No. 8 Michigan women take control early, roll past Rutgers

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Naz Hillmon and Leigha Brown each scored 19 points as No. 8 Michigan rolled past Rutgers 76-47 on Sunday.

Maddie Nolan added 14 points for the Wolverines (13-2, 4-1 Big Ten).

“I thought it was a great bounce-back game for us,” Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico said. “We were really active on the defensive end of the floor.”

Michigan shot 56.3% from the field while holding Rutgers to 32% shooting.

Lasha Petree scored 18 points and Shug Dickson added 14 points for the Scarlet Knights (7-10, 0-5), who lost their third straight.

Michigan ended the first quarter with a 12-0 run. After Petree scored the first basket of the second quarter for Rutgers, Michigan went on an 8-0 run and pulled away, leading by as many as 20 points. It was 44-25 at halftime.

The Wolverines led by as many as 35 points in the second half. They were coming off a 79-58 loss at Nebraska on Jan. 4.

“We had a bad taste in our mouths all week,” Brown said. “We just got out-toughed in that game. We made a lot of uncharacteristic mistakes.”

Sunday’s game was the first between the teams since Feb. 16, 2020. It was the only time they are scheduled to play this season.

Michigan has won three of the last four meetings.

BIG PICTURE

Rutgers: Dickson became the fifth Rutgers player on the roster to record 1,000 points in her career when she hit a 3-pointer midway through the second quarter. No other Division I team has that many players over the century mark.

Michigan: The Wolverines are 8-0 at home this season.

UP NEXT

Rutgers: Hosts Wisconsin next Sunday.

Michigan: At Penn State on Thursday.

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More AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25