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Michigan women reach Sweet 16 for first time, beat Tennessee

Posted March 23, 2021 7:00 am

By DOUG FEINBERG

Michigan center Izabel Varejao, left, gets past Tennessee center Kasiyahna Kushkituah (11) to put up a shot during the first half of a college basketball game in the second round of the women's NCAA tournament at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Tuesday, March 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel) The Associated Press

SAN ANTONIO (AP) - It's been a season of firsts for Michigan, and now the Wolverines can add a trip to the Sweet 16 to that list.

Leigha Brown scored 23 points and Naz Hillmon added 19 to lead No. 6 seed Michigan to its first regional semifinals appearance with a 70-55 win over third-seeded Tennessee on Tuesday in the women's NCAA Tournament.

'œIt's amazing, we've been having a lot of firsts on our team,'ť Hillmon said. 'œFor our program, this is another one. We drenched coach in the locker room.'ť

The Wolverines had been 0-5 in the second round before pulling off the victory over the Lady Vols. As the final buzzer sounded, the Michigan players jumped into a group hug at center court and sang 'œit's great to be a Michigan Wolverine.'ť

'œIt's great for our university, great for the state of Michigan. It's great to see Michigan is not only a football and men's basketball school, but also a women's basketball school,'ť Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico said.

Leading 18-16 with eight minutes left in the first half, Michigan (16-5) held Tennessee to just one field goal the rest of the second quarter and built a 28-19 halftime lead. The Lady Vols missed their final seven shots of the period and ended their drought 1:18 into the third quarter. The Lady Vols' deficit grew to 17 points as Michigan went on a 22-7 run spanning the quarters.

Tennessee (17-8) trailed by 15 heading into the fourth quarter and was able to cut its deficit to 54-44 with under 5 minutes left before a 3-pointer by Danielle Rauch and a steal and layup by Brown restored the 15-point cushion. Tennessee couldn't get closer than nine the rest of the way.

Hillmon, the Big Ten Player of the Year, also had 15 rebounds as the Wolverines more than held their own on the glass against the Lady Vols, outrebounding them 42-40.

"Their average height is like 6-foot-2," Hillmon said. 'œIt's something we emphasized. They are one of the best in the nation. We put it on ourselves tonight to make sure we rebounded. ... Took efforts to rebound. all of us crashing the boards. It was a huge emphasis for us coming into the game."

A trip to the regional semifinals was just another first for the Wolverines this year. The team started 10-0 for the first time in school history. They were also in the rankings all season for the first-time, as well as having Hillmon be the first female player to earn All-America honors as a second-teamer.

Tennessee, which has a long storied NCAA tradition with eight national championships, fell to 28-3 in the second round.

Rennia Davis scored 12 points to lead the Lady Vols, who were playing Michigan for the first time.

'œI'm proud of the growth that our team had as women, as basketball players, as teammates. I thought we made some unbelievable strides forward. I'm proud of that," Tennessee coach Kellie Harper said. "We just came up short today with our execution.'ť

SHOOTING WOES

Tennessee was just 21 for 62 from the field (33.9%) and only 2 for 14 from behind the 3-point line

'œWe rushed some of our shots in the first half, and we'll definitely credit Michigan's defense for that. I thought more importantly we didn't finish layups," Harper said. "I think we missed 17 layups in the game, and it's going to be really tough to advance against a talented opponent if you can't finish. And again, I don't want to take anything away from them because I thought their physicality affected us on some of those finishes.'ť

MISSING IN ACTION

Michigan was still without starting point guard Amy Dilk, who didn't make the trip because of an undisclosed medical issue that the school wouldn't elaborate on. Rauch got the start in her place again and had five points, six rebounds and three assists.

'œThe last eight games she played 16 minutes leading up to NCAA Tournament. Her number was called and she was ready,'ť Barnes Arico said of Rauch. 'œAs a coach that's the greatest reward ever. Greatest kid, greatest teammate and hardest worker I've been around.'ť

UP NEXT:

Michigan plays the winner of Virginia Tech-Baylor in the Sweet 16.

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More AP women's college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

Michigan guard Leigha Brown (32) celebrates after making a basket during the first half of a college basketball game against Tennessee in the second round of the women's NCAA tournament at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Tuesday, March 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel) The Associated Press

Tennessee guard Rennia Davis (0) and Michigan forward Naz Hillmon (00) battle for a rebound during the first half of a college basketball game in the second round of the women's NCAA tournament at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Tuesday, March 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel) The Associated Press

Tennessee center Kasiyahna Kushkituah shoots during the first half of a college basketball game against Michigan in the second round of the women's NCAA tournament at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Tuesday, March 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel) The Associated Press

Michigan guard Akienreh Johnson shoots during the first half of a college basketball game against Tennessee in the second round of the women's NCAA tournament at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Tuesday, March 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel) The Associated Press

Michigan guard Akienreh Johnson (14) pressures Tennessee guard Rae Burrell during the first half of a college basketball game in the second round of the women's NCAA tournament at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Tuesday, March 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel) The Associated Press

Michigan players celebrate while Tennessee guard Jordan Horston (25) walks off the court after their college basketball game in the second round of the women's NCAA tournament at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Tuesday, March 23, 2021. Michigan won 70-55. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel) The Associated Press

Michigan guard Danielle Rauch celebrates while Tennessee guard Rae Burrell (12) walks off the court after their college basketball game in the second round of the women's NCAA tournament at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Tuesday, March 23, 2021. Michigan won 70-55. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel) The Associated Press

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