The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1542067
40 THE WOLVERINE ❱ JANUARY 2026 BY ANTHONY BROOME L osses can be heartbreaking, espe- cially to elite programs and teams. But for the sixth-ranked Michigan women's basketball squad, its 72-69 loss to No. 1 UConn Nov. 21 may have served as an announcement of its status as a contender this season. U-M erased a 20-point deficit and cut the margin to one with 13 seconds left, but the Huskies held the Wolverines off in the Basketball Hall of Fame Women's Showcase at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. It was the program's third loss to a top-ranked team overall in the last 13 months. Sophomore guard Syla Swords posted 29 points with 8 three-pointers in the loss, including a handful of key ones late to help in the comeback effort. Class- mate Olivia Olson had 18 points and 9 rebounds, and the team held UConn to 37.7 percent shooting from the floor, forcing 17 turnovers that led to 22 points for the Wolverines. U-M fought its way back into the game thanks to tough second-half zone defense and getting hot from beyond the arc. Head coach Kim Barnes Arico held up in a chess match against one of the best coaches and programs in col- lege basketball at either the men's or women's level. "They play a style of play that takes advantage of their strengths, and they don't do things that get them in trou- ble," Huskies head coach Geno Au- riemma said after the game. "A lot of teams lose because they're trying to do stuff against us that they can't do. "They're a pressing team. They press all the time. Watching them this year, every game they play, they press the en- tire court. … They always play to the way the other team plays, to take away what the other team's strengths are." U-M would have loved to earn a vic- tory in the game, but the biggest com- pliment it could have been paid was Auriemma saying he sees a lot of his program in what Barnes Arico has built in Ann Arbor. "Michigan's way too much like us," Auriemma said. "And I don't like play- ing teams that are just like us. So, hope- fully we won't see another one of them for a while." Auriemma and Barnes Arico have a history, with the latter scoring an upset win while at St. John's over UConn in 2012, ending a 99-game home win streak at Gampel Pavilion for the Huskies. "Obviously, he's the best in the busi- ness," Barnes Arico said of her peer. "Whether it's playing against them or watching them from afar, if you want to be a good coach, you'd better study how he does things. He gets his best players to play exceptionally hard, he plays the right way and they share the basketball. "They do all the things that you would want a team to do." When all is said and done, Barnes Arico said that she is proud of the sto- ried UConn coach, who has won 12 national championships and well over 1,200 games in his career, and what he has accomplished for the sport. "Sometimes he gets grief because he's a little gruff," Barnes Arico said about Auriemma. "But what this man has done for the game of women's bas- ketball, and what he's meant to the game, and to me personally, who's kind of grown up in the game around him, I have so many great stories." The Wolverines (9-1 overall, 1-0 Big Ten), still No. 6 in the nation, brought a five-game win streak into their Dec. 21 meeting with nearby Oakland University before resuming conference play with a road swing including games at Oregon Dec. 29 and Washington Jan. 1. ❑ ❱ WOMEN'S BASKETBALL Wolverines Flex Their Championship Potential Despite Loss To No. 1 UConn Sophomore guard Syla Swords led the charge for U-M with 29 points on a career-best 8 three- pointers to go with 9 rebounds and 3 assists in the early-season 72-69 loss to No. 1 UConn. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY Date Opponent Result/Time (TV) Oct. 30 FERRIS STATE (exh.) W, 108-58 Nov. 4 CANISIUS W, 100-40 Nov. 9 HARVARD W, 84-55 Nov. 15 vs. Notre Dame^ W, 93-54 Nov. 18 BINGHAMTON W, 120-50 Nov. 21 vs. UConn* L, 72-69 Nov. 23 vs. Syracuse* W, 81-55 Nov. 26 at Detroit Mercy W, 102-53 Dec. 3 CENTRAL MICHIGAN W, 82-40 Dec. 7 PURDUE W, 104-56 Dec. 13 AKRON W, 85-59 Dec. 21 OAKLAND Noon (B1G+) Dec. 29 at Oregon 9 p.m. (FS1) Jan. 1 at Washington 6 p.m. (BTN) Jan. 5 MINNESOTA 6:30 p.m. (BTN) Jan. 8 at Penn State 6 p.m. (B1G+) Jan. 11 WISCONSIN 2 p.m. (B1G+) ^ Shamrock Classic, Detroit; * Basketball Hall of Fame Women's Showcase, Uncasville, Conn. ❱ 2025-26 Women's Basketball Schedule (through Jan. 11)