Michigan
American
Michigan to Conclude Non-Conference Play Thursday
12/20/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
» Michigan is 6-0 at Crisler Center this season after knocking off Vermont, 78-56, on Saturday (Dec. 17) and is in the midst of four straight games at home.
» U-M has won at least 10 non-conference games for the first time since going for 11 victories in back-to-back seasons (2011-12, 2012-13); Michigan made the NCAA Tournament in both of those seasons.
» The Wolverines conclude the non-conference portion of the schedule with Thursday's game against American and will not play again until kicking off Big Ten play against Rutgers on Dec. 28.
• Tickets | Promotions/Giveaways
• | Live Audio | Live Video
• Complete Game Notes (PDF)
• KBA Audio: Radio Show 
| WTKA
The University of Michigan women's basketball team (10-3) concludes the non-conference portion of the season on Thursday (Dec. 22), hosting American (3-7) at 3:30 p.m.
• For the first time since the 2012-13 season and for just the fifth time in school history, Michigan has won at least 10 games during the non-conference portion of the season. Through 13 games, Michigan is 10-3, with two of its losses coming to top-10 opponents. U-M's best non-conference seasons came in 2011-12 and 2012-13, going 11-2 in both campaigns en route to NCAA Tournament bids.
• Michigan will end the 2016 calendar year with four straight games at Crisler Center after spending three weeks on the road. U-M is 6-0 at home this season, scoring 88.3 points per game on 49.3-percent shooting. The defense has been stellar at home as well, holding opponents to 46.8 points per game on 29.9-percent shooting. U-M will not play on the road again until Jan. 1, 2017, traveling to Wisconsin to face the Badgers.
• The Eagles (3-7) come to Ann Arbor following an overtime loss at Hofstra and a 70-65 loss at Penn State. American features two double-figure scorers in Cecily Carl (11.0 ppg) and Emily Kinneston (10.8 ppg), with Kaitlyn Lewis (9.3 ppg) and Lauren Crisler (9.3 ppg) right behind them. American is averaging 61.3 points per game on 44.9-percent shooting, while allowing 61.4 points per game on 37.2-percent shooting.
• Head coach Kim Barnes Arico enters her fifth season in Ann Arbor after becoming the program's first head coach to record four straight 20-win seasons. She has 93 wins in four seasons and has moved into second place on the all-time list at U-M. Her .620 winning percentage is tops by a Michigan women's basketball coach, and with seven more wins she will become only the second coach in program history with 100 victories in Ann Arbor.
• Michigan has topped 100 points three times this season and is fourth in the Big Ten in scoring (80.9 ppg), but the defense has put forth an impressive effort as well. U-M is allowing just 55.1 points per game (2nd in B1G) on 35.5-percent shooting from the floor and 28.0-percent shooting from three-point range (2nd in B1G).
• Senior Siera Thompson leads Michigan in assists this season, handing out 68 for a 5.2 per game average. She became the fourth Wolverine in school history to top the 400-assist mark and now ranks third at Michigan with 443 helpers. The California native has appeared in all 117 games since she arrived in Ann Arbor, starting all but four of them. She ranks third all-time at U-M in minutes played (3,922) and is on the verge of becoming the first player in school history with 1,000 points, 400 assists and 400 rebounds. She needs nine more rebounds to accomplish the feat.
