The No. 5 Michigan Wolverines welcomed the No. 2 UConn Huskies to Crisler Center for the first top-five matchup in women's basketball in the arena's history. The Wolverines handed the Huskies their first loss of the season, with U-M pulling away in the fourth to win 77-66.
It's the first win over a top-4 team in program history, with the first two wins over top 5 teams coming in 2021 and 2022 .
This is usually where I write some background info about Michigan's opponent, but the UConn's women's basketball program needs no introduction. Since taking the job in 1985, Geno Auriemma has built UConn into a juggernaut in the sport, with Huskies rivaling Pat Summit's Tennessee Volunteers for the most dominant women's hoops program of this generation.
This game tips off a home-and-home series between the two programs, announced in late April . Last year's duel between the Wolverines and the Huskies was an instant classic, with the Wolverines erasing a 20-point deficit and nearly pulling off the upset, largely thanks to Syla Swords pouring in 29 points .
The Wolverines had revenge on their minds in the season opener and lived up to their No. 5 preseason ranking, keeping up with UConn's scoring and forcing more than a few turnovers out of a 2/3 zone before pulling away in the fourth quarter. This was a huge test for a U-M looking to make the difficult step from very good to elite in women's college hoops, and Michigan passed it with flying colors.
Make no mistake; this team is talented enough to hang a National Championship banner in Crisler to go alongside the one the men's team won back in April.
Here are the takeaways from one of the best wins in program history.
If a game like this doesn't get you excited for the women's college basketball season, I don't know what will.
This game was back-and-forth throughout, with UConn and Michigan going blow for blow like two prize fighters. Neither team could get a lead of larger than a few possessions, with the Crisler crowd being treated to 14 lead changes.
Every time one team went on a 6-0 or 7-0 run, the other team scored quickly to respond to it. It was an incredibly entertaining way to start the season, and shoutout to the Crisler Center crowd, who gave the Wolverines a legit home court advantage with nearly every seat in the house filled.
Te'Yala Delfosse came out with more energy than anyone else, saving a loose ball and grabbing an offensive rebound for the first bucket of the game. She thrived in Michigan's zone early, scoring eleven points in the first half and racking up two stocks (steals + rebounds).
The Crisler Center crowd erupted when Michigan swung the ball beautifully to find Delfosse, who knocked down her first three of the game and flexed as Michigan took a 35-29 lead into the break.
She scored again in transition before tipping in a missed Syla Swords three to kick off a 7-0 run over a 58-second span late in the third that gave Michigan a five-point lead. She started out the fourth quarter with a bang, hitting back-to-back threes to give Michigan a six-point lead with just under seven minutes to play.
Delfosse had one of her best games in maize and blue, finishing with a career-high 22 points and nine rebounds while giving the Wolverines constant energy. Her development on both ends since her freshman season has been a revelation, and she fits in perfectly with the pair featured in the next section of this article.
Like peanut butter and chocolate, Olivia Olson and Syla Swords have become an iconic duo in college basketball.
Olson scored a methodical ten points in the first half, scoring in transition, off of rebounds, and off some textbook cuts to the basket. Swords started out just like she does against elite competition : the Canadian guard, who averaged nearly 29 points in her first three collegiate games against No. 1 opponents, made her first two threes of the game to help Michigan jump out to an early lead.
Olson hit one of the biggest threes of the game right before the final media timeout midway through the fourth, hitting it near the corner to extend Michigan's lead to seven. And after Olson knocked the ball away from a UConn ball handler, Swords corraled a loose ball and found her in transition to get the lead up to nine.
Olson (19 points) and Swords (10 points) did their part scoring-wise in this one, and they both played excellent defense while moving the ball in transition. Honestly, they both played like college basketball veterans, which is what they are at this point.
These two are going to be fun to watch in the WNBA soon.
We saw Michigan play a 2/3 zone for a few possessions in the first quarter, forcing UConn into some tough threes. The zone made the Huskies sweat a little, as UConn turned the ball over four times in that opening quarter.
Michigan stayed in that zone for the remainder of the first half, crashing on UConn as they drove to the basket. UConn couldn't make threes to make Michigan pay, making just three of their 14 attempts from deep in that first half. The zone was a big reason why Michigan outscored UConn in that first half, 18-8.
Michigan stayed in zone to start the second half, and it was fairly effective the rest of the game. UConn passed through it to get a few buckets around the rim, but the zone succeeded in speeding up one of the best teams in the country.
After how Michigan looked in that zone tonight, I'll be shocked if we don't see more of it in Big Ten play.
6-foot-1 guard Courtney Ogden made her presence felt off the bench, scoring 12 points, including eight in the third quarter for the Wolverines.
Ogden — who managed to graduate from Stanford in just three years with a Management Science & Engineering degree — provided a much-needed spark to the Wolverines in the final few quarters.
Like Brooke Quarles Daniels before her, Ogden is going to be an important player off the bench for the Wolverines all season long.
