The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MARCH 2023 THE WOLVERINE 73 BY ANTHONY BROOME N o. 12 Michigan's (20-7 overall, 10-6 Big Ten) shot at making another deep run through the NCAA Tournament was dealt a blow in late January with sophomore guards Laila Phelia (left leg) and Greta Kampschroeder (undisclosed) both dealing with injuries. Phelia has not played in game action since the Jan. 29 win at Minnesota, while Kampschroeder returned in the loss to Ohio State on Feb. 20 after missing three games. Phelia's ailment looms the largest. She has started 22 games this season for the Wolverines, averaging 17.0 points and 3.9 rebounds per game, while also emerging as one of the team's better defenders. "I think she's going to be out for a little bit," Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico said on Feb. 12 after a win over Nebraska. "I say extra prayers at night. I hope that she'll get back as the season progresses, but I don't think she'll be back imme- diately." Kampschroeder's injury had a little more optimistic outlook, with Barnes Arico leaving the door open for a quicker recovery. The Wolverines answered a lot of questions about their resolve without Phelia, winning three straight games against Minnesota, Illinois and Michigan State from Feb. 2-5. Water would find its level in the games that followed with losses at No. 2 Indiana (Feb. 16) and No. 16 Ohio State (Feb. 20), both by double digits. "We knew that it was going to be a tough challenge at Indiana, especially being down two guards," Barnes Arico said. Still, there is optimism that U-M can stay ranked inside the top 16, which would put it in a position to host NCAA Tournament games in the first two rounds. They saw the value of that home court advantage last season with wins over American and Villanova at Crisler Center. Michigan would ultimately ad- vance to the Elite Eight before losing to Louisville. But the boost from the start at home helped spark the run. "When we came in, we heard a lot of talk about how exciting it was for last year's team to host at home during the NCAA Tournament," freshman forward Alyssa Crockett said after the Nebraska game. "Coming in as a freshman, it's some- thing you aspire to help the team do the next year. I think it's super exciting to bring the fans back and give them a dif- ferent look and give women's basketball an exciting feel. For Michigan basketball, it's a growing aspect. I think it's just ex- citing." Michigan closes out the regular sea- son with a Senior Night showdown with Rutgers on Feb. 23 and a road trip to Wisconsin on Feb. 26 in the finale. From there, it heads to the Big Ten Conference Tournament in Minneapolis, which will run from March 2-5. ❏ MICHIGAN WOMEN'S BASKETBALL Mounting Injuries Cloud Outlook Heading Into Wolverines' Stretch Run 2022-23 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Nov. 9 Delaware State W, 83-30 Nov. 11 St. Francis (Pa.) W, 91-36 Nov. 16 Western Michigan W, 99-67 Nov. 20 at Fairfield W, 69-53 Nov. 25 vs. Air Force^ W, 68-48 Nov. 26 vs. South Florida^ W, 63-58 Nov. 27 No. 21 Baylor^ W, 84-75 Dec. 1 at Miami (Fla.)% W, 76-64 Dec. 4 Northwestern* W, 77-66 Dec. 8 Toledo L, 71-68 Dec. 17 Appalachian State W, 77-49 Dec. 20 vs. North Carolina$ W, 76-68 Dec. 28 at Nebraska* W, 76-59 Dec. 31 at Ohio State* L, 66-57 Jan. 3 Penn State* W, 82-72 Jan. 7 Iowa* L, 94-85 Jan. 10 at Purdue* W, 80-59 Jan. 14 Michigan State* W, 70-55 Jan. 19 at Rutgers* W, 81-58 Jan. 23 Indiana* L, 92-83 Jan. 26 at Maryland* L, 72-64 Jan. 29 at Minnesota* W, 77-41 Feb. 2 Illinois* W, 74-57 Feb. 5 at Michigan State* W, 77-67 Feb. 12 Nebraska* W, 80-75 Feb. 16 at Indiana* L, 68-52 Feb. 20 Ohio State* L, 74-61 Feb. 23 Rutgers* (B1G+) 7 p.m. Feb. 26 at Wisconsin* (BTN/B1G+) 2 p.m. Mar. 1-5 Big Ten Tournament+ TBD ^ Gulf Coast Showcase at Estero, Fla.; % ACC/ Big Ten Challenge; * Big Ten Conference game; $ Jumpman Invitational at Charlotte, N.C.; + at Minneapolis Through 27 games as of Feb. 20, grad student forward Emily Kiser was the team's leading rebounder and third-leading scorer (6.7 boards and 15.7 points per game, respectively). PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY