ANN ARBOR, Mich. Michigan earned its highest-ranked victory in program history Thursday night, defeating No. 2 UConn 77-66 at Crisler Center. The fifth-ranked Wolverines ended the Huskies' run of 39 consecutive regular-season wins in a breakthrough result for coach Kim Barnes Arico, who is in her 15th season leading the program.
Te'Yala Delfosse led Michigan with a career-high 22 points, while Olivia Olson contributed 19. The teams remained close through three quarters before the Wolverines opened a gap early in the fourth and protected their advantage to secure the victory.
The game was the first women's basketball matchup at Crisler Center between two teams ranked in the top five of the AP Top 25. Michigan improved its all-time record against top-five opponents to 3-47, according to ESPN Research. Hundreds of spectators from the crowd of 9,575 poured onto the court after the final buzzer to celebrate alongside the players.
UConn had not lost a regular-season game since Feb. 6, 2025. Barnes Arico had also been responsible for ending another lengthy Huskies streak earlier in her coaching career. During her final season at St. John's in 2012, her Red Storm team stopped UConn's 99-game home winning streak.
Barnes Arico described beating a team of UConn's stature at home as a special achievement for Michigan, its players and its supporters. She emphasized the significance of the occasion for the women's basketball program, which she has steadily developed into a team capable of competing with the country's best.
UConn coach Geno Auriemma said Michigan was better prepared from the opening tip, praising the Wolverines' organization, discipline and execution. He expressed disappointment with his own team's performance but also credited Barnes Arico and her staff for putting Michigan in a position to consider itself a potential Final Four contender, a standing he said it did not have a decade ago.
Barnes Arico directed the praise toward her players. Michigan's balanced roster features a core of juniors that includes Olson, a third-team All-America forward, and Syla Swords, a 2024 Olympian. Both are part of the group that embraced the coach's ambition to establish the Wolverines among the leading programs in college basketball.
Olson said the opportunity to help Michigan reach new heights was central to the players' decision to join the program. Their confidence in Barnes Arico and in the team's potential, she said, underpinned their commitment to building toward achievements Michigan had not previously reached.
