The Michigan Wolverines women's basketball team is the intercollegiate women's basketball program representing the University of Michigan. The school competes in the Big Ten Conference in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The team plays their home games at Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and are led by head coach Kim Barnes Arico. They have made 14 NCAA tournament appearances.

History

Michigan began playing intercollegiate women's basketball in 1973–74, when inaugural head coach Vic Katch led the team to a 3–8 record (0–1 against Big Ten teams). There was no form of conference competition for the Wolverines until the 1976–77 season, and even then it was not officially sanctioned by the Big Ten until 1982–83. Michigan did not qualify for postseason play until earning an NCAA tournament bid in 1990, winning a game under head coach Bud VanDeWege, which would remain its only tournament appearance and win until Sue Guevara led the Wolverines to five straight postseason appearances (in both the NCAA and WNIT tournaments) between 1998 and 2002, with her first win in the tournament coming in 2001.

The team's best postseason performance in the NCAA Tournament is advancing to the Elite Eight, which it achieved in 2022 and again in 2026. The Wolverines won the WNIT tournament in 2017, and have also reached the WNIT semifinals twice: in 2010 and 2015. Michigan has never won a Big Ten championship, either in the regular season or in the conference tournament. The closest it has come is 2nd place during the 1999-2000 regular season, tied for 2nd in the 2025-26 regular season and the semifinals of the conference tournament eight times, including the last three seasons in 2024, 2025 and 2026.

Since 2012, Michigan is coached by Kim Barnes Arico, the former St. John's Red Storm head coach and two-time Big East Coach of the Year. During a February 2017 game against Michigan State, the Wolverines set an attendance record of 12,707 in the first home sellout in program history, which more than doubled the previous record of 5,991. The second-largest home crowd (8,313) attended a January 2018 game against Ohio State. Later that same week, during the January 13th game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Katelynn Flaherty scored her 2,443rd point, surpassing Glen Rice as the school's all-time leading scorer, man or woman. Flaherty would finish her career with a school-record 2,776 points.

During the 2017–18 season, Barnes Arico became the winningest coach in program history. On July 12, 2018, Barnes Arico signed a contract extension with the Wolverines through the 2022–23 season.

During the 2021–22 season, Michigan reached their highest ranking ever in the AP Poll at No. 4. On December 19, 2021, Michigan earned the program's first ever win over a top-five ranked team when they defeated No. 5 Baylor 74–68 in overtime. On January 31, 2022, Michigan earned their second ever win over a top-five ranked team when they defeated No. 5 Indiana 65–50. They earned a 3 seed for the 2022 NCAA Tournament, the highest seed in program history. This earned them the right to host the 1st and 2nd rounds of the tournament at the Crisler Center for the 1st time ever.

Coaching staff As of 2025–26 season. NamePosition coachedConsecutive seasons atMichigan in current position Kim Barnes Arico Head coach 14th Melanie Moore Assistant Coach 3rd Justine Raterman Assistant Coach 2nd Natalie Achonwa Assistant Coach / General Manager 2nd Jordann Reese Assistant Coach 1st Danielle Rauch Assistant Coach 1st Amy Mulligan Director of Operations 14thReference:

Head coaching records

Head coach Years Seasons Overall Pct. Conf. Pct. NCAA Berths Vic Katch 1973–74 1 3–8 0–1 – Carmel Borders 1974–77 3 23–28 4–8 – Gloria Soluk 1977–84 7 66–120 22–61 0 Bud VanDeWege 1984–92 8 93–132 41–103 1 Trish Roberts 1992–96 4 20–88 5–63 0 Sue Guevara 1996–2003 7 123–82 57–55 3 Cheryl Burnett 2003–07 4 35–83 10–54 0 Kevin Borseth 2007–12 5 87–73 38–48 1 Kim Barnes Arico 2012–present 14 312–151 144–94 9 Totals 53 762–764 321–487 14 Head coaching records through March 28, 2026.

Current roster

Crisler Center (arena)

Michigan has played its home games at Crisler Center (previously known as Crisler Arena) since it began intercollegiate play during the 1973–74 season. The first women's basketball game played at Crisler took place on February 4, 1974 and saw the Western Michigan Broncos defeat Michigan 54–28. Crisler Arena was built in 1967 at a cost of $7.2 million, and has undergone three major renovations since, in 1998, 2001, and 2012. In 2002, the women's locker room was more than doubled in size and given a complete facelift. The 2012 renovation saw the addition of the William Davidson Player Development Center (WDPDC), a 57,000-foot basketball facility for both the women's and men's teams adjacent to the arena proper, and the renaming of the entire complex to Crisler Center. The first floor of the WDPDC houses two basketball practice courts, team locker rooms for both players and coaches, athletic medicine facilities, and an equipment room, while the second floor is home to offices for both the men's and women's coaching staffs and administrative functions, as well as rooms dedicated to recruiting, analyzing game film, and strength and conditioning. The 2012 renovation also resulted in major upgrades to the arena's infrastructure, a new scoreboard, replacement of all the seats in both the upper and lower bowls, more handicap-accessible seating, and major improvements to the arena's entrances and concourses. Completed in two separate phases, it cost $72 million in total.

Honored players and coaches

Honored jerseys Jerseys honored but numbers still active: Michigan Wolverines honored jerseysNo.PlayerPos.TenureHonored 00 Naz Hillmon PF 2019–22 February 15, 2026 3 Katelynn Flaherty PG 2015–18 February 28, 2026 21 Diane Dietz F 1979–82 January 11, 2026

Awards and honors Women's National Invitation Tournament MVP 2017 – Katelynn Flaherty

Big Ten Player of the Year 2021 – Naz Hillmon

Big Ten Freshman of the Year 1997 – Stacey Thomas 2019 – Naz Hillmon 2025 – Olivia Olson

Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year 2000 – Stacey Thomas

Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year 2015 – Katelynn Flaherty 2019 – Naz Hillmon

All-Americans 2021 – Naz Hillmon (USBWA, WBCA) 2022 – Naz Hillmon (AP, USBWA, WBCA) 2026 — Olivia Olson (ESPN, NYT, TSN, AP, USBWA)

Big Ten Coach of the Year 1990 – Bud VanDeWege 1998 – Sue Guevara 2000 – Sue Guevara 2017 – Kim Barnes Arico 2022 – Kim Barnes Arico

WNBA Draft history

YearRndPickOverallPlayer namePositionWNBA teamNotes 1998 3 7 27 C Charlotte Sting 2000 2 7 23 F Portland Fire 2001 4 10 58 G Orlando Miracle 2002 3 12 44 Alayne Ingram G Sacramento Monarchs 2004 3 6 32 C Detroit Shock 2005 2 10 23 Tabitha Pool F New York Liberty 2022 2 3 15 Naz Hillmon C Atlanta Dream 2023 2 3 15 Leigha Brown G Atlanta Dream 2025 3 9 34 Jordan Hobbs G Seattle Storm

Statistical leaders

All-time leaders Points: Katelynn Flaherty (2,776) Rebounds: Naz Hillmon (1,063) Assists: Siera Thompson (553) Steals: Stacey Thomas (372) Blocks: Trish Andrew (367)

Season leaders Points: Katelynn Flaherty (774, 2016) Rebounds: Cyesha Goree (367, 2015) Assists: Siera Thompson (178, 2017) Steals: Stacey Thomas (110, 1999) Blocks: Trish Andrew (136, 1992)

NCAA tournament results Michigan has appeared in fourteen NCAA Tournaments, with a combined record of 15–14.

1990 #10 First RoundSecond Round #7 Oklahoma State#2 NC State W 77–68L 64−81 1998 #10 First Round #7 UCLA L 58−65 2000 #8 First Round #9 Stanford L 74−81OT 2001 #8 First RoundSecond Round #9 Virginia#1 Notre Dame W 81–71L 54−88 2012 #11 First Round #6 Oklahoma L 67−88 2013 #8 First RoundSecond Round #9 Villanova#1 Stanford W 60–52L 40−73 2018 #7 First RoundSecond Round #10 Northern Colorado#2 Baylor W 75–61L 58−80 2019 #8 First RoundSecond Round #9 Kansas State#1 Louisville W 84–54L 50−71 2021 #6 First RoundSecond RoundSweet Sixteen #11 Florida Gulf Coast#3 Tennessee#2 Baylor W 87–66W 70–55L 75–78OT 2022 #3 First RoundSecond RoundSweet SixteenElite Eight #14 American#11 Villanova#10 South Dakota#1 Louisville W 74–39W 64–49W 52–49L 50–62 2023 #6 First RoundSecond Round #11 UNLV#3 LSU W 71–59L 42–66 2024 #9 First Round #8 Kansas L 72−81OT 2025 #6 First RoundSecond Round #11 Iowa State#3 Notre Dame W 80–74L 55–76 2026 #2 First RoundSecond RoundSweet SixteenElite Eight #15 Holy Cross#7 NC State#3 Louisville#1 Texas W 83–48 W 92–63W 71–52L 41–77

Rivalries Michigan—Michigan State Michigan—Ohio State

References

External links