Wolverines to Head West to Resume B1G Action

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 23-ranked University of Michigan women's basketball team (10-2, 1-0 Big Ten) will head west to resume Big Ten action, first taking on No. 4 USC (11-1, 1-0 Big Ten) on Sunday (Dec. 29) at the Galen Center. The game is set for 7:10 p.m. PT and can be seen live on the Big Ten Network, Michigan's first appearance on the network this season.

Notes

• After playing one conference game at the beginning of December, Michigan will now play 17 straight Big Ten contests to end the regular season. U-M knocked off Northwestern, 60-54, at Crisler on Dec. 8 to start conference play at 1-1. The Wolverines will face 16 teams once and play a home-and-home against Michigan State to make up their 18-game schedule.

• Michigan is currently in the midst of playing four top-10 opponents in a five-game stretch. Michigan lost to then-No. 10 Oklahoma (Dec. 17) and will face No. 4 USC, No. 1 UCLA and No. 10 Ohio State following the holiday break.

• There are plenty of connections between Michigan and USC. Syla Swords and USC's Kayleigh Heckel played two years of high school basketball together at Long Island Lutheran in New York. In addition, USC's Avery Howell was named an alternate for the 2024 Canadian Olympic team that featured Swords and U-M assistant coach for player development Natalie Achonwa. Greta Kampschroeder was teammates with Talia von Oelhoffen at Oregon State during the 2021-22 season. Finally, USC women's lacrosse head coach Lindsey Munday is head coach Kim Barnes Arico's niece.

• U-M is facing its third ranked opponent of the season in No. 4 USC. The Trojans are Michigan's second top-five opponent after the Wolverines opened up against then-No. 1 South Carolina. Michigan has two top-five wins all-time in program history, both coming against the No. 5-ranked team during the 2021-22 season. U-M is looking for its first top-five road win.

• Michigan is returning to the Galen Center for the second straight season after playing at USC in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Prior to that, U-M's last trip to the Golden State was during the 2016-17 season to face San Diego State and UCLA. This will mark Michigan's third time facing USC after the teams played a home-and-home series in 2007 and 2008, with each home team winning.

• Michigan's trio of freshman starters -- Swords, Olivia Olson and Mila Holloway -- are each averaging double figures in scoring. U-M is the only school in the Big Ten with multiple first-year players averaging at least 10 points per game. Olson (15.7 ppg) comes in at No. 2 in freshmen scoring with Swords (15.3 ppg) second and Holloway (10.8 ppg) coming in at No. 6 among the league's freshmen.

• Michigan came in at No. 23 in this week's Associated Press poll, marking the fourth straight week in the poll for the Wolverines. It is the 87th time under Barnes Arico that U-M has been ranked by the AP. KBA accounts for 87 percent of Michigan's 100 total appearances in the poll. Michigan came in at No. 25 in the coaches poll for the second straight week.

• Kampschroeder turned in a career-high 23 points in Michigan's win at Akron (Dec. 20), hitting five triples to go with four rebounds, three assists and a steal in 26 minutes of action. She joins Michigan's three freshman starters -- Holloway, Olson and Swords -- as Wolverines to reach the 20-point mark this season. On the year, Kampschroeder has started all 12 games and is averaging 7.1 points and 4.5 rebounds in 23.2 minutes per game.

• Michigan completes a two-game road swing to open Big Ten play on Wednesday (Jan. 1), taking on No. 1 UCLA at 2 p.m. PT. If UCLA stays at No. 1 in next week's poll, Michigan will be the first team to face multiple No. 1 teams this season after opening against then-No. 1 South Carolina in Las Vegas.