Naz Hillmon’s uniform number getting raised to the Crisler Center rafters was the perfect lead-in to Sunday’s 86-65 dominance of Michigan State.

Hillmon is rightfully credited as the player who lifted Michigan’s women’s basketball program to national relevance. She’s the single biggest reason I started following the team. This game could make one forget how far they’ve come in a relatively short stretch of time.

The seismic shift in the in-state rivalry provides quite the perspective. Before Hillmon arrived in Ann Arbor, MSU held a 68-19 edge in the series record. U-M dropped both games against the Spartans in her freshman season, when she came off the bench.

Since Hillmon became a starter in 2019-20, Michigan is 9-4 against State. The 21-point margin of victory yesterday is their second-largest in series history*. The Wolverines earned a two-game season sweep for the third time since 2020, matching the number of times they’d done so against MSU from 1974-2019.

Michigan State hasn’t fallen off. They entered the weekend ranked 13th in the AP Poll and 12th in the NET rankings. Michigan has simply surpassed them. Hillmon had a front-row seat to witness her lasting impact.

*Fox got this wrong on the broadcast. Thank you to Hockeybear for pointing out the correction. Subscribe to Bear Necessities for more Michigan WBB writing!

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Early on, Michigan State played like the rivalry foe of old, opening up an eight-point first-quarter lead by overwhelming Michigan’s interior defense. The Wolverines started ice cold from the field. Mila Holloway picked up two quick fouls. A repeat of the February 1st overtime thriller at the Breslin Center felt like a best-case scenario.

The second quarter flipped the game on its head.

Syla Swords found her rhythm with a three-pointer, Michigan’s first of the contest, and a beautiful backdoor cut for a layup. Olivia Olson brought U-M level at the free throw line. A Jalyn Brown three put the Spartans back out in front. The game-defining sequence to follow wasn’t keyed by one of Michigan’s sophomore stars.

Call it the Brooke Quarles Difference.

Quarles Daniels, Michigan’s 5’6” pest extraordinaire, rebounded two missed three-pointers on the very next possession before wrapping a pass around two defenders to Kendall Dudley for a layup. On MSU’s next trip down the floor, BQD jumped an inbounds pass for a steal. When her would-be-assist on the ensuing fast break ended up out of bounds off MSU following a missed Holloway layup, she once again hit the glass, setting up a Holloway triple after yet another offensive rebound.

Michigan led by two. They wouldn’t trail again.

In fact, it wouldn’t even be close. Each of U-M’s next five baskets, interrupted by only one MSU score, came off Spartan turnovers. The sixth, a Swords three-pointer, was created by another BQD offensive rebound and assist to cap a 19-2 run.

Michigan outscored MSU 26-9 in the second quarter despite shooting only 10-for-22 from the field, gaining their big advantage by creating 12 turnovers and pulling down six of their 12 missed shots. At halftime, the Wolverines had double MSU’s field goal attempts, 42 to 21. That’s damn near unfathomable in a matchup of ranked opponents.

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In a rather unfair development, U-M shot the lights out in the second half while continuing to confound the Spartans on defense. The first quarter turned out to be an aberration; the rest of the game was a blowout.

That table is worth a deep dive. Over the final three quarters:

The headliners lived up to their billing. Swords scored 24, her second game of 20+ points over the last four contests after breaking that mark just once prior this season. Olson extended her 20+ streak to seven games with 23 points, eight rebounds, four assists, two steals, and two blocks in a magnificent all-around performance. Holloway added 15 points, four assists, and two steals while picking up only one foul after the first quarter.

But this game was really about Quarles Daniels. Five points, five offensive rebounds, five assists, and three steals hardly capture her impact. Michigan outscored MSU by 24 points in her 29 minutes on the floor. Spartan guard Kennedy Blair, unable to shake BQD from her pocket, committed eight turnovers.

After the game, Swords praised BQD for the way she makes the game easier for her teammates and strongly advocated for her to win national defensive player of the year.

If a guard ever deserved to win that award, it’s Brooke Quarles Defense.

Watch this. Yes, it’s more BQD content.

She grew up with a 6’7” football-playing brother and competed on boys AAU teams. That helps explain some things.

Big game for Big Sof. Much like BQD, center Ashley Sofilkanich had an impact that isn’t captured by the stat sheet. She recorded three blocks in only 19 minutes, setting the tone for U-M’s much-improved interior defense after the first quarter, and went 3-for-4 from the field.

Liv-ing at the line. Olivia Olson hit every one of her season-high nine free throw attempts. Nobody else attempted more than three. She’s almost single-handedly keeping the team’s free throw rate afloat with her relentless drives and willingness to play through contact.

A quiet one. After an impressive ten-point outing against UCLA, Te’Yala Delfosse had her second unimpactful game in a row, missing her only shot attempt and recording two defensive rebounds as her only other mark on the stat sheet in 12 minutes.

Mathurin Watch: Extant. Freshman sharpshooter McKenzie Mathurin is still getting into the game after fellow guard Macy Brown but that might not be the case for much longer. Mathurin scored five points in 11 minutes, going 1-for-2 from beyond the arc, and also came up with a steal. She was on the court for much of the team’s huge second quarter run and finished +12 on the game, tied with Kendall Dudley for the best plus-minus among U-M’s bench players.

Eat it, Kim Mulkey. Michigan moved up to sixth in the AP Poll this week, swapping spots with LSU. That matches U-M’s placement in the NET rankings. I’ll have more on the team’s postseason outlook in this week’s second newsletter.

Michigan gets the week off before heading to Iowa on Sunday for a noon Eastern game on Fox. I’ll have a preview in the next newsletter.