2021–22 Michigan Wolverines women's basketball team

The 2021–22 Michigan Wolverines women's basketball team represented the University of Michigan during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Wolverines were led by head coach Kim Barnes Arico in her tenth year, and played their home games at the Crisler Center. This season marked the program's 40th season as a member of the Big Ten Conference.

2021–22 Michigan Wolverines women's basketball
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 7
APNo. 12
Record25–7 (13–4 Big Ten)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaCrisler Center
Seasons
2021–22 Big Ten women's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 14 Ohio State 14 4   .778 25 7   .781
No. 8 Iowa 14 4   .778 24 8   .750
No. 12 Michigan 13 4   .765 25 7   .781
No. 13 Maryland 13 4   .765 23 9   .719
No. 11 Indiana 11 5   .688 24 9   .727
Nebraska 11 7   .611 24 9   .727
Northwestern 8 8   .500 17 12   .586
Michigan State 8 9   .471 15 15   .500
Purdue 7 11   .389 17 15   .531
Minnesota 7 11   .389 15 18   .455
Penn State 5 13   .278 11 18   .379
Wisconsin 5 13   .278 8 21   .276
Rutgers 3 14   .176 11 20   .355
Illinois 1 13   .071 7 20   .259
2022 Big Ten tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

This season was highlighted by Michigan reaching their highest ranking ever in the AP Poll at No. 4.[1] They also earned their first ever win over a top-five ranked team when they defeated No. 5 Baylor 74–68 in overtime on December 19, 2021.[2] Naz Hillmon also became the program's all-time leading rebounder, surpassing the previous record set by Trish Andrew in 1993.[3] They were ranked the No. 3 seed in the 2022 NCAA tournament, their highest seed ever, and advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time in program history.[4][5]

Previous season

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The Wolverines finished the 2020–21 season with a 16–6 record, including 9–5 in Big Ten play to finish in fourth place. They also reached No. 11 in the AP Poll, their highest rank ever, and were ranked the No. 6 seed in the 2021 NCAA tournament, their highest seed ever. The Wolverines advanced to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time in program history.[6]

Offseason

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On April 1, 2021, former assistant coach Toyelle Wilson was named the head coach at SMU.[7]

On September 10, 2021, Kim Barnes Arico signed a contract extension through the 2025–26 season.[8]

Roster

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2021–22 Michigan Wolverines women's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown
F 00 Naz Hillmon 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Sr Gilmour Academy Cleveland, OH
G 1 Amy Dilk 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Sr Carmel Carmel, IN
G 3 Maddie Nolan 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Jr Zionsville Zionsville, IN
G 5 Laila Phelia 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Fr Mount Notre Dame Cincinnati, OH
G 10 Jordan Hobbs 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Fr Springboro Springboro, OH
G 12 Ari Wiggins 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Fr Heritage Christian Indianapolis, IN
F 15 Taylor Gibson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Fr Bishop McNamara Upper Marlboro, MD
G 23 Danielle Rauch 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Sr Bishop Ludden Syracuse, NY
G 24 Michelle Sidor 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Jr Saddle River Day Upper Saddle River, NJ
F 25 Whitney Sollom 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) So Hartland Hartland, MI
F 30 Elise Stuck 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) So Charlevoix Charlevoix, MI
F 32 Leigha Brown 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Sr DeKalb Noblesville, IN
F 33 Emily Kiser 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Sr Noblesville Noblesville, IN
C 34 Izabel Varejão 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Jr Neuse Christian Academy Vitória, Brazil
F 44 Cameron Williams 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) So Whitney Young Chicago, IL
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
November 4, 2021*
7:00 pm
No. 11 Grand Valley State W 80–57 
Crisler Center (1,672)
Ann Arbor, MI
Regular season
November 9, 2021*
7:00 pm
No. 11 IUPUI W 67–62 OT 1–0
Crisler Center (1,948)
Ann Arbor, MI
November 13, 2021*
2:00 pm
No. 11 St. Francis Brooklyn W 82–46  2–0
Crisler Center (2,363)
Ann Arbor, MI
November 16, 2021*
6:00 pm
No. 13 UMass Lowell W 73–54  3–0
Crisler Center (1,957)
Ann Arbor, MI
November 20, 2021*
1:00 pm
No. 13 at Central Michigan W 69–45  4–0
McGuirk Arena (2,654)
Mount Pleasant, MI
November 22, 2021*
7:00 pm
No. 13 Oakland W 69–58  5–0
Crisler Center (1,967)
Ann Arbor, MI
November 26, 2021*
6:45 pm
No. 12 vs. No. 16 Oregon State
Daytona Beach Invitational
W 61–52  6–0
Ocean Center 
Daytona Beach, FL
November 27, 2021*
4:30 pm
No. 12 vs. Mississippi State
Daytona Beach Invitational
W 64–48  7–0
Ocean Center 
Daytona Beach, FL
December 2, 2021*
7:00 pm, ESPN
No. 12 at No. 10 Louisville
ACC–Big Ten Challenge
L 48–70  7–1
KFC Yum! Center (7,309)
Louisville, KY
December 5, 2021*
2:00 pm
No. 12 Akron W 93–54  8–1
Crisler Center (2,274)
Ann Arbor, MI
December 9, 2021
9:00 pm, BTN
No. 13 at Wisconsin W 93–81  9–1
(1–0)
Kohl Center (2,669)
Madison, WI
December 12, 2021
2:00 pm
No. 13 Minnesota W 73–61  10–1
(2–0)
Crisler Center (2,484)
Ann Arbor, MI
December 19, 2021*
1:00 pm, ESPN
No. 13 vs. No. 5 Baylor
Basketball Hall of Fame Women's Showcase
W 74–68 OT 11–1
Mohegan Sun (8,204)
Uncasville, CT
December 22, 2021*
1:00 pm
No. 9 Eastern Michigan Cancelled (COVID-19 pandemic)[9] Crisler Center 
Ann Arbor, MI
December 31, 2021
12:00 pm, BTN
No. 9 No. 25 Ohio State
Rivalry
W 90–71  12–1
(3–0)
Crisler Center (7,904)
Ann Arbor, MI
January 4, 2022
9:00 pm, BTN
No. 8 at Nebraska L 58–79  12–2
(3–1)
Pinnacle Bank Arena (3,591)
Lincoln, NE
January 9, 2022
12:00 pm, FS1
No. 8 Rutgers W 76–47  13–2
(4–1)
Crisler Center (2,154)
Ann Arbor, MI
January 13, 2022
7:00 pm
No. 11 at Penn State W 74–57  14–2
(5–1)
Bryce Jordan Center (1,622)
University Park, PA
January 16, 2022
5:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 11 at No. 8 Maryland W 69–49  15–2
(6–1)
Xfinity Center (4,189)
College Park, MD
January 20, 2022
7:00 pm, BTN+
No. 8 Wisconsin W 83–44  16–2
(7–1)
Crisler Center (1,994)
Ann Arbor, MI
January 24, 2022
6:00 pm, BTN
No. 7 Purdue W 79–66  17–2
(8–1)
Crisler Center (1,845)
Ann Arbor, MI
January 27, 2022
7:00 pm, BTN
No. 7 at No. 22 Ohio State
Rivalry
W 77–58  18–2
(9–1)
Value City Arena (4,293)
Columbus, OH
January 31, 2022
7:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 6 No. 5 Indiana W 65–50  19–2
(10–1)
Crisler Center (4,198)
Ann Arbor, MI
February 3, 2022
8:00 pm
No. 6 at Illinois Postponed (inclement weather)[10] State Farm Center 
Champaign, IL
February 6, 2022
6:30 pm, BTN
No. 6 No. 21 Iowa W 98–90  20–2
(11–1)
Crisler Center (3,827)
Ann Arbor, MI
February 10, 2022
6:30 pm, BTN
No. 4 at Michigan State
Rivalry
L 57–63  20–3
(11–2)
Breslin Center (4,764)
East Lansing, MI
February 13, 2022
1:00 pm
No. 4 at Northwestern L 69–71 2OT 20–4
(11–3)
Welsh–Ryan Arena (2,341)
Evanston, IL
February 20, 2022
3:00 pm, BTN
No. 9 No. 13 Maryland W 71–59  21–4
(12–3)
Crisler Center (6,394)
Ann Arbor, MI
February 24, 2022
6:00 pm, BTN
No. 6 Michigan State
Rivalry
W 62–51  22–4
(13–3)
Crisler Center (5,460)
Ann Arbor, MI
February 27, 2022
4:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 6 at No. 21 Iowa L 80–104  22–5
(13–4)
Carver–Hawkeye Arena (15,056)
Iowa City, IA
Big Ten Women's Tournament
March 4, 2022
9:00 pm, BTN
(3) No. 10 vs. (6) Nebraska
Quarterfinals
L 73–76  22–6
Gainbridge Fieldhouse (0)
Indianapolis, IN
NCAA Women's Tournament
March 19, 2022
3:30 pm, ESPN2
(3 W) No. 12 (14 W) American
First round
W 74–39  23–6
Crisler Center (6,471)
Ann Arbor, MI
March 21, 2022
6:00 p.m., ESPNU
(3 W) No. 12 (11 W) Villanova
Second round
W 64–49  24–6
Crisler Center (5,581)
Ann Arbor, MI
March 26, 2022
6:30 p.m., ESPN2
(3 W) No. 12 vs. (10 W) South Dakota
Sweet Sixteen
W 52–49  25–6
Intrust Bank Arena (8,540)
Wichita, KS
March 28, 2022
9:00 p.m., ESPN
(3 W) No. 12 vs. (1 W) No. 4 Louisville
Elite Eight
L 50–62  25–7
Intrust Bank Arena (4,695)
Wichita, KS
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
W=Wichita.
All times are in Eastern Time.
Source:[11][12]

Rankings

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Ranking Movement
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes.
Poll Pre Wk 2 Wk 3 Wk 4 Wk 5 Wk 6 Wk 7 Wk 8 Wk 9 Wk 10 Wk 11 Wk 12 Wk 13 Wk 14 Wk 15 Wk 16 Wk 17 Wk 18 Wk 19 Final
AP 11 13 12 12 13 13 9 9 8 11 8 7 6 4 9 6 10 12 12 12
Coaches 10 10^ 9 9 11 11 7 7 7 10 8 7 5 4 9 5 9 12 12 7

^Coaches did not release a Week 2 poll.

References

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  1. ^ Paul, Tony (February 7, 2022). "With another top-25 win, Michigan women's basketball again makes history in AP rankings". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
  2. ^ VanMetre, Sarah (December 19, 2021). "U-M Takes Down Baylor in OT to Earn Program's First Win Over Top-Five Team". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
  3. ^ VanMetre, Sarah (January 27, 2022). "Wolverines Sweep Ohio State with Dominant Road Win". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
  4. ^ VanMetre, Sarah (March 26, 2022). "Michigan Earns First NCAA Elite Eight Appearance with Win Over South Dakota". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
  5. ^ VanMetre, Sarah (March 28, 2022). "Michigan's Historic NCAA Run Ends in Elite Eight After Tight Battle with Louisville". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
  6. ^ VanMetre, Sarah (March 25, 2021). "Michigan to Face No. 2 Seed Baylor in First NCAA Sweet 16 Appearance". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
  7. ^ "Toyelle Wilson named new SMU coach after stops at Michigan, Baylor". ESPN.com. April 1, 2021. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
  8. ^ VanMetre, Sarah (September 10, 2021). "Barnes Arico Inks Contract Extension Through 2025-26". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
  9. ^ VanMetre, Sarah (December 16, 2021). "Women's Basketball's Dec. 22 Contest vs. EMU Canceled". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  10. ^ VanMetre, Sarah (February 2, 2022). "Michigan's Thursday Contest at Illinois Postponed". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  11. ^ "2021-22 Women's Basketball Schedule". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
  12. ^ VanMetre, Sarah (September 8, 2021). "Women's Basketball Announces 2021-22 Schedule". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved September 11, 2021.