Olivia Olson and Syla Swords shake off slow starts to lead Michigan into the women’s Sweet 16
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ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Olivia Olson and Syla Swords started slow against N.C State.
Eventually, Michigan’s star sophomores bounced back with fantastic performances.
Olson had all 27 of her points in the second half and Swords bounced back to score 26 and help the second-seeded Wolverines rout the short-handed Wolfpack 92-63 on Sunday and earn a spot in the women’s Sweet 16.
“They’re hard to contain for 40 minutes,” N.C. State coach Wes Moore said.
The Wolverines (27-6) will play for at least another 40 minutes, facing the winner of third-seeded Louisville and sixth-seeded Alabama in the NCAA Tournament Fort Worth Regional semifinals.
“We’re accomplishing the goals we set out to — and we’re not done yet,” Olson said.
Michigan’s previous Sweet 16 appearances were in 2021 and 2022, when it reached the Elite Eight for the first time in school history.
“We’re just really excited to be able to continue what coach (Kim Barnes Arico) has already created as a legacy here,” Swords said.
Olson, a third-team Associated Press All-America player, started 0 of 6 and was held scoreless until making two free throws with 5:59 left in the third quarter. She scored on a three-point play about a minute later and followed up with a pair of mid-range jumpers to suddenly give Michigan a 49-35 lead.
What clicked?
“Just having confidence in myself as well as my teammates having confidence in me and still getting the ball to me,” Olson said. “But I think it was a collective effort of just people carrying the load in the first half, and that just shows how much depth we have on our team.”
Swords, meanwhile, was held to two points in the opening quarter and the Wolfpack led by one point.
Then, she started making shots.
Swords scored seven in the opening two minutes of the second quarter as part of a 14-0 run that included forcing six turnovers to put the Wolverines ahead 26-13. In the second half, she scored 17 points and joined Olson in the 1,000-point club in just two seasons.
“They were face-guarding me really well at the beginning, but I wasn’t mad about it because my other teammates got great shots off of it,” said Swords, who became the youngest Canadian basketball player to compete in the Olympics at 18 during the 2024 Paris Games.
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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness