FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) 鈥� Syla Swords drove for a layup that Texas center Kyla Oldacre easily stuffed, and the Michigan sophomore grabbed the loose ball, only for one of her teammates to miss from in close.
The Wolverines were down 37 points during that futile fourth-quarter sequence, and ended up with the worst shooting percentage in the women’s Elite Eight in a on Monday night.
Michigan never gave itself much of a chance in its second trip to the regional semifinals in , or maybe the vaunted Texas defense never gave Swords and fellow second-year star Olivia Olson much of a chance.
Michigan was a tick above the worst shooting game in the Elite Eight when Olson missed a 3-pointer in the final seconds, dropping the Wolverines to 22.8%. The Longhorns had the previous low of 23.0% while chasing a Final Four berth five years ago in a 62-34 loss to South Carolina.
鈥淟ooking at the field goal percentages here, it鈥檚 hard to win games with the shots we were putting up, but we were getting really good looks at the rim and looks we normally make,鈥� said Swords, who combined with Olson and No. 3 scorer Mila Holloway to go just 9 of 42 from the field (21.4%).
鈥淭hat鈥檚 a credit to the defense. It鈥檚 a credit to their length and physicality,鈥� said Swords, who scored eight points while Olson and Holloway led Michigan with 11 apiece. 鈥淲e can鈥檛 just say we had an off day. I would say definitely they altered our shots, but we got to our spots and just couldn鈥檛 finish them.鈥�
A season low in points for the Wolverines was 42 1/2 shy of a season average that ranked ninth nationally. They missed easy layups and open 3s, but just as often were off target on contested shots near and far from the rim.
In other words, Texas defenders swamped Michigan’s shot at its first Final Four in a season when the Wolverines (28-7) tied a school record in victories.
鈥淚 think our defense just gets us going,鈥� Longhorns point guard Rori Harmon said. 鈥淚n warmups, I was saying all the other offensive stuff, like, that stuff will come, but Michigan is a great team that knows how to score the ball, so we need to play some defense.鈥�
The Wolverines started slowly in their , but outscored the Cardinals 49-16 over a two-quarter stretch in the middle of the game. They were down 17 in the second quarter and trailed by double digits the rest of the way against the Longhorns.
Michigan had more turnovers (15) than its season low in field goals (13 of 57) and matched its fewest 3-pointers (2 of 15).
Olson’s only 3, which got the Wolverines within 11 early in the third quarter, came after both teams combined to miss the first 10 shots of the second half.
鈥淲e were tired, and we鈥檙e usually the team that鈥檚 making other people tired,鈥� Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico said. 鈥淲e couldn鈥檛 initiate offense. They were in our face. Like, that was pressure that we haven鈥檛 faced all year long. Then when we were able to break it, we couldn鈥檛 get our shots to fall, so then we got tighter and tighter.鈥�
___
AP March Madness bracket: and coverage:
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
