How four freshmen are shaping the present and future of Michigan Women’s Basketball

A program-best freshman class has been powering the Wolverines through the 2024-25 season, and it’s not just Syla Swords making big-time contributions in Ann Arbor:

There’s a lot to like about the young core on the Michigan women’s basketball team for this season and beyond. Back at Michigan’s media day , head coach Kim Barnes Arico spoke highly of the group of young players coming in.

“We have our freshman class, our most decorated recruiting class in program history. Headlined by two McDonald’s All-Americans and additional two top-100 players. And a fifth player who is a post player, Aaiyanna Dunbar, who is doing a great job for us. Who knows what our starting lineup is going to be. We still have a lot of time before that day. But we could potentially have three freshmen in our starting lineup, potentially, which would be one of the — I would probably guess to say — youngest lineups in all of college basketball will be our team this year.”

Nearly three months later, three freshmen are in the starting lineup and four are in the rotation. Olivia Olson (16.0 points per game), Syla Swords (15.3) and Mila Holloway (10.2) are three of Michigan’s four leading scorers, with the other being Jordan Hobbs, who is coming off a career-high 22 points in her 100th career Michigan game.

The Wolverines have fallen out of the top-25 after being ranked for six straight weeks. Michigan has a 12-5 record, but all five losses have come to top-10 teams, so the Wolverines are on track to make their seventh consecutive NCAA Tournament.

Michigan’s talented freshman class is a big reason why Michigan is in that position. Let’s check in on the four rotation players in that class at the midway mark of the regular season.

Olivia Olson

While Swords got a lot of the pre-season media attention , she is not Michigan’s leading scorer. That title belongs to Olson, who is averaging 16.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. Similar to Nimari Burnett’s role on the men’s team , she’s often the one finishing possessions off excellent ball movement.

Olson has had 20 points or more in five games this season. A good portion of her points have come in transition, with the freshman thriving when the pace is turned up to 11.

That shotmaking ability is only going to improve as Olson works to create her own shot more often.

Syla Swords

Swords has lived up to the pre-season hype, as she averages 15.1 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. Like Olson, she’s scored 20 points or more five times, including a 27-point performance against South Carolina (ranked No. 1 at the time) and a 30-point performance against UCLA.

She truly can score from all three levels of the floor and especially thrives heading downhill in the half court. Swords is also a threat to fire from anywhere on the court, and she has the skills to back it up.

Swords and Olson are part of the three-point attack that has been powering Michigan’s offense. The Wolverines have made 34.6 percent of their threes , a mark that’s fourth-best in the Big Ten.

The scoring ability of Olson and Swords have given them a fighting chance against pretty much every team in the country, and they are often set up for success by a fellow freshman.

Mila Holloway

In Michigan’s win over Purdue last weekend, Holloway tied her career-high with 21 points, to go along with three assists and four steals.

The point guard is averaging 10.2 points and a team-high 3.9 assists per game, often setting up her teammates for easy looks. She does this while being one of Michigan’s best on-ball defenders, swarming dribbles to create turnovers that lead to easy buckets.

One thing that becomes more evident every time I watch the Wolverines play is the chemistry developing between this trio. I saw it in person in the CMU win , and it’s gotten better since then, with Holloway often being the offensive catalyst willing to make the extra pass. This trio will be tough to game plan against in the years to come.

Te’Yana Delfosse

Delfosse has steadily earned more minutes as the season has come along, proving to be a capable contributor off the bench. The New Jersey native averages 4.4 points and 2.6 rebounds in just over 10 minutes per game. She’s not afraid to let it fly from three as well.

I’m intrigued to see Delfosse in a bigger role in the coming seasons, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s starting alongside her three classmates in a couple seasons.