ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Kim Barnes Arico has steadily built the Michigan women's basketball program into a power.
And now in her 15th season, the Wolverines have a signature win.
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Te’Yala Delfosse scored a career-high 22 points and Olivia Olson had 19 points, lifting No. 5 Michigan to a 77-66 win over No. 2 Connecticut on Thursday night in the first matchup of top-five women’s basketball teams in the AP Top 25 at Crisler Center.
“How many teams beat UConn? It doesn’t happen,” Barnes Arico said.
The Huskies had won 39 regular-season games in a row since their last loss on Feb. 6, 2025. It wasn't the first time they ended a long winning streak against Barnes Arico. In her last season at St. John's, she helped the Red Storm end UConn’s 99-game home winning streak in 2012.
“To have UConn come here and be able to knock off the best team in college basketball, or one of the best teams, it is really, really cool,” she said. “I’m happy for our players and our fans.”
After the final buzzer, hundreds of the 9,575 fans at the game flooded the floor to celebrate with the team.
“This was really special,” Barnes Arico said. “I think it’s great for Michigan, and great for Michigan women’s basketball.”
After three closely contested quarters, the Wolverines pulled away early in the fourth quarter and held on for the win.
“Michigan was way more ready from the opening tip for this game than we were,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. "They were better organized, they were more discipline, they ran their stuff.
“It was disappointing, more than anything.”
Auriemma, though, knows his team lost to a team that may end up being a contender under Barnes Arico.
“They have a really good team,” he said. "It’s one game for them, but they’ve put themselves in a position to say, 'Why can't we be a Final Four team?'
"That certainly wasn’t the case 10 years ago so all the credit to her and her staff."
Barnes Arico is quick to redirect credit to her players.
Her deep and balanced roster is led by a group of juniors, including Olson, a third-team, All-America forward, and 2024 Olympian Syla Swords, who bought into Barnes Arico's vision of turning Michigan into one of the best programs in college basketball.
“It’s why we came here,” Olson said. “We had belief in coach and we had belief in the program and we wanted to build it to a place it hasn't been.”
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