Wolverine Spirit: Inside University of Michigan Athletics

AKRON, Ohio — The No. 20-ranked University of Michigan women’s basketball squad demonstrated dominance with a 28-point first quarter, cruising past Akron 96-55 in their non-conference finale on Friday afternoon (Dec. 20) at James A. Rhodes Arena.

Michigan achieved a season-high of 12 three-pointers, with Greta Kampschroeder contributing five, leading to a career-best performance of 23 points. She was supported in double-digit scoring by Jordan Hobbs (13 points), Yulia Grabovskaia (12 points), and Olivia Olson (11 points). Michigan accumulated 22 assists for their 32 field goals made, spearheaded by six assists from Olson. U-M secured a 37-33 edge in rebounding, with Alyssa Crockett achieving a career-high of 10 boards. Michigan capitalized on 29 turnovers, resulting in 17 steals and converting those into 31 points.

After an initial back-and-forth struggle, Michigan (10-2) unleashed a 9-0 surge capped off by a pair of free throws from Syla Swords to establish a 21-9 lead with just over two minutes left in the first quarter. Following an Akron layup, U-M responded with a three-pointer from Mila Holloway and four consecutive points from Brooke Quarles Daniels, closing the quarter with a 7-0 rally for a 28-11 advantage after 10 minutes.

Akron (5-6) called a timeout with just over six minutes remaining in the second period after Crockett assisted Te’Yala Delfosse for a layup during transition, resulting in a 39-15 lead for Michigan.

Michigan netted nine three-pointers in the first half, with Kampschroeder netting five alone, for a 51-29 halftime score. U-M shot at a 57.1 percent rate from the field in the initial 20 minutes and amassed 12 assists on 16 field goals made.

The Wolverines maintained their momentum in the second half, outscoring the Zips 27-11 during the third quarter. U-M committed no turnovers in the period and scored nine points off Akron’s errors. Grabovskaia and Holloway each contributed six points in the third, with six Wolverines contributing to the scoreboard.

Michigan held a lead as large as 55 points in the closing quarter, with five points each from Macy Brown and Ally VanTimmeren. U-M’s bench produced 34 points throughout the game, enabling Michigan to secure its 10th win of the season.

Michigan will resume Big Ten competitions following the holiday, traveling to California to compete against No. 7 USC (Dec. 29) and No. 1 UCLA (Jan. 1).