INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Naz Hillmon scored 20 points, Hailey Brown added 19 and seventh-seeded Michigan upset second-seeded and 11th-ranked Northwestern 67-59 Friday night in the Big Ten Conference quarterfinals.
A basket by Jordan Hamilton cut Michigan’s lead to 62-59 but Brown scored the back-breaker, a 3-pointer from just outside the left corner that kissed off the backboard with 18.6 seconds to go. She also added two free throws after a Northwestern miss.
Maddie Nolan added 13 points for the Wolverines (21-10), who are making a second-consecutive appearance in the semifinals for the first time since 2001. They will face the winner of third-seeded Iowa and sixth-seeded Ohio State.
Vernonica Burton scored 15 points for the Wildcats (26-4) and Hamilton added 14.
Northwestern, which won a share of its first conference title in 30 years and set a school record for wins, had a nine-game winning streak snapped. The streak included eight- and six-point wins over Michigan. The Wildcats have never made the Big Ten championship game, losing in the semifinals in 2015 and 2018.
Hillmon scored four points and then Nolan and Brown had back-to-back 3-pointers in a 10-2 run that put Michigan on top 45-41 late in the third quarter. The Wolverines got the lead to nine the fourth quarter before Northwestern came back, three times making it a one-possession game.
