The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1546004
2025-26 YEAR IN REVIEW BY ANTHONY BROOME U -M's women's basketball pro- gram gets the nod from The Wolverine this year as its Fe- male Team of the Year, thanks to a 28-7 record, a 15-3 mark in Big Ten play and an appearance in the Elite Eight as a No. 2 seed. All of that made for the most fruitful season in program history, and another milestone for head coach Kim Barnes Arico in her 14th year on the job. The group tied for second place in the Big Ten with Iowa, which knocked the Wolverines out in the Big Ten Tourna- ment semifinals on March 7. No. 1 seed Texas knocked U-M out of the NCAA Tournament on March 30 in Fort Worth by a 77-41 margin. The NCAA Tourna- ment appearance was the ninth under Barnes Arico and the second time the group reached the Elite Eight, the first since 2021-22. Its run through the Big Ten Tourna- ment included an 80-58 win over Oregon before a 59-42 loss to the Hawkeyes in the semifinals. The Wolverines rattled off a pair of wins in the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament with victories over Holy Cross (83-48) and NC State (92-63) before a Sweet Sixteen win over Louisville (71-52). "We've spent a lot of time talking through this season about our program and kind of the jumps that we made," Barnes Arico said after the loss to Texas. "I know our team is really disappointed tonight, but I also want us to be able at some point to celebrate the best season in program history. "The growth last year, we were ex- tremely disappointed when we lost in the second round at Notre Dame, and this year we came back, and we made it to the Elite Eight. "So, these guys right now aren't feel- ing really great, and they probably can't see what they accomplished in this mo- ment right now, but what they've been able to do this season and their develop- ment and their commitment and their chemistry, all of it, is really, really spe- cial." U-M was led by a trio of sophomore standouts in Olivia Olson, Syla Swords and Mila Holloway, all of whom aver- aged double-digit scoring outputs each FEMALE TEAM OF THE YEAR WOMEN'S BASKETBALL 30 THE WOLVERINE ❱ AUGUST 2026 Women's Basketball Squad Takes Top Honors Elite Eight Trip Capped Successful Campaign