The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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28 THE WOLVERINE AUGUST 2022 BY ANTHONY BROOME H ead coach Kim Barnes Arico has helmed a program that continues to climb each rung of the ladder. The 2021-22 season did not end the way many had hoped, but it was still a new milestone for the female hoopers. The Wolverines finished the campaign with a 25-7 record (13-4 in Big Ten play) and the program's first NCAA Elite Eight appearance, earning The Wolverine's nod for female team of the year. U-M's run through the tournament was the second consecutive year it reached the Sweet 16 after doing so for the first time in 2020-21. Barnes Arico's Wolverines have advanced at least one round in each of the last four NCAA Tournaments. She has built a program based on giv- ing maximum effort. That mentality is as important as any other building block. "We're going to grind," Barnes Arico told The Athletic during the postseason. "We're going to do the intangibles. If we do that, we're going to catch people off guard. "That's what I believe in. It's amazing what hard work will do. On the outside, people think, you have to have players. Certainly, you do have to have players, but you don't need five All-Americans to create something special." Michigan's last two seasons of post- season success were firsts in program history. Senior point guard and captain Danielle Rauch started all 32 games in 2021-22, averaging 5.4 points, four rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. For much of her ca- reer she had served as a role player, and the opportunity to make memories — and An Historic Finish U-M Tops Previous Campaign With First-Ever Trip To Elite Eight FEMALE TEAM OF THE YEAR BASKETBALL Michigan women's basketball reached new heights in 2021-22, finishing with a 25-7 record and advancing to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN