against LIU
Brooklyn, the Wolverines were
on a tough stretch where they lost
three out of four games. This win
helped them head back in the right
direction.
“I think for us — coming off the
stretch that we had — we needed
to get our confidence back,” said
Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico.
“And we needed to go against an
opponent. It didn’t matter who it
was. We needed to find our way to
playing Michigan basketball again.”
So while these lopsided games
may not seem like much on the
surface, they can still be useful;
there are still lessons to be learned.
MILES MACKLIN/Daily
Freshman center Naz Hillmon scored 14 points and notched three offensive rebounds in the first half of Thursday’s 83-38 win over LIU Brooklyn at Crisler Center.
TEDDY GUTKIN
Daily Sports Writer
ROHAN KUMAR
Daily Sports Writer
MILES MACKLIN/Daily
Senior center Hallie Thome scored 10 first-half points in the Wolverines’ win over the Blackbirds on Thursday night.