Angelique S. Chengelis, The Detroit News · Detroit News Fri, November 6, 2026 at 1:40 AM UTC · 4 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement ANN ARBOR – This is what teams that want to be great do. They schedule the best competition available, and if you're lucky, sometimes those games are held on your home court.
Before a loud crowd at the Crisler Center, No. 5 Michigan, the highest preseason ranking in program history, played tough defense and got a tremendous shooting and rebounding performance from Te'Yala Delfosse to upset No. 2 UConn, 77-66 on Thursday, Nov. 5. This was the first top-five women's basketball game at Michigan in school history.
The Michigan women's basketball team has been clawing its way toward the upper echelon of the sport under head coach Kim Barnes Arico, now in her 15 th season, and the Wolverines have been close, oh so close. They equaled a program-best Elite Eight appearance last season and scored the program's most wins. And with a core group of talented veterans, including Olivia Olson and Syla Swords, they want more this year, and what a way to start the season with an upset of a program that has won 12 national championships.
Delfosse, who made one start last season and averaged 8.7 points, led the Wolverines with 22 points and nine rebounds. Olson had 19 points and eight rebounds and Swords had 10 points. Jovana Popovic led UConn with 25 points,
The Wolverines, coming off their most successful season in program history, played UConn for the first time on a neutral court in Connecticut last season at the Basketball Hall of Fame Women's Showcase, and lost a close game, 72-69. So the fact Michigan was able to pull off this win should have not come as a complete surprise.
UConn opened the fourth quarter with back-to-back field goals to take a 57-55 lead before Kendall Dudley scored Michigan's first points with 8:01 left to make it 57-57. Delfosse then made back-to-back 3-pointers that electrified the home crowd as the Wolverines built a 63-57 lead before a UConn timeout with 6:43 left in the game. The Wolverines built a 68-59, their largest of the game on back-to-back baskets from Olson, a 3-pointer and then a layup off a steal with 4:23 left.
The Wolverines never looked back as UConn looked frustrated most of the final court. UConn's Sarah Strong, the National Player of the Year, was in foul trouble early and was held to 13 points in 27 minutes. She fouled out with 18.6 seconds left.
Michigan took a 35-29 lead into halftime, but UConn quickly closed in with a 3-pointer to start the third quarter. The Wolverines went nearly three minutes without a point while UConn built a slim 37-36 lead before Courtney Ogden's layup gave Michigan the 38-37 lead with 6:13 left.
The teams traded the lead but Delfosse's rebound and putback tied the game at 48. Michigan then hit its next three field goals for a 7-0 run and a 53-48 lead. Popovic hit a jumper with no time left, but the Wolverines ended the quarter with a 55-53 lead. Michigan, through three quarters, was 9 of 17 on free throws.
With Strong, the National Player of the Year last season on the bench for the entire second quarter with three fouls, the Wolverines regained the lead early in the second quarter when Delfosse took a defensive rebound the distance and scored on a layup to push Michigan to 22-21.
The teams kept it close until the final two minutes when Michigan's 6-0 run, including Delfosse's 3-pointer with 38 seconds left, gave the Wolverines a 35-29 lead. Delfosse led the team with 12 points and seven rebounds and Olson had 10 points and six rebounds. The Wolverines had a 22-20 edge in rebounds and forced two shot-clock violations in the second quarter.
Michigan got an early burst from Swords, who gave the Wolverines their first points of the game on back-to-back 3-pointers. The Wolverines held a 14-13 lead with just less than three minutes left when the Huskies went on a run and built a 19-14 lead with 58 seconds left. UConn, however, saw Strong, the National Player of the Year last season, get three fouls in the first quarter and went to the bench with 2:25 left. Delfosse hit a 3-pointer to pull Michigan within 19-17, but UConn led 21-17 by the end of the quarter.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: No. 5 Michigan stuns No. 2 UConn in women's basketball upset
Source: Sports
0 Comments