it would be hard to blame the Michigan ladies if they’d come out flat, three days after a Nearly Program-Defining Win (TM) at Notre Dame.  In that game, after a slightly sluggish start, Michigan had controlled play and definitely looked like a better team than the most recent NCAA runner up (caveats, obviously, but still).  After that undeniably big win, Sunday loomed as a classic trap game – Wright State has made the post season for 8 of the last 9 years and was even ranked in 2019.  They are a tough, experienced team.  This was not Oakland U, coming in undermanned and undertalented.  A letdown would not have been a huge surprise.

But that’s not what happened, not really.  Michigan dominated from the tip, scoring at will from all over the court and playing stifling defense en route to a 48-27 halftime lead.  Some issues had popped up – turnovers, as usual, and some weird defensive rebounding issues - but the task was clear.  Coast through the second half, and we’re home, right?

Nope.  The letdown came after halftime - the third quarter was a lousy a quarter as this team has played since Indiana blew the ladies out on Senior Day last season.  The turnover issues continued (they would finish with 18) and the offense was stagnant – Leigha Brown was the only viable offensive option, scoring 11 of the team’s 12 points.  Wright State’s long, long bench started to pay off; an assembly line of fresh legs kept crashing the offensive glass, resulting in a seemingly-endless series of second-chance opportunities.  At one point, a game that looked like a total blowout – and had been, in the first half – was suddenly a possession away from single digits, and Michigan looked flat and lost.  The only thing that kept it from getting really scary was Wright State’s execrable shooting.  They’d end up 31% from the field and 1 / 18 from three, and credit to Michigan perimeter defense for that.

Michigan would eventually take the game back in the fourth quarter, at least partially thanks to typically outstanding two-way play from Hailey Brown and another irresistable Naz Hillmon performance before garbage time.  It’s hard to be disappointed by a 23-point win, but the thing about high expectations is that they make you expect more.

But after Sunday?  After Wright State had TWENTY SIX offensive rebounds?  Well, consider my brakes to be tapped, at least a little bit.

Basketbullets

• This team absolutely has to have better, more consistent outings from Amy Dilk.  She was terrific in a 6-point night vs Notre Dame, but…well, this was not her greatest game.  The first of her five (!) turnovers was on a lazy pass on the very first possession of the game, and, despite a short stretch of some offensive aggression in the first, she really floated.  She did seem to be looking for her own shot a bit more than previously this season, which was probably overdue, but as of this moment she’s just not the night-in, night-out game controller she needs to be.
• That’s not the case with Naz Hillmon and Leigha Brown, however.  Those two continue to be about as close to unstoppable on the offensive end as any you will find in the Big Ten.  Naz had another ho-hum 20 / 11 night (including 8 of 9 from the line).  Leigha Brown seems to be going downhill every time she touches the ball, and is a terrific facilitator when Amy is out or lagging.
• Hailey Brown continues to do everything well.  I almost feel bad for her – she’s a plus at literally everything that you can do on the court, and solid all-around play tends to get you less publicity than having 35-point nights.  But she makes every play, big or small – at one point in the third quarter, with Wright State making a run, she had a deflection and pure-hustle defensive rebound on back-to-back possessions that really stemmed the tide.  She does that every game.
• As does Akienreh Johnson.  She’s doesn’t seem to have her usual burst at the moment, and only went 2-8, but both baskets were critical (well, as critical as they can be in a 23-point win) and both were on circus-ey drives to the basket.
• I know I tend to talk about the freshman too much, but this is a really, really good group.  Elise Stuck continues to get meaningful minutes, and in this game Whitney Sollom had some good minutes providing fresh legs.  One thing I’ve noticed but not really expanded on is that Michigan’s bigs – Hillmon, H Brown, Cam Williams, Sollom, and Verajao (when she arrives), are, without exception, active and athletic.  There’s a thing in the women’s game where…oh, how should I say this?  There’s a thing with some bigs where it’s clear that they’ve succeeded simply by being bigger and stronger than the players around them, rather than being skilled or active.  None of Michigan’s bigs fit that profile, and really never have under KBA.  She doesn’t run that much, but you better be able to do it when she does.  You don’t see any plodders on this team.

Next up is Butler, who was pretty good over the last two seasons but have fallen off a cliff so far this season, losing two brutal blowouts with an ORtg of 67.9 (!). 

But until I see better ball security and defensive rebounding, the brakes, will, in all likelihood, remain at least slightly tapped.