The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Tuesday, March 12, 2019 — 7
Breaking down Michigan’s key players from the 2018-19 campaign
Two-thirds of the ways through
the season, the Michigan women’s
basketball team looked doomed
for mediocrity. But the Wolverines
completely turned things around,
winning nine of their final 11
games.
Starting with a Feb. 1 victory
over
No.
10
Iowa,
Michigan
powered its way
through the Big
Ten
to
secure
fourth place in
the
conference
standings — its
second-best finish
in
Kim
Barnes
Arico’s seven-year
tenure as coach.
Guided by their
star co-captain seniors, guard
Nicole Munger and center Hallie
Thome, and a pair of standout
freshmen in guard Amy Dilk
and forward Naz Hillmon, the
Wolverines are now on the cusp
of their second-straight NCAA
Tournament berth.
The Daily breaks down the
seasons these four players put
together.
Amy Dilk
Possibly no freshman in the
country came into the season
with larger shoes to fill than
Dilk. Slotted into the point guard
position from day one, Dilk had
to replace Michigan’s all-time
leading
scorer,
Katelynn
Flaherty.
While Dilk may
not have been the
Wolverines’ most
consistent player,
no game proved
her worth more
than
Michigan’s
Nov.
25
affair
with Washington.
In just her sixth
collegiate game, Dilk registered
a stat line of 19 points, nine
rebounds and seven assists in an
80-73 victory.
Oftentimes
throughout
the season, Dilk struggled to
consistently score. But Barnes
Arico overlooked her struggles
and realized the importance of
having Dilk on the court. When
Dilk was out with a knee injury for
three games, Barnes Arico noticed
a difference in her team and a
slight increase in sloppy play.
“Amy was probably averaging
about 35 minutes a game and
she had the ball in her hands,
especially
under
pressure,”
Barnes Arico said
after a Feb. 14
win over Indiana
in
which
her
team committed
20 turnovers. “A
lot
of
decision
making
came
through her.”
Barnes
Arico
has
consistently
praised
Dilk’s
high
basketball
IQ and said she would not have
preferred anyone else run the
point position this season.
Naz Hillmon
Big Ten Sixth Player of the
Year, Big Ten media selection for
Freshman of the Year, Big Ten
All-Freshman Team and First
Team All-Big Ten. These are the
accolades that Hillmon can claim
with the regular season now in the
books.
Despite not starting a game,
Hillmon led the Wolverines in
field goal percentage (.626), points
per game (13.2), rebounds per
game (6.9) and tied for second on
the team in steals (31).
She has dazzled
in
competition
all season. In her
first four games,
the
freshman
forward shot an
absurd
26-for-
31 while scoring
more
than
20
points
in
two
of those games.
Since
then,
it
has been much
of the same for Hillmon, whose
motor leads the Wolverines’ press
defense.
“(Hillmon’s)
energy
is
contagious,” Barnes Arico said
after Hillmon’s 22 points and
eight rebounds against Detroit-
Mercy. “I think she just does a
tremendous job of bringing it each
and every single day. I think it’s
definitely a difference-maker in
our program’s success, so it’s great
to have her.”
Hallie Thome
Coming into the season, Thome
was expected to
be the offensive
leader
of
the
team. And while
a nagging back
injury
may
have caused the
senior center to
have
lackluster
performances at
Penn State and
Michigan State,
she put together
a
season
to
remember.
Averaging
12.5
points,
6.1
rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game,
Thome earned First Team All-
Big Ten honors — selected by the
Big Ten coaches — for the third
consecutive season. Along the
way, Thome recorded her 2,000th
career point and positioned herself
in second place on the Michigan
all-time leading scorers list.
“2,000 points is a lot of points,”
Barnes Arico said on WTKA on
Feb. 19. “It means from the minute
she stepped on campus, she has
made an immediate impact on our
program. She’s been such a special
player for us. A 6-foot-5 kid that
can really do anything.
“I mean she has such great soft
hands, able to catch any pass you
throw up, finishes
well
around
the rim, ability
to
offensively
rebound the ball
and just has a
great touch and a
great feel for the
game.”
Nicole Munger
Seen
as
the
leader
of
the
Wolverines,
Munger saved her best for her
final season at Michigan. Earning
Third Team All-Big Ten honors
for the first time in her career,
the senior averaged 9.9 points
per game, good for third on the
team, and shot the second-highest
three-point percentage on the
team (.345) despite taking nearly
40 percent of the team’s three-
point attempts (168).
But what Munger brought to
the table this season went well
beyond the stat sheet. Take the
Wolverines’ Feb. 14 matchup with
Indiana. With 30
seconds
on
the
clock and a five-
point lead, Munger
took a charge —
despite
having
four fouls — to give
the ball back to
Michigan and seal
the game.
Or how about
on Jan. 24, also
against
the
Hoosiers? Munger
went flying into the band trying
to save a loose ball, walking away
with a giant bruise on her leg from
diving into a tuba.
Munger provided an endless
supply of these high-intensity
moments throughout the season,
and that’s what Barnes Arico
loves the most about her senior
co-captain.
“(Munger’s) just a special kid,”
Barnes Arico said. “I think she’s
been the heart and soul of our
team since the minute she walked
on campus. … She’s a tremendous
basketball player but she’s even a
better person.”
With
only
the
NCAA
Tournament
remaining,
Dilk,
Hillmon, Thome and Munger
hope to lead Michigan past the
first
weekend
for
the
first
time in program
history.
Luckily
for them, they’ll
have help from
sophomore guard
Deja
Church,
sophomore
forward
Hailey
Brown,
junior
guard
Akienreh
Johnson
and
junior forward Kayla Robbins who
have all had clutch performances
throughout the season.
But now the burden is on
Michigan’s four stars to continue
their strong regular seasons into
March and deliver.
BENNETT BRAMSON
Daily Sports Writer
Wolverines knock off No. 2 UCLA
but go 1-2 at Dodgertown Classic
After four hours of action, the
No. 16 Michigan baseball team
(9-4) was looking to stay alive in
the bottom of the tenth inning
on Sunday at Dodger Stadium.
Freshman right-hander Willie
Weiss had given up a bases-
loaded walk to put Oklahoma
State up, 3-2, in the top of the
inning, and it was now up to the
bottom of the Wolverines’ order
to keep the game alive.
All three batters struck out
swinging.
“(Weiss) had the one tough
inning, a couple of hits fall,
you don’t get a couple of calls
and end up with some walks,
that happens,” said Michigan
coach Erik Bakich. “It was just
magnified because it was the
tenth inning, but I thought the
numbers didn’t tell the whole
story because he made some
gutsy pitches in some huge
spots.”
The extra-inning loss proved
to
exemplify
Michigan’s
performance over the weekend.
An impressive outing by the
starting pitchers — all three
gave up just two earned runs —
and error-free defense kept the
Wolverines in the games despite
a struggling offense scoring two
runs on Saturday and one run on
Sunday, dropping two of three
games to USC and Oklahoma
State while beating No. 2 UCLA.
“We
certainly
had
opportunities to execute on this
trip that we didn’t get done,”
Bakich said. “Whether it was
getting bunts down or moving
runners over, and those are the
things that need repetition. Those
are the things that we haven’t
been able to do in training. We
need to work on those areas, we
had a lot of outs on the bases from
this trip, whether it be caught
stealing or pick-offs. Those are
very costly mistakes against
really good teams.”
This
past
weekend’s
competition was against some of
their toughest competition this
year and proved to be a big test
for Michigan early in the season.
With four runs in the first inning,
the Wolverines got off to a quick
start on Friday against the Bruins
and never looked back on their
way to a 7-5 upset victory.
Saturday,
though,
Michigan’s
offense
stagnated.
Scoring
one
unearned run in
the sixth inning,
the
Wolverines
fell to USC, 4-1.
Sunday,
the
offense
scored
just
two
runs
against the Cowboys, both batted
in
by
sophomore
outfielder
Jordan Nwogu, who had a great
individual performance with an
RBI single and a solo home run in
the 10-inning loss.
“Players are just out of their
routine,” Bakich said. “They just
aren’t getting the drill work in
they normally get. The hitters
aren’t hitting off the tee and
getting their cage routine in. It’s
just you show up to the games,
you do batting practice and you
get as much as you can in those
opportunities.”
After the weekend series,
just two players have a batting
average over .300, and the team
went 2-for-10 with runners in
scoring position in the two losses
this weekend.
Junior
left-hander
Tommy
Henry gained his fourth win of
the season against the Bruins,
even though he gave up his
first runs of the year. The other
weekend starters had similar
performances,
keeping
the
Wolverines in the game. Junior
right-hander Karl Kauffmann
allowed just two runs against
USC on Saturday and sophomore
right-hander Jeff Criswell also
gave up two runs to the Cowboys,
striking out 12.
“We’ve been very fortunate to
get the starting pitching we’ve
gotten from Tommy Henry, Karl
Kauffmann and Jeff Criswell,”
Bakich
said.
“They’ve
been
workhorses thus far, especially
Tommy and Karl.”
Having
won
one of their last
five,
Michigan
has work to do.
“It was a let
down
against
USC
and
it
was a let down
(Sunday),”
Bakich
said.
“The only thing
you
can
do
when it feels like
there’s a let down is learn from
it, grow from it, get better from
it. So that’s what we want to do.
We want to find ways to keep
improving as the season keeps
going.”
Mixed bag for ‘M’ relief pitching
On Saturday, the No. 16
Michigan baseball team was
locked into a defensive battle
with
Southern
California.
Through seven innings, junior
right-hander
Karl
Kauffman
allowed two runs while the
Wolverines faced a one-run
deficit. But in the next inning,
relief pitchers sophomore left-
hander Angelo Smith and junior
right-hander Jack Weisenburger
allowed two runs adding to the
deficit.
In
the
bottom
of
the
eighth, Smith walked the first
batter, Chase Bushor, on four
consecutive
pitches.
Bushor
then advanced to second base
after a wild pitch. Four pitches
later, Matthew Acosta singled
up the middle, sending Bushor to
third. At this moment, Michigan
coach Erik Bakich saw fit to
make another change, and Smith
was replaced by Weisenburger.
Weisenberger was unable to
stop the bleeding as the Trojans
would score two additional runs
off a sacrifice fly and another
single to put the game to bed, 4-1.
“The relievers, it’s just who we
feel good about in that situation
against the opposing hitters
that are coming up that have
the best chance to put a zero up
and get quick outs for us,” said
Michigan coach Erik Bakich.
“And most of the time, it’s like
any baseball game. You feel good
about it going in, but sometimes,
you don’t always get the call, or a
guy bloops one in or a pitch isn’t
executed or whatever happens
happens.”
In a 3-2 loss to Oklahoma
State on Sunday, Bakich got the
call right as the relievers gave up
just a single run.
Michigan’s traditional pillars
of the program have been their
defense and their pitching. Thus
far this season, their hitting has
been a pleasant surprise.
But,
at
the
Dodgertown
Classic, the relief pitching was
a mixed bag and the bats fell
flat. The Wolverines have lost
four out of their last five on the
West Coast, and the increased
competition is a good measuring
stick
for
Michigan
against
warmer-climate
teams
with
more repetitions under their
belt.
The relief pitching was solid
Friday against UCLA with the
exception of an outfield mistake
that led to runs. Freshman right-
hander Willie Weiss came in
for junior left-hander Tommy
Henry in the bottom of the
seventh and was looking to close
out the game up 6-2. Weiss got
two outs, but had the bases were
loaded before a misplayed ball
in the outfield led to a bases-
clearing triple for the Bruins.
But this didn’t faze Weiss as he
bounced back with consecutive
1-2-3 innings to close out the
win.
“The relief pitching we got on
Friday from Willie Weiss was
really good,” Bakich said. “He
got three outs and we dropped
a pop-up in foul territory and as
kinda what happens when you
give good teams extra chances,
they make you pay for it. Then
the guy hit the bases-clearing
triple but he actually (went
through) that particular inning
unscathed.
“I thought a huge moment in
that game was where he showed
some pretty good poise for a
freshman after giving up three
runs and having a really tough
inning to come back pitch the
eighth and the ninth scoreless.
Put up zeros against an excellent
UCLA team, maybe the best
team in the country, so the relief
pitching was good there.”
Relief pitching is a delicate
mechanism, and the season
is still in its infancy. But this
facet of baseball can make or
break teams, and a questionable
bullpen is not an issue a team
wants to have when competing
for championships.
“We have some guys that need
to mechanically iron out a few
things,” Bakich said, “Haven’t
gotten off to a great start but,
you know, it’s early and there is
plenty of season left and plenty
of growth opportunities left for
everyone, position players and
pitchers alike.”
ALEXANDRIA POMPEI/Daily
Senior shooting guard Nicole Munger has been a leader for the Wolverines this season, along with averaging 9.9 points per game shooting 34.5 percent from three.
KENT SCHWARTZ
Daily Sports Writer
AVI RAJENDRA-NICOLUCCI
Daily Sports Writer
CARTER FOX/Daily
Junior right-hander Jack Weisenburger and Michigan’s other relievers had an up and down weekend in California.
She had the ball
in her hands,
especially
under pressure.
(Freshman
Naz Hillmon’s)
energy is
contagious.
(Munger’s) just
a special kid. ...
She’s been the
heart and soul.
She has made
an immediate
impact on our
program.
You do batting
practice and
you get as much
as you can.