ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Naz Hillmon scored 26 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, Leigha Brown added 22 points and No. 25 Michigan pulled away for a 93-75 season-opening win over Central Michigan on Wednesday.
Hillmon went 11 for 13 from the field and Brown 9 of 13 as the Wolverines shot 62%. Hillmon helped Michigan to a 41-23 rebounding advantage but the Wolverines had 16 turnovers. Brown had five assists and three steals.
The Chippewas, preseason favorites in the Mid-American Conference, were led by reigning Player of the Year Micaela Kelly with 30 points, moving her up two spots to sixth on the CMU career list with 1,559. Molly Davis added 24. They combined to go 22 of 42 from the field while their teammates were 8 of 25.
Michigan never trailed after scoring eight straight points in the middle of the first quarter for a 17-9 lead but it was only 42-34 at halftime and the Chippewas were within five with three minutes to go in the third quarter. Hillman opened and closed an 11-0 run with a pair of layups and Amy Dilk, who finished with 15 points, also had a pair of layups in the surge.
The lead reached 25 in the fourth quarter.
Hall of Fame coach Gail Goestenkors, who won 496 games while head coach at Duke and Texas, is now associate head coach with Central Michigan.
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