Michigan Women’s Basketball beats Louisville, advances to Elite Eight
The Michigan women’s basketball team punched its ticket to its second-ever Elite Eight with a 71-52 win against Louisville in the Sweet 16:
FORT WORTH, TEXAS - MARCH 28: Kendall Dudley #22 and Syla Swords #12 of the Michigan Wolverines react during the third quarter against the Louisville Cardinals in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2026 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at Dickies Arena on March 28, 2026 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) | Getty Images The No. 2-seed Michigan women’s basketball team’s magical season is continuing, as the Wolverines advanced to the second Elite Eight in program history.
Down by 11 points with 6:53 remaining in the second quarter, things looked bleak for the Wolverines. Their first points of the game over six minutes in, already trailing 8-0, losing the rebounding battle and not generating much offensive momentum. Then Michigan (28-6) landed some heavyweight punches, dominating in an 18-2 run to close the second quarter, and a 20-2 run to close the third quarter which sealed the victory over No.
3 seed Louisville (29-8), 71-52. “It took us a minute to settle, but then once we did, I think our confidence exploded and we just were really disruptive on the defensive end, which we pride ourselves with being, and that allowed the floodgates to open on offense,” head coach Kim Barnes Arico said. Going back to their roots with a full-court press in the second quarter, the Wolverines turned the tide in that key second-quarter stretch.
They pressured the Cardinals’ ballhandlers, forcing deflections and disrupting Louisville’s downhill drives. Michigan limited the paint attacks which built the Cardinals’ initial lead, and the Wolverines’ box-outs both limited Louisville’s second-chance attempts and yielded some of their own. Michigan kept pounding its transition offense down the court, tiring out the Cardinals’ forwards.
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