ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Naz Hillmon scored 27 points and No. 11 Michigan defeated No. 15 Ohio State 75-66 on Sunday to split the season series.
Hillmon scored 50 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in an 81-77 loss to the Buckeyes on Jan. 21 but only four Wolverines scored in that defeat. This time, seven Wolverines put up points, including Amy Dilk with 13 points and six assists, Akienreh Johnson scoring 12 points and Leigha Brown, who missed the first meeting, putting in 11.
Hillmon, who came in as the third-leading scorer in the nation at 25.9 points per game and averaging 11.7 rebounds, was 11-of-16 shooting with eight boards. The Wolverines (13-2, 8-2 Big Ten) won the boards and outscored the Buckeyes 44-26 in the paint.
Michigan led by 15 with 3 1/2 minutes remaining when Ohio State (13-4, 9-4) went on a 9-0 run before Hillmon scored on a putback. Free throws carried the Wolverines the rest of the way.
The Wolverines led by three at halftime. Hillmon scored eight points to lead a third-quarter surge, Michigan outscoring the Buckeyes 24-11. Hillmon took a seat late in the period with her fourth foul but the Buckeyes only shaved a point off by the time she returned with 6 1/2 minutes left in the game.
Jacy Sheldon led the Buckeyes with 16 points. Ohio State has five players averaging in double figures but were missing Madison Greene for the second straight game while two others — Droka Juhasz and Braxtin Miller — combined to shoot 0 of 13 for four points. Juhasz had 12 rebounds but her run of six straight double-doubles ended. Freshman Kateri Poole, filling in at point for Greene, had 14 points with six assists, while Aaliyah Patty added 10 points.
On a day when the third-ranked Michigan men beat fourth-ranked Ohio State 92-87 in Columbus, the Wolverine women ended a three-game losing streak to their rivals.
Next, Ohio State is at Penn State on Wednesday, the first of three games left in its season as the Buckeyes have self-imposed a postseason ban because of potential NCAA infractions, reportedly involving a former assistant coach. Michigan plays at Iowa on Thursday.
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