The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SportsTuesday
January 22, 2019 — 3B

Punch to the Bucks!

Michigan stages fourth-quarter comeback, beats Ohio State 62-58 to keep NCAA Tournament dreams afloat

With 13 seconds remaining 
in 
Sunday’s 
matchup 
with 
Ohio State, Michigan women’s 
basketball 
freshman 
forward 
Naz Hillmon delivered a game-
winning layup, completing a 
12-point fourth quarter comeback 
in a 62- 58 victory. 
In their only regular season 
contest against one another this 
season 
the 
Wolverines 
(12-7 
overall, 3-4 Big Ten) defeated 
the Buckeyes (7-9 overall, 3-4 
Big Ten) in what was a thrilling, 
scrappy game thanks in large 
part to Hillmon and senior guard 
Nicole Munger. 
After scoring 19 first quarter 
points, the Wolverines seemingly 
fell asleep for the next two 
quarters, only scoring a combined 
18 points. Then the fourth quarter 
came, and everything changed. 
“We were talking about, in the 
third quarter, how we couldn’t 
have been playing any more 
(tightly),” said Michigan coach 
Kim Barnes Arico. “We were 
really low energy at that point, 
with the exception of Nicole. We 
said, ‘We have to get some stops 
if we’re going to win this game.’ 
… So we started to score and I 
think when we started to score 
we gained some confidence back. 
“They were scoring with us 
at the beginning of the fourth 
quarter, but then they got tight. 
And I think us scoring, our fans 
behind us, the crowd getting 
rowdy, we were able to get stops. 
And not only were we able to get 
stops, but we came up with the 
rebounds. And I think our kids 
were really selling out, doing 
everything they could to come 
up with those rebounds down the 
stretch.”
Michigan entered the quarter 
down nine, but quickly battled 
back to cut the lead to six with 
6:15 remaining in the game. It 
then rattled off three straight 
layups to tie the game before an 

Ohio State three with 1:36 left on 
the clock. 
On the ensuing possession, 
Munger calmly knocked down 
a three to yet again tie the game 
and send Crisler into a frenzy. 
The Buckeyes failed to convert 
on their next possession as senior 
center Hallie Thome blocked an 
attempted floater with 41 seconds 
on the clock. For their final 
possession, the Wolverines found 
Hillmon on the right block to give 
Michigan the lead for good. 
“That’s just our team fighting 
back,” Munger said. “Being at 
home helps so much. The crowd 
was incredible. It was nice. The 
crowd made it happen. The team 
played really well and went out 
and grinded. It’s just a lot of fun. 
We did it together. That was 
what was most important. They 
couldn’t stop Naz inside, so we 
kept going to her. Hallie had such 
a day. Her block at the end there 
isn’t something a lot of people 
are going to remember but it was 
game-changing. I think everyone 
played such an important part in 
this win and that’s what makes 
it so incredible. So kudos to 
everyone down the line. 1-14. 
Proud of us.”
Hillmon, who came off the 
bench only 1:45 into the game 
after 
Wolverines 
sophomore 
forward Hailey Brown got into 
early foul trouble, left her mark 
scoring eight first quarter points 
while shooting a perfect 4-for-4 
from the floor.
In 
the 
second 
quarter, 
Michigan struggled to find the 
basket. Hillmon scored twice 
in the first three minutes of 
the quarter but, after that, the 
Wolverines didn’t score again 
until Thome converted a hook 
shot in the low post with 2:45 
remaining in the period. And 
while junior guard Akienreh 
Johnson followed Thome’s shot 
with a 3- pointer just a minute 
later, 
outside 
of 
those 
four 
buckets, the Michigan offense 
could get nothing else going.

On top of the lack of scoring, 
the Wolverines committed 11 
first half turnovers and nine team 
fouls, seven of which coming in 
the first quarter. 
However, 
Michigan 
still 
clung to a one-point half time 
lead, 28-27, thanks to a strong 
defensive showing in the second 
quarter, holding Ohio State to 
5-for-14 from the field. 
Then the third quarter came.
In front of what had been a 
raucous crowd in the first half, the 
Wolverines came out flat in the 
third quarter, not scoring until a 
pair of Hillmon free throws with 
4:15 remaining and not making a 
field goal until the final minute. 
While 
Michigan 
shot 
a 
mere 2-11 from the field, the 
Buckeyes, meanwhile, went 6-10 
and dominated the Wolverines, 
forcing 
five 
turnovers 
and 
outrebounding Michigan nine to 
seven.
“I think we had too many 
turnovers, we were trying to 
force the ball,” Barnes Arico said 
of the team’s struggles. “Now 
here’s the opposite side of ok 
(we’ve) got all these great post 

players and we’re trying to get 
them touches, but everyone in the 
country knows that we’re trying 
to get them touches. So they’re 
packing the paint. Extremely 
packing the paint. And we’re still 
throwing the ball there. And we 
were forcing it instead of getting 
ball movement, instead of getting 
better touches. 
“So that’s why I think we 
struggled with our turnovers, 
really weren’t getting good shots 
and struggled without movement 
of the basketball. And that’s 
kind of a work in progress. It’s 
something that we know we have 
to get better at but we’re gonna 
keep working on it.”
But, after Munger knocked 
down her third 3-pointer with 
18 seconds to cut the lead to nine, 
the Wolverines suddenly had life 
heading into the final quarter. 
Munger scored nine of her 
18 points in the fourth quarter, 
including a clutch three point 
to tie the game immediately 
following an Ohio State three 
with just over a minute remaining 
in the game. 
The rest is history. 

Naz Hillmon may have led 
the Wolverines in scoring. 
Hailey Brown made two critical 
layups to keep Michigan within 
touching distance in the fourth 
quarter. And point guard Amy 
Dilk demonstrated poise at 
the helm by knocking down 
two clutch free throws late 
and providing her teammates 
with open looks on multiple 
occasions.
There 
were 
multiple 
performances from Michigan 
players that contributed to a 
come-from-behind win over 
bitter rival Ohio State on 
Sunday afternoon — many of 
them by underclassmen — and 
yet, the two biggest plays of the 
game came from the two senior 
Wolverines — guard Nicole 
Munger 
and 
center 
Hallie 
Thome. For a team largely 
characterized by its youthful 
exuberance and inexperience, 
the veterans stepped up in a 
massive way.
When Ohio State took a 
three-point lead with a minute 
left, Munger responded by 
drilling a three of her own.
“Being a senior she’s got 
to know ‘You’re getting you 
the ball.’ She is a tremendous 
shooter,” said Michigan coach 
Kim Barnes Arico. “The way 
she shoots the basketball in 
practice 
is 
incredible. 
She 
doesn’t miss. Now the same 
shots she’s not always getting 
in the game … but she’s just 
stayed the course and kept 
working on it.”
Seconds 
later, 
Thome 
blocked Makayla Waterman’s 
floater on the other end and 
snatched the rebound. From 
there, Michigan never looked 
back.
At 
times 
this 
season, 
both 
Munger 
and 
Thome 
have struggled to give the 
Wolverines 
the 
consistent 

on-court output they’re capable 
of, but their commitment to the 
team and the guidance they’ve 
provided for their younger 
teammates has never wavered. 
This game was just another 
example of that.
“It’s like having a coach on 
the floor,” Hillmon said. “Coach 
talks about how important the 
experience of Hal and Munger 
is and you can definitely see 
that. Just in our huddles, 
they’re the main ones talking.
“Nicole’s throwing her body 
everywhere. She’s sacrificing 
for the team. If there’s one 
person that’s for the team, the 
team, the team, it’s Munger. She 
goes out there every day and if 
her shot’s not falling, she’ll play 
good defense. Anything she can 
do to pump us up.”
Against 
the 
Buckeyes, 
Munger 
was 
dangerous 
offensively — pouring in 18 
points. Thome’s scoreline may 
not have been as impressive 
with just six points, but her 
presence 
was 
undeniable. 
Whether she and Thome filled 
up the stat sheet or not, they 
had a tremendous impact on 
the outcome of this game.
Though the Wolverines still 
sit tenth in the Big Ten, this 
game was as close to a must-win 
as any they’ve had this season 
and still keeps their NCAA 
Tournament hopes alive. In 
the fourth quarter, there was 
a discernible sense of urgency 
on display from the team in 
white, and Munger and Thome 
— with their days at Michigan 
numbered — were the catalysts.
“Hungry dogs run faster and 
we’re hungry,” Munger said. 
“We need wins. Every game 
in the Big Ten is gonna be like 
this. It’s gonna be a grinder. 
We try to stay hungry and keep 
attacking each day, try to get a 
little bit better.
If we do that, at the end of 
the season we’ll be a lot better 
than where we started.” 

BENNETT BRAMSON
Daily Sports Writer
CONNOR BRENNAN
Daily Sports Writer

ALLISON ENGKVIST/Daily
Senior guard Nicole Munger helped lift the Wolverines to a comeback win.

‘M’ looking to move on

Maddie Mariani stood tall, 
took a breath and composed 
herself. Then the freshman 
sped down the runway and 
gracefully launched herself over 
the vault. She landed cleanly on 
the mat, where she was mobbed 
by her coaches and teammates.
The scoreboard flashed a 
solid 9.825.
For 
Mariani 
and 
her 
teammates, it was a moment 
of exhalation, energy and, for 
the first time in over a week, 
normalcy.
Eight days after Michigan 
initially hired former senior 
vice 
president 
of 
USA 
Gymnastics, Rhonda Faehn, to 
be an assistant coach — and four 
days after she was fired — the 
Wolverines returned to the mat. 
They did so with an eye toward 
moving on from a tumultuous 
week.
“It was kind of an emotional 
weekend — a high and a low,” 
said senior Emma McLean. “We 
pulled it back together, and it’s 
not anything we can’t handle. 
I think our foundation is so 
strong that at this point nothing 
is going to shake us.”
Faehn 
departed 
USA 
Gymnastics in the fallout of the 
Larry Nassar scandal. She was 
hired by Michigan on Thursday, 
Jan. 10. She was fired four days 
later.
Sunday 
evening, 
in 
the 
statement announcing Faehn’s 
firing, athletic director Warde 
Manuel 
characterized 
her 
hiring as the “wrong decision.”
The decision to part ways 
with Faehn was met with 
displeasure 
from 
many 
on 
the team. Senior Olivia Karas 
was among those who reacted 
negatively at the time, tweeting 
Sunday, “Disappointed that this 
opportunity has been taken 
from us. No one seems to care 
that we were so excited to have 
Rhonda joining us this season. 
Very very disappointed.”
Friday, though holding to a 
similar sentiment, Karas struck 
a softer tone.

“(The coaches) were very 
transparent with us, and we 
were really excited to have her 
here,” Karas said. “I’m really 
upset about losing her on our 
coaching 
staff. 
However 
I 
understand the backlash and 
understand how there could be 
feelings towards it that could 
make it not necessarily a good 
idea. But I am very sad. I really 
liked her.”
Michigan coach Bev Plocki, 
meanwhile, kept her focus on 
the meet, one in which the 
Wolverines topped Michigan 
State, 195.975-194.050.
“Yeah, I’ve talked about that,” 
Plocki said Friday, when asked 
about her decision to make the 
hiring. “Right now we’re going 
to continue focusing on moving 
forward.”
In Saturday’s announcement 
of Faehn’s hiring — issued a day 
after The Daily learned of it — 
Plocki offered effusive praise.
“I 
have 
known 
and 
respected 
Rhonda 
Faehn 
for over two decades,” she 
said in the statement. “Her 
accomplishments in our sport 
speak 
for 
themselves. 
Her 
technical 
knowledge 
and 
experience will greatly benefit 
our student-athletes.”
Faehn was fired a day later 
after multiple regents publicly 
called for her removal to the 
Detroit Free Press.
Karas confirmed to The Daily 
that Manuel addressed the team 
this week, though she declined 
to comment on the nature of 
that conversation.
For 
the 
players, 
Friday’s 
meet was a chance to move past 
the turmoil. It was a chance 
to celebrate freshman Natalie 
Wojcik, an emerging star; an 
opportunity to speculate on a 
team brimming with potential; 
a day to move past a controversy 
that was never in their control, 
into a future that will be.
“We were doing it without 
(Faehn) before and we can 
continue to do it without her,” 
McLean said. “Whatever we 
have in ourselves is whatever 
we need. We have whatever we 
need to make the best of it.”

Wojcik earns third-straight title in home opener

It’s been more than just a big 
week for Natalie Wojcik. You 
could say it’s been her month.
Three weeks ago, in the 
opening meet of the season, 
the freshman gymnast broke 
Michigan’s record for highest 
score in a collegiate debut with 
a near perfect 39.625 — good 
for the all-around title at the 
Cancun Classic.
One week later, in front of 
10,000-plus fans in Tuscaloosa, 
Ala., she claimed that honor 
again and won the individual 
vault and balance beam events.
Wojcik’s 
breakout 
performance 
in 
her 
first 
competition 
with 
the 
Wolverines 
landed 
her 
a 
selection as Big Ten Gymnast 
of the Week. In just two weeks, 
she 
had 
already 
received 
recognition 
as 
Big 
Ten 
Freshman of the Week. Twice.
But Friday night, when the 
award ceremony wrapped up 
and Wojcik’s name was called 
for her third all-around title in 
three weeks, the achievement 
had 
new 
meaning — she 
had done it at 
home.
In 
an 
animated Crisler 
Center, 
Wojcik 
stole the show 
with 
a 
meet-
high 
39.325, 
aiding the No. 
8 
Michigan 
women’s 
gymnastics team to a 195.975-
194.050 conference and home-
opening victory over Michigan 
State.
Currently sitting at No. 3, No. 
6 and No. 21 in the nation in the 
vault, beam and uneven bars 
events, respectively, Wojcik has 
set a precedent of sustainable 
precision 
for 
herself 
in 
competitions this season. And 
Michigan coach Bev Plocki has 
taken note.
“She’s 
a 
perfectionist,” 
Plocki said. “She’s very in tune 
with what she’s doing, she 
gives 100 percent in practice 

every single turn she takes 
every day. And that shows 
up on the competition floor 
with 
confidence 
and 
with 
consistency.”
Wojcik’s 
performance 
on 
Friday, 
particularly 
in 
the 
uneven bars and beam rotations, 
embodied the artistry and skill 
the 
freshman 
has brought to 
the Wolverines’ 
roster 
this 
season.
Wojcik 
has 
anchored 
the 
vault, 
uneven 
bars and beam 
rotations 
for 
the Wolverines 
in 
their 
first 
three 
meets. 
Pressure is inherent to this 
role, as the anchor is the 
last gymnast to perform in a 
rotation, representing a final 
opportunity for a team to boost 
its score in any given event.
But from the moment Wojcik 
made her first leap onto the 
bars Friday, the pressure didn’t 
show. She wound up for her 
double layout, gaining speed 
as she circled the high bar. She 
released, flipping with perfect 
form.
Her feet connected with the 
mat. Flawless landing. A minute 
later, the scoreboard read 9.900.

“I do get a little bit nervous, 
but it’s more excited nervous, 
though,” 
Wojcik 
said. 
“So 
reminding myself that this is 
what I train for every day in 
practice and knowing the team 
is behind me really helps to 
calms me down.”
The 
weight 
of 
Wojcik’s 
role as anchor 
is 
especially 
evident 
when 
other preceding 
Michigan 
routines do not 
score 
as 
high 
as 
would 
be 
desired. 
This 
was 
the 
case 
on the balance 
beam 
Friday 
night, 
and 
the squad was looking for a 
knockout ending from Wojcik 
to head into the floor exercise 
with a significant edge over 
Michigan State.
As 
Wojcik 
gracefully 
executed a switch leap followed 
by a split jump, she couldn’t 
have looked more composed 
on the thin beam. The gymnast 
transitioned 
from 
a 
back 
handspring into a back layout 
without any signs of slipping 
following the flip. She finished 
with a clean dismount and 
stuck the landing.
Again, Crisler erupted. This 

time, the board flashed 9.950 — 
her top beam score thus far this 
season. 
“That moment when I landed 
my dismount and had everyone 
cheering and high-fiving me 
was really exciting,” Wojcik 
said.
Added Plocki: “Her beam in 
general, is like, 
exquisite. 
She 
puts the artistry 
in 
artistic 
gymnastics. 
She’s beautiful, 
everything 
is 
so precise and 
perfect — and 
that’s from focus 
and repetition.”
As 
a 
top-
scoring gymnast 
on a top-ranked program the 
past three weekends, Wojcik is a 
strong link on a team brimming 
with young talent, one that 
includes powerhouse freshmen 
in Maddie Mariani and Abby 
Brenner, who regularly hit solid 
routines in competition.
“This is definitely going to 
be a team that’s hopefully going 
to peak as we continue to go 
through the season,” Plocki 
said.
And if the best is yet to come 
for Plocki’s team, the potential 
for a dominant Michigan season 
is looking pretty bright.

WOMEN’S GYMNASTICS

MAX MARCOVITCH
Managing Sports Editor

ANNA MARCUS
Daily Sports Editor

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Freshman gymnast Natalie Wojcik scored a meet-high 39.325 points in Michigan’s victory over Michigan State.

“She’s beautiful, 
everything is 
so precise and 
perfect.”

“She puts 
the artistry 
in artistic 
gymnastics.”

