The Michigan women's basketball program is trying to do something it has never done before in the 2026-27 season and the Wolverines got off to a resounding start on Thursday night.
In a top-five matchup, the fifth-ranked Wolverines notched arguably the most important win in program history, beating second-ranked UConn 77-66.
No one who knows anything about women's college basketball needs an explainer about what it means to beat UConn. The Huskies are the gold standard. They won the national title in 2025 and reached the Final Four in 2026.
Geno Auriemma is a legend and the Huskies have the preseason AP Player of the Year in Sarah Strong.
None of that was good enough to beat Michigan, though. What's crazy is that the Wolverines didn't even play their best basketball.
Milo Holloway, the starting point guard for the Michigan women's basketball team didn't play. It's unclear when she will. Syla Swords, though, did play. She made three 3-pointers, grabbed five rebounds and brought great energy, but only scored 10 points.
Olivia Olson did what she always does. She scored 19 points and pulled down eight boards. The 6-foot-1 guard also had four assists and four steals.
However, it was Te'Yala Delfosse who stole the show.
The 6-foot-3 junior, who has grown by leaps and bounds, scored 22 points against the Huskies. She also had nine rebounds and made four 3-pointers. She was also credited with two assists, a block and two steals.
Michigan has three 6-foot guards and it was noticeable. UConn had trouble with the length, shooting just 42 percent. The Huskies made just 8 of 31 3-pointers (26 percent). Michigan forced then into 18 turnovers. Strong was limited to 13 points on 5-for-11 shooting. Jovana Popovic went off for 27 points, but it was a job well done by the Michgan defense.
Michigan women's basketball is a national title contender
The Wolverines reached the Elite 8 last season and returned six of their top seven players from last season in terms of points scored and minutes played.
Losing Holloway hurt, but if she is able to return this season, that will only strengthen the roster this season. With Delfosse playing the way she did, Michigan has three versatile guards who can play and defend 1-3. Olson and Delfosse can even guard some 4s.
it's been an amazing transformation by head coach Kim Barnes Arico. She has built this program into one to be reckoned with, and now, one that feels like a true national title contender.
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