The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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36 THE WOLVERINE ❱ MAY 2024 BY ANTHONY BROOME M ichigan went to Los Ange- les looking for a win and a chance to take on a No. 1 seed in USC, and nearly had it with a 10-point lead with six minutes to go against Kansas. However, a late-game surge from the Jay- hawks sent the Wolverines back to Ann Arbor with an 81-72 overtime loss closing out a 20-14 campaign. "Obviously, we had the mo- mentum throughout the fourth quarter, which was very encour- aging and I think we ended up getting up by 10 at the most," junior guard Greta Kampschro- eder said, via The Michigan Daily. "But Kansas, they're a solid team and you can never re- lax against a team. They weren't missing, especially in the fourth quarter. … Kansas was able to make plays and hit shots." The defeat snapped a five- game opening-round win streak for head coach Kim Barnes Arico, who said Kansas' ability to get to the charity stripe down the stretch played a large role in letting the game slip away. The Jayhawks outscored the Wolverines 19-8 from the free throw line in the loss. "They had a really big fourth quarter against us, and we had, I think it was a 10-point lead, and they were able to get downhill and really get to the free throw line," Barnes Arico said. "One of our game plans was to try to keep them off the line, and I thought we did an awe- some job of that in the first half, but in the fourth quarter, they were really able to go to the line. I think that hurt us a ton as well." FOUR ENTER TRANSFER PORTAL, HANSEN DECLARES FOR WNBA DRAFT The end of the season comes with roster attrition for the program, head- lined by four departures via the transfer portal in graduate forward Taylor Wil- liams, senior forwards Cameron Wil- liams and Elise Stuck, and freshman forward Taylor Woodson. Taylor and Cameron Williams, who are unrelated, and Stuck each have one season of eligibility remaining due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Taylor Wil- liams, who transferred to Ann Arbor from Western Michigan last year, aver- aged 4.3 points per game and did not appear in a game after Feb. 10. Cameron Williams started every game last season but was supplanted in the lineup this year by sophomore Chrya Evans. Williams ended the year averaging 7.5 points and 4.6 rebounds. Stuck was leaned on in a leadership role but only averaged 1.9 points and 2.0 re- bounds per night. Woodson's departure comes as the most surprising. The former four-star recruit and No. 59 player in the 2023 class was expected to be a key piece for the future, appearing in 32 of 34 games with a role that expanded as the season went on. She has three seasons of eligibility remaining. Another departure comes in the form of graduate guard Lau- ren Hansen, who appeared on the list of players who declared for the 2024 WNBA Draft. She started all 34 games at point guard, averaging 11.9 points per night after transferring in from Missouri. FUTURE U-M TEAMMATES MAKE CONNECTION IN MCDONALD'S ALL-AMERICAN GAME Syla Swords and Olivia Olson are the first-ever McDonald's All-Americans to sign with the Michigan women's basketball program, ranking as the na- tion's Nos. 11 and 15 players, respectively. During the annual all-star contest in Houston on April 2, the two made a con- nection for the East squad that could be a glimpse of things to come. In the fourth quarter, Swords blocked a shot, grabbed the rebound and pushed the ball up the floor, eventually finding Olson, who dribbled into a midrange jump shot. Later in the quarter, Olson spun in the paint, turned her back to the basket and fired in a no-look pass to Swords for a layup. Their East team walked away with a 98-74 victory. Olson's play in particular drew the eye of analyst Meghan McKeown. "I'm excited to see her at Michigan," she said on the broadcast. "She's really smart and poised. She's always in the right position and then she makes the hustle plays." Swords finished with 12 points, 4 re- bounds and 3 assists, while Olson had 6 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists. Only 14 college programs had repre- sentatives at the McDonald's All-Amer- ican game, and Michigan was one of five Big Ten schools represented along with UCLA, USC, Ohio State and Illinois. ❏ ❱ WOMEN'S BASKETBALL U-M Falls In Overtime To Kansas In NCAA First Round Junior guard Laila Phelia scored 16 points but U-M lost its NCAA first-round game against Kansas, 81-72 in overtime. Following the season, Phelia was named to the WBCA all-region team. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY