No. 2 UConn women’s basketball suffers upset defeat at No. 5 Michigan

Nairavoice | Nov 6, 2026 23m ago 22 0 3 min read

No. 2 UConn women’s basketball suffers upset defeat at No. 5 Michigan

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — In the first top-five matchup in women’s college basketball at the Crisler Center, Michigan notched the biggest win in team history, taking down UConn 77-66 on Thursday night. As the Wolverines prepare themselves for a potential Final Four run in April, the win gives them confidence, a resume-booster and another necessary step on the ladder that Michigan’s junior class has been building since it stepped on campus three years ago.

Junior guard Te’Yala Delfosse led the Wolverines with 22 points and nine rebounds, while fellow juniors Olivia Olson (19 points) and Syla Swords (10 points) helped pace Michigan. Their class accounted for Michigan’s first 22 points of the game until transfer Courtney Ogden found her footing. In the final 26 minutes, the senior scored 12 points.

The Huskies played the majority of its first half without reigning national player of the year Sarah Strong, who picked up her third foul with two and a half minutes remaining in the first quarter. To that point, Strong, who was scoreless, had attempted only one shot. With Strong, who is the Huskies’ focal point, on the bench, coach Geno Auriemma shuffled through rotations and personnel, looking for a spark. Freshman point guard Jovana Popovic provided 25 points, seven rebounds and four assists, and Strong finished with 13 points in 27 minutes.

Michigan’s junior class largely committed to Michigan when the program had advanced to only one Elite Eight under coach Kim Barnes Arico. They were explicit about wanting to do something at Michigan that had never been done before and over the last two seasons, signs have been building. As freshmen, they led Michigan to the second round of the NCAA Tournament and last year, the Wolverines advanced to the Elite Eight before falling to Texas.

When Barnes Arico subbed her juniors out in the final minute of the fourth quarter, the crowd took its feet. The Wolverines’ No. 5 ranking was the highest preseason ranking for Michigan, and it defended that — and more — on its home court in its season opener.

UConn couldn’t match Michigan’s scoring in the fourth quarter, as the Wolverines hit 50 percent from the floor and 60 percent on 3-pointers (3 of 5). UConn, conversely, didn’t hit a single triple in the final quarter, going 0 of 7 from the floor.

Adding to their challenges, the Huskies, who averaged 16.3 fast-break points against Quad 1 teams last season (and have been among the top 10 percent of teams nationally in fast-break points over the past five seasons), struggled to get out and run against Michigan.

It was particularly surprising because this wasn’t necessarily an anticipated area of struggle for UConn, which returned senior guards KK Arnold and Ashlynn Shade, who combined for 148 starts (including starts against the Wolverines), giving UConn one of the most experienced backcourts in America.