No. 2 UCLA women’s basketball (22-1, 12-0 Big Ten) will face No. 8 Michigan (20-3, 11-1) in a showdown between the conference’s top-two teams Sunday. UCLA is on a 16-game win streak – the team has not lost since its Nov. 26 matchup against No. 4 Texas – and is coming off an 86-46 victory over Rutgers. Michigan enters the contest on a five-game win streak after its 72-69 loss to then-No. 5 Vanderbilt on Jan. 19.

The Bruins’ undefeated Big Ten record will be put to the test by a Wolverine squad that has lost by a combined six points to the two top-five teams it has faced this season.

Personnel:
Coach: Kim Barnes Arico
Bigs/Forwards: G/F Te’Yala Delfosse, F Ashley Sofilkanich
Guards: G Olivia Olson, G Mila Holloway, G Brooke Quarles Daniels, G Syla Swords, G Kendall Dudley
Best Player: Olivia Olson
X-Factor: Syla Swords

Stat Profile:
Points per game: 87.8
Field goal percentage: 48.1%
Points allowed per game: 62
Field goal percentage allowed: 39.1%

Frontcourt:

Michigan’s frontcourt – comprised of 6-foot-3 guard/forward Te-Yala Delfosse and 6-foot-3 forward Ashely Sofilkanich – has yet to achieve consistent success.

Delfosse has come off the bench in all but one Big Ten game and averages 10 points and 3.8 rebounds per game in conference play. Sofilkanich, who has started in every conference game, averages 8.7 points and 4.5 rebounds per Big Ten contest.

For the Bruins, 6-foot-7 senior center Lauren Betts has continued to assert her dominance this season. Betts posts 17.8 points and 8.8 rebounds per game against conference opponents, placing her 12th and third, respectively, in the Big Ten.

Betts shoots 56.4% from the field in conference play, higher than both Delfosse and Sofilkanich, who shoot 52% and 54.3%, respectively.

6-foot-4 graduate student forward Angela Dugalić, who averages 8.8 points and 4.5 rebounds per conference contest, supports Betts. Dugalić tied her career-high 22 points in UCLA’s matchup against then-No. 8 Iowa, helping lead the team to a 88-65 victory.

The Bruins’ height advantage over the Wolverines in the frontcourt – manifested in Betts and Dugalić’s combined rebounding average of 13.3 boards per game in comparison to the Wolverine’s 8.3 – should give them an interior edge.

Backcourt:

The Wolverines’ biggest threat is their backcourt – their top three scorers are all guards.

Olivia Olson, who averages 20.1 points and 6.3 rebounds per game against conference opponents, leads Michigan. Her scoring numbers put her sixth in the conference across Big Ten play. Olson is a big guard, standing at 6-foot-1, and uses her size to drive to the rim. She is shooting 47.6% from the field in Big Ten play.

Syla Swords is another key piece of the Wolverines’ backcourt, scoring 14.5 points per game and averaging 2.5 3-pointers made per conference contest. Swords shoots at a 35.5% clip from deep and has 23 steals – the second-most on the Michigan squad.

Mila Holloway is right behind Swords in scoring across conference play, averaging 13.7 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. She also leads the squad in assists with 4.5 per game. Holloway scored 26 points in Michigan’s 94-91 overtime win against then-No. 13 Michigan State on Feb. 1 but is coming off a five point performance against Nebraska on Feb. 4.

Brooke Quarles Daniels is the final piece of the starting lineup. Daniels leads the squad in steals with 31 against conference opponents. She also scores 6.3 points per game on a 50.9% clip from the field.

6-foot-2 Kendall Dudley, the Bruin transfer who departed Westwood after one season, adds to the mix as a bench threat. Dudley averages 7.3 points and 4.8 rebounds per game on team-high 63.1% shooting from the field in conference competitions.

Although the Bruin guards will have their hands full with the Wolverines’ offensive depth in the backcourt, they are also a threat.

Three UCLA guards shoot above 41% from deep off at least 26 attempts. Graduate student Gianna Kneepkens averages 2.4 made 3-pointers per game with 46.8% accuracy, and senior Kiki Rice and graduate student Charlisse Leger-Walker shoot 46.2% and 41.9%, respectively, from deep. The starting Bruin guards also have a combined 62 steals against Big Ten opponents, and their ability to disrupt plays should prove handy against a Wolverine backcourt that has committed a collective 101 turnovers in conference play.

Overall:

The Bruins and Wolverines are both strong offensive teams, with the Wolverines averaging 86.5 points per game compared to the Bruins’ 85.2 points. UCLA is more efficient scoring-wise, shooting at a 52% clip from the field in comparison to Michigan’s 47.6% mark.

Michigan may be the strongest opponent UCLA has faced since losing to Texas, so the crown for the conference’s best team – and an undefeated Big Ten season – is in jeopardy.