The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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40 THE WOLVERINE ❱ DECEMBER 2024 BY ANTHONY BROOME T he youth movement and roster flip that head coach Kim Barnes Arico and her staff had to pull off ahead of this season is a well-covered topic to this point, and the vision would be tested on the opening night showcase. Michigan went to Las Ve- gas to take on powerhouse South Carolina, the defending national champion and cur- rent No. 1-ranked team, as a 21-point underdog. "Part of the reason why people decide to come to the University of Michigan is for a chance to compete against the best," Barnes Arico said Oct. 27. "So, when South Carolina got on our schedule, I was like, 'Oh, my goodness' as a coach, but our players are like, 'Let's go, Coach, bring it,' like, 'We want a chance to test ourselves. We want a measuring stick. We want to see where we are, what we need to get better at.'" It turned out, the Wolver- ines measured up quite favor- ably. There are few examples of moral victories in sports, but a 68-62 loss against a team that is the current gold standard in the sport gave the Wol- verines a ton to build off. "I thought they just put us back on our heels," South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said. "I thought they got all the 50-50 balls. I thought they just played harder, like they just attacked us. They imposed their will on us, and they were in attack mode for most of the night." Michigan was led by newcomer Syla Swords in the showcase. The five-star freshman guard finished with 27 points and 12 rebounds. Senior guard Jordan Hobbs had 19 points in the outing while adding 8 rebounds and 2 assists. The Wolverines backed up the desire to measure themselves against the No. 1 team in the country and relished their underdog role. Instead of pressing, that allowed them to play carefree with tre- mendous effort. "I'm sure all of you in this room didn't think it would go down to the wire like that," Hobbs said postgame, via The Michigan Daily. "And we knew coming in that pretty much the whole country was not betting on us, but that kind of gave us a freedom to play and take all the pressure off of us." Barnes Arico may have felt a bit ner- vous in the leadup to the game, and while she was not satisfied with a set- back, showing that U-M could hang in a fight with an elite program with the new pieces on the roster was a positive sign this early in the season. "I think there are going to be a lot of highs and a lot of lows sometimes with inexperience, but their commitment to being great and their com- mitment to putting in time and putting in the work is there," Barnes Arico said after the game. "This was a good test for us early. We're never satisfied with getting a loss, but I think this gave our team an opportu- nity to see that we can compete at the highest level." Swords' performance on the biggest stage imaginable on opening night was perhaps the biggest takeaway. Michigan has a star to build around mov- ing forward, and even her head coach says what she brings is rare. "Golly, I'm happy that she's in our program," Barnes Arico said. "She's just a competitor. I've never seen anything like it. She's relentless." Swords ended her prep ca- reer as the No. 4 prospect in the class with experience compet- ing on the international stage and Olympics for Team Canada this summer. When the time came for the Nov. 4 showcase, it was natural for her. "I always start the day off with game jitters," Swords said. "But coming off the summer that I had, training with the girls that I had … I was just tested every single day, and I wasn't afraid of being tested. … Knowing that I put the time in and that I prepared for this is what really helps me with these big games." The Wolverines followed up the loss to South Carolina with an 86-55 win over Lehigh Nov. 8 at Crisler Center. They play their next four games at home: versus Central Michigan (Nov. 14), Oakland (Nov. 17), LIU (Nov. 20) and Long Beach State (Nov. 24). From there, U-M will play Belmont (Nov. 29) and either Virginia Tech or Davidson (Nov. 30) in the Fort Myers (Fla.) Tip- Off tournament. The Wolverines will open Big Ten play Dec. 8 when they host Northwestern. ❏ ❱ WOMEN'S BASKETBALL Wolverines Push Defending Champs To The Brink In Season Opener Freshman guard Syla Swords recorded a double-double (27 points, 12 rebounds) in her college debut game for Michigan, a narrow 68-62 loss to No. 1 South Carolina. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETICS