The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/418536
BY BRANDON BROWN M ichigan women's bas- ketball head coach Kim Barnes Arico enters her third season in Ann Arbor after becoming the program's first leader to record back-to-back 20-win seasons. Her 42 wins in those two campaigns marks the highest win total after two years by a head coach in U-M women's basketball history. The foundation has been laid. Barnes Arico came into her second season last year with a team full of question marks. Every coach will tell you that there are uncertainties head- ing into a new year, but she was get- ting ready for the season with only one returning starter and 84 percent of the team's scoring no longer on the roster. She took a team of unknowns and went 20-14 overall and 8-8 in the Big Ten for a sixth-place finish, and her crew scored a program-record 2,351 points over the course of the season. "Coming into last year was an unknown," Barnes Arico said. "But we had people step up and they did such a tremendous job for us. It was a special season for us because we didn't know what to expect." This year, Barnes Arico feels a lot more comfortable with how things look on paper and has some return- ing experience to work with. Last year 's squad boasted just one re- turning starter in then-junior guard Nicole Elmblad. This year there are four, three of whom are seniors. "Now, coming into my third year, I would like to start with the se- niors," Barnes Arico said. "We have a great group of seniors returning and I think, for me, it is nice that they know the expectations; they are great leaders. Nicole Elmblad, Cyesha Goree and Shannon Smith will obvi- ously lead our team this year. They have come in focused and ready to go. They are more determined than ever." Having three seniors in your start- ing lineup is always a good thing, especially when one is a two-time captain, another is an All-Big Ten A GOOD BLEND Wolverines Return Four Starters And Welcome The Top-Rated Recruiting Class In Program History