The end of the regular season has arrived, but No. 14 Maryland women’s basketball still has more to prove after a six-game winning streak.
The Terps will travel to Ann Arbor Saturday to face No. 8 Michigan, a game that will solidify their position heading into the postseason.
Maryland’s Big Ten Tournament seeding and NCAA Tournament position is on the line. Tip-off is at 2:30 p.m. from Crisler Center, and the game will be televised on Fox.
No. 8 Michigan Wolverines (23-5, 14-3 Big Ten)
Head coach Kim Barnes Arico is the winningest coach in program history through her 14 seasons with the Wolverines. Under her, Michigan has made it as far as the Elite 8. However, this season could see the program reach new heights.
Michigan has established itself as one of the best teams in the nation, and the majority of its losses have been to the nation’s best. Three of its defeats have been to No. 1 UConn, No. 2 UCLA and No. 5 Vanderbilt. Michigan lost each of those games by three points — and those teams have four combined losses this season. The Wolverines also lost to Washington and No. 9 Iowa on the road.
Michigan’s biggest success this season has come in overtime. It has three signature wins over Oregon (double-overtime), No. 15 Michigan State and No. 13 Ohio State — the latter came Wednesday. Michigan’s other big wins came early in the season against then-No. 18 Notre Dame, over Michigan State again and against now-No. 22 Minnesota — all by double digits.
Michigan is also 13-1 at home this season. Its only home loss was to UCLA.
“They’re really good at home,” head coach Brenda Frese said of Michigan. “They’re a really good team, obviously a top-10 team.”
Olivia Olson, sophomore guard, 6-foot-1, No. 1 — Olson is at the forefront of Michigan’s skilled sophomore class, leading the team in scoring with 19.3 points per game. She also leads the team in rebounding, averaging 6.1 boards per game. Last season, Olson was the Co-Big Ten Freshman of the Year, as named by the coaches. She was named Preseason All-Big Ten by both the coaches and media, and looks to be on track to earn those honors this season.
Syla Swords, sophomore guard, 6-foot-0, No. 12 — Swords is Robin to Olson’s Batman in Michigan’s 2024 recruiting class, but her production has taken a dip from last season. That said, she’s still the Wolverines’ second-leading scorer, averaging 14.5 points per game.
But she has played at her best in the biggest games. Her career-high in scoring was 30 points against then-No. 1 UCLA last season, and her season-high is 29 points against No. 1 UConn. In the team’s most recent game, Swords scored 22 points in the overtime win over No. 13 Ohio State.
Mila Holloway, sophomore guard, 5-foot-11, No. 3 — Holloway, another part of Michigan’s 2024 recruiting class, has taken a sizable jump this season. She leads the team in assists, averaging 4.5 per game — that’s tied for ninth-most in the conference. Holloway also averages 12.6 points per game on 37.3% shooting from deep.
Pure scoring. The Wolverines are the second-best scoring team in the Big Ten and boast a balanced attack. They have three players who average 12.5 or more points per game and four others who are solid contributors. Michigan averages 85.1 points per game and holds an average point differential of 22.1. In Big Ten play, Michigan averages 82.5 points per game and has a differential of 14.1 — both are second-best in the conference.
3-point shooting. For as good as Michigan is at scoring, it doesn’t take advantage from beyond the arc much. Rather, it makes much of its production through second-chance scoring, averaging the second-most offensive rebounds in the Big Ten behind Maryland. But the Wolverines’ perimeter shooting isn’t pretty. They are 14th in the Big Ten from deep, shooting 33.5% —- and that’s still above Maryland’s 33.3% mark. In conference play, Michigan is shooting 33.1% from the perimeter.
1. Big Ten Tournament implications. The Terps currently sit sixth in the Big Ten standings and have clinched a single-bye in the conference tournament. But Maryland still can get a double-bye. First, It would need to beat Michigan on Saturday. Then, it would need Michigan State to beat Ohio State and Illinois to beat Minnesota on Sunday to secure it.
2. Last chance for a perfect February. Unfortunately for the Terps, this weekend’s game falls on Saturday. This means they have one more contest to perfectly complete what they consider “Fresh February,” and it’s against one of their toughest opponents. The Terps will look for a seventh straight win, but it won’t come easy.
3. Ball security. On Wednesday, Maryland committed its season-low of six turnovers against Northwestern. Saturday brings a tough task, as Michigan leads the Big Ten with 10.6 steals per game during conference play. Maryland’s ball movement improvement will be tested in the final game before the postseason.
“Ball security is going to be really important with the amount of pressure we’re going to face in their full court, as well as in their half court,” Frese said.