On January 25th, the Michigan Women’s basketball team defeated Northwestern 80-54 with head coach Kim Barnes Arico (KBA) recording her 100th win at Michigan. The Wolverines dominated on both ends of the floor, holding Northwestern to only nine points in the first quarter. Once again junior Jillian Dunston led the defensive effort, pulling down 14 rebounds, one shy of her career high. On offense the Wolverines were led by freshman Kysre Gondrezick who knocked down six of ten shots from three and finished with 22 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals. Gondrezick was named Big Ten Player and Freshman of the Week for her dominating performance. Katelynn Flaherty scored 20 points, and is now third in career points at Michigan. Siera Thompson also moved up on the record board with 7 assists, passing Jenny Ryan for second in career assists.
After the victory the Wolverines celebrated Coach KBA’s 100th win, making her just the second coach in the program’s history to hit the century mark. She is now only 23 games away from tying Coach Sue Guevara for most program wins. In her fifth season as Michigan’s head coach, KBA has built a strong women’s basketball program through her strong recruiting skills and ability to build rosters that have great chemistry. In her first recruiting class, KBA brought in Katelynn Flaherty, followed by Hallie Thome in the 2019 class, and now freshmen Kysre Gondrezick who was Michigan’s 2016 Miss Basketball. Through her solid recruitment, KBA has formed a dominant Michigan offense that will only continue to draw in big name recruits.
Since arriving in Ann Arbor, Kim Barnes Arico has created one giant family with her basketball team and her husband and three children. The family environment at Crisler has not only led to on-court success for the Wolverines, but has also helped players grow and develop off the court. Leading with tough love, KBA always puts her players and team above anything else and she serves as a strong role model for her players. With eight Big Ten conference games remaining, KBA has the opportunity to lead her team to a NCAA tournament berth for the first time since her first season as head coach in 2012-2013.
The Wolverines travel to Champaign on Wednesday to take on the Fighting Illini at 7:00 PM CT.