Michigan Women’s Basketball Earns Highest-Ranked Win in Program History, Beats No. 2 UConn

Te’Yala Delfosse hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, and No. 5 Michigan turned a one-possession game into the biggest rankings breakthrough in program history. The Wolverines beat No. 2 UConn 77–66 on Thursday night at Crisler Center, opening their season with their first victory over an AP top-four opponent. Michigan had lost all 31 of its previous games against teams ranked in the top four. 

Delfosse led Michigan with a career-high 22 points and nine rebounds. The junior wing helped the Wolverines take a 35–29 halftime lead, then made one of the game’s biggest plays after UConn moved ahead 48–46 late in the third quarter. She followed a missed Syla Swords 3-pointer for a putback that sparked a 7–0 Michigan run in 58 seconds. The Wolverines carried a 55–53 lead into the fourth. 

That two-point lead disappeared early in the final period, but Delfosse’s consecutive threes put Michigan ahead 63–57 with 6:43 remaining. Olivia Olson added a corner 3-pointer and then scored in transition after disrupting a UConn possession and getting the ball back from Swords. Michigan outscored the Huskies 22–13 in the fourth, the widest margin of any quarter after halftime. 

Michigan’s defense had already changed the game in the second quarter. UConn led 21–17 after one, but the Wolverines held the Huskies to eight points in the second. Michigan’s 2–3 zone disrupted UConn’s rhythm, while nine first-half offensive rebounds gave the Wolverines extra possessions. Courtney Ogden also gave Michigan a lift off the bench, scoring eight of her 12 points in the third quarter as the Huskies erased the halftime deficit. 

The finish carried extra weight given how close Michigan came in the teams’ first meeting last November. Swords scored 29 points as the Wolverines rallied from a 20-point deficit, but UConn escaped with a 72–69 win. This time, Michigan was the team protecting a late lead, and its defense helped close the game. The loss ended UConn’s 39-game regular-season winning streak. 

Michigan will return to Crisler Center on Sunday to face Wright State and raise the banner from last season’s Elite Eight run. That ceremony will honor the team that came so close against UConn a year ago. Thursday’s opener showed what this group can add to that run. Swords and Olson made plays down the stretch, Ogden supplied points off the bench, and Delfosse delivered the two shots that gave Michigan room to pull away.