Michigan Women’s Basketball Rallies Past USC Behind Olivia Olson’s Star Power and Kim Barnes Arico’s Milestone Moment
Michigan women’s basketball showed their mettle on Sunday afternoon, shaking off a shaky third quarter to rally past USC, 73-67, in front of the home crowd at Crisler Center. The win moves the Wolverines to 17-3 on the season and 8-1 in Big Ten play-firmly keeping them in the thick of the conference race.
But this wasn’t just another tally in the win column. This one carried some extra weight.
With the victory, head coach Kim Barnes Arico notched her 301st win at Michigan, extending her record as the program’s all-time winningest coach. She’s the first in Michigan women’s basketball history to cross the 300-win threshold-a milestone that speaks to more than just longevity.
“It just gives me a chance to reflect and be like, ‘Ooh, I’ve been here for a really long time,’” Arico said postgame with a smile.
Arico arrived in Ann Arbor back in 2012 after a decade at St. John’s, and since then, she’s built the Wolverines into a consistent contender. She recalled a conversation from early in her career with UConn legend Geno Auriemma that stuck with her.
“He told me, ‘It’s easy to get to a top program. The hard part is staying there year in and year out,’” Arico said.
“That’s something that always stuck with me. Can we be a consistent program, year in and year out?”
Well, 301 wins later, the numbers speak for themselves. Under Arico, Michigan has posted 20-plus wins every season, and while the ultimate goal remains championships, the foundation is clearly built.
But on Sunday, the spotlight belonged to sophomore guard Olivia Olson, who delivered a statement performance that reminded everyone why she’s one of the most complete players in the country.
Olson poured in 24 points, grabbed eight rebounds, swiped four steals, and dished out a pair of assists in a game where Michigan needed every ounce of her production. She was everywhere-attacking the rim, knocking down jumpers, locking up on defense, and hitting clutch free throws down the stretch.
“Olivia Olson is a beast,” Arico said. “She’s one of the best players in the country, hands down, in women’s basketball right now.”
That’s not just coach-speak. Olson has been a model of consistency this season, leading the Wolverines in scoring at 17.7 points per game and hitting double figures in every contest. And while she’s capable of lighting up the scoreboard any given night, what makes her special is how seamlessly she fits into Michigan’s balanced attack.
“She’s not spoken about enough because of the balance of our team,” Arico explained. “She doesn’t have to take, and she doesn’t take, 20 shots a game.
Today might be the first time in her career she took 20 shots. And we needed her to take every single one of them.”
At 6-foot-2, Olson is a positionless weapon-a three-level scorer who plays with a gritty edge. She defends, rebounds, creates, and finishes. And when Michigan needed a closer on Sunday, Olson answered the call, possession after possession.
“She could score 30 a night,” Arico said. “But Olivia is so unselfish that she completely buys into what the team needs her to do.
The team needed her to score tonight. And when we needed her to score, she got every bucket that we needed.”
For Michigan, this win was more than just a bounce-back after a tough third quarter. It was a showcase of the program’s identity-resilient, balanced, and led by a coach who’s built something sustainable. And at the heart of it all is a rising star in Olson, who’s not just one of the best in the Big Ten-she’s one of the best in the country.
The Wolverines are rolling, and with Olson leading the way and Barnes Arico at the helm, they’ve got the look of a team that’s not just chasing wins-they’re chasing something bigger.