The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/111015
������ women's basketball when she needed to.��� For Barnes Arico, who made a point to talk about the significance of the instate rivalry in her introductory press conference last spring, the win marks a significant landmark in her quest to build up the program. ���It really shows what a coach she is,��� Thompson said. ���She has really done a great job of coming in and turning around this program. Coach [Kevin] Borseth had us on a really good upward trajectory, but Coach Barnes Arico has taken it to another level.��� After the game, Barnes Arico shared a celebratory hug with athletics director Dave Brandon, who hired her. ���He lifted me up off the ground,��� Barnes Arico exclaimed. ���It was really exciting, because he has a lot of faith in our team. He said to me after a recent win, ���We���re going to get Michigan State, and when we do we���re going to celebrate.��� And in my mind, I felt really good about Michigan State coming here. ���He has been tremendous and really supportive. He is trying to really promote our program, so we get the kind of backing that Michigan State gets. They represent the state so well with their fan base and tradition, and we���re trying to build ours up to be the same.��� Wolverines Fight Through Slump, Bolster Tournament R��sum�� After 17 games, the Michigan women���s basketball team was flying high, with a 15-2 record (the best start in program history) and a chance to upset Penn State and claim sole possession of the No. 1 spot in the Big Ten standings. But in a long, grueling season, not everything can go your way. Over the next five games, the Wolverines dropped four, hanging tough with Penn State before losing 59-49; beating last-place Indiana, 61-43; losing to a middling Iowa team, 63-57; taking a disappointing loss at Minnesota, 82-67; and falling at Michigan State, 61-46. From 15-2 to 16-6, the Wolverines stood at a crossroads. ���We���ll bounce back,��� assistant coach Melanie Moore said after the Minnesota game. ���We have to pick up the pieces. We got together as a staff and said, ���We need to bring the energy, and the kids do, as well.��� We���re going to hit adversity, and we can���t make excuses. We have to come out and bring it every night.��� And that���s just what happened. Over the next three games (from Feb.��7���16), the Wolverines faced three teams in the upper half of the Big Ten standings, teams they will be stacked up against when the NCAA Tournament selection committee meets to dole out invitations: Illinois (14���9 overall, 7-4 Big Ten), Purdue (19���6, 8-4) and Michigan State (19-6, 7-5). Facing that gauntlet, the Wolverines prevailed in each game, beating Illinois (72-69), Purdue (67-56) and the Spartans (70-69). The road win over the then-No.��13 Boilermakers will be potentially huge for the team���s postseason hopes.