Naz Hillmon scored 20 points, Hailey Brown added 19 and No. 7 seed Michigan upset second-seeded and 11th-ranked Northwestern 67-59 on Friday night in a Big Ten women’s tournament quarterfinal.
A Jordan Hamilton basket cut Michigan’s lead to 62-59, but Brown scored the backbreaker, a 3-pointer from the left corner that kissed off the backboard with 18.6 seconds to go. She added two free throws after a Northwestern miss.
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, saw its a nine-game winning streak end. The streak included eight- and six-point wins against Michigan.
The Wildcats never have made the Big Ten Tournament championship game, losing in the semifinals in 2015 and 2018.
Maddie Nolan scored 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.
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.