8 — Tuesday, March 13, 2018
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

It’s the Friday before the 

Michigan 
women’s 
basketball 

team will learn its fate, and 
Kim Barnes Arico is playing the 
waiting game. The coach knows 
her team will make the NCAA 
Tournament 
on 
the 
coming 

Monday, but she doesn’t know. 
She’ll never feel comfortable 
knowing again, because she knew 
last year and was wrong.

The Wolverines were left out 

of the NCAA Tournament then, 
and nothing else matters. They 
made the most of their situation, 
winning the Women’s National 
Invitational 
Tournament. 
It 

didn’t heal the wound.

“Especially now with waiting 

for Monday, I think it’s at the top 
of my mind,” Barnes Arico says, 
a conversational tone suddenly 
turning serious. “I think I will 
forever be scarred because of 
that.”

When you spend time around 

this team, you see those scars. 
The goal has been stated time 
and time again, sometimes with a 
measure of defiance. Barnes Arico 
declared Michigan was robbed 
last season during a postgame 
press conference in late January. 
Others take a more diplomatic 
tact — We felt we did enough — but 
the sentiment is still the same.

The Wolverines were told after 

last season they were left out of 
the Tournament due to a lack of 
quality wins, something they took 
measures to correct. Between 
home wins over Marquette and 
Maryland and a victory over Ohio 
State on the road, Michigan has 
three top-25 wins by RPI, where 
last season it had none.

Despite this, Barnes Arico 

refuses to let herself express 
certainty.

“For us it will always be a reality 

of, ‘Okay, you’re never guaranteed,’ 
” she says. “You always gotta 
continue to work and continue to 
improve and continue to get better. 
Because you never know what the 
committee is gonna be looking for 
at any given time.”

With its season on the line, 

Michigan pulled an upset victory 
out of its hat against then-No. 13 
Maryland in the final game of 
the regular season. At the Big 
Ten Tournament, the Wolverines 
added the cherry on top with a 

win over Penn State. That adds 
a measure of confidence to the 
wait, but a degree of worry is still 
there.

After 
all, 
Michigan 
spent 

most of February losing. Beating 
the Terrapins was as close to an 
all-or-nothing proposition the 
Wolverines have had all year for 
just that reason.

Barnes Arico didn’t stress the 

must-win nature of that game 
before it happened because she 
feels Michigan plays worse under 
that kind of pressure. But she 
knew it, and so did everyone else.

After that win, there was 

a palpable relief in the air. 
It has carried over into this 
conversation, where Barnes Arico 
jokes about potential locations 
for the first two rounds. But relief 
isn’t certainty, and Barnes Arico 
won’t be caught mistaking one for 
the other.

***
Michigan has read the same 

book for two years in a row 
as a team, Joshua Medcalf’s 
Chop Wood Carry Water. It’s a 
motivational book, the type of 
thing you read as a team, and one 
part of the story sticks out.

The main character is an 

architect, and a good one at that. 
He’s getting old and is asked to 
build one last house, a task he 
finishes halfheartedly. When the 
job is done, his client gives him 
the key as a gift. The house, one 
of the architect’s worst-ever jobs, 
belongs to him.

“It 
kind 
of 
goes 
with 

basketball,” said junior center 
Hallie Thome at the beginning 
of the season. “You know, like 
building your own house. Each 
and every day you’re building your 
own player on the court, you’re 
building your own confidence, 
and we’re building a team each 
and every practice.”

The book was then-senior, 

now-graduate assistant Danielle 
Williams’ suggestion last year, 
and the Wolverines learned the 
lesson firsthand. They built their 
house, the Selection Show came, 
and then there was no choice but 
to live there.

When Michigan started to look 

lost this year, struggling under the 
weight of expectation that came 
with being ranked as highly as 
13th in the country, Barnes Arico 
turned to the same message.

“When we started to get 

tight and we stopped thinking 
— we started to worry about the 
outcome and not the process — I 
thought that (the book) would be 
a reminder to us, as to why we’re 
doing this and what’s important,” 
Barnes Arico said. “And to bring 
us back to who we are and our 
core values and what our program 
stands for. And it’s just a constant 
reminder of that and just another 
way and another voice other than 
my voice or my assistant coaches’ 
voices — or Jillian (Dunston’s) 
voice.”

Last year, it was Dunston 

who rallied the Wolverines at 
practice the morning after the 
Selection Show, telling them in no 
uncertain terms they would win 
the WNIT and hang a banner.

On Tuesday, that won’t be 

necessary.

***
The Wolverines watched the 

Selection Show at Revel and Roll 
bowling alley last season, renting 
out a suite and inviting media to 
witness an impending celebration 
that never was. This year, they 
took a quieter tack, watching the 
show at Barnes Arico’s house, a 
more open space for catharsis.

The first region came and went 

without Michigan’s name being 
called. When the second did as 
well, the nerves started creeping 
in. Barnes Arico had felt confident 
coming in — there was no reason 
not to — but the tone in the room 
was changing from lighthearted 
to stoic.

“I could see Jilly starting to put 

her hand over her face,” Barnes 
Arico said. “My own children 
were like, ‘We can’t watch 
anymore,’ so I think everyone was 
getting a little stressed.

“... My little one came and sat 

on on my lap and said, ‘Mommy, 
I don’t like this,’ and then my son 
is like, ‘Ah, I don’t feel so good.’ … 
The longer it went, the tighter we 
became.”

Finally, their name was called 

and a year’s worth of emotions 
spilled out of the Wolverines. 
Dunston jumped out of her chair, 
then leapt up and down a few 
more times, turning to Katelynn 
Flaherty, a fellow senior, who 
bounced into her arms to share 
the moment.

“The most devastating part 

for me as a coach last year was 
(seniors) Danielle Williams and 
Siera Thompson didn’t get to 
experience it and what they had 
given to our program through 
the years,” Barnes Arico said. “... I 
didn’t want to leave that hole and 
that emptiness there again with 
Jillian and Katelynn.”

Assistant coach Wesley Brooks 

jumped into the middle of the 
room and let out a roar, turning 
to the ceiling to punctuate his 
exuberance. The entire room 
flew upwards at the same time, 
because what else is there to do 
when you’ve just accomplished 
your goal?

“We didn’t really hear much 

after that,” Barnes Arico said. 
“Thank goodness we recorded 
the show.”

The Wolverines, the seventh 

seed 
in 
the 
Lexington, 
Ky. 

regional, 
will 
play 
No. 
10 

Northern Colorado in Waco, TX. 
on Friday (5 pm, ESPN2). If they 
get by the Bears, No. 2 Baylor 
will likely await, and with it, the 
almost-certain end of Michigan’s 
season.

But that doesn’t matter.
The Wolverines wanted one 

thing from this season: an NCAA 
Tournament 
bid. 
They 
built 

a house big enough to earn it. 
Everything else is just window 
dressing.

ZOEY HOLMSTROM/Daily

The Michigan women’s basketball team made the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2013 on Monday.

ALEXIS RANKIN/Daily

Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico will be in the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time in her coaching career.

FINALLY

After just missing out last 

season, the Michigan women’s 
basketball team has made the 
2018 NCAA Tournament.

The Wolverines gathered at 

Michigan coach Kim Barnes 
Arico’s house to watch the 
Selection Show on Monday 
evening and waited patiently 
for their name to be announced. 
Seniors Katelyn Flaherty and 
Jillian Dunston sat together 
on a big chair. The mood was 
upbeat as Barnes Arico walked 
around and asked everyone 
their predictions.

“I was going around the 

room asking different players 
different questions, and the 
mood was really light,” Barnes 
Arico 
said. 
“Everyone 
was 

laughing and having a good 
time.”

Barnes Arico wanted to add 

levity to a tense situation. After 
all, the Wolverines were almost 
guaranteed a spot last year, 
but the show ended without 
Michigan’s name mentioned.

However, as the show went on 

Monday, the Wolverines began 
to get a little bit nervous. The 
memory of waiting hopefully for 
their name to be called last year 
hung in the back of the team’s 
minds.

“By the time bracket two 

was called and we weren’t 
mentioned, no one was really 
talking anymore and everyone 
was a little quiet,” Barnes Arico 
said. “You could see the beads of 
sweat starting to form on some 
of their heads. It was a little 
nerve-racking at that point.”

But then Michigan’s moment 

came.

The Wolverines were finally 

added to the field, and the 
suspense was lifted.

“We were getting a stomach 

ache because it was a while 
through. ... Everyone was getting 
a little stressed,” Barnes Arico 
said. “And then it was Michigan. 
We just jumped up and were 
screaming. 
We 

didn’t really hear 
much after that, 
thank goodness 
we 
recorded 

the show so we 
can go back and 
watch again.”

The 
bid 
is 

Michigan’s first 
since 2013. It’s a 
new experience 
for 
everyone 

on the team, even for seasoned 
veterans Flaherty and Dunston. 
Barnes Arico noted how great 
the moment was for the pair 
after putting in four years of 
hard work, including a Women’s 
National Invitation Tournament 
championship last season.

“Anytime you can get invited 

to the NCAA Tournament is 
a tremendous honor,” Barnes 
Arico said. “The players in 
our program now have never 
experienced that before and 
they’re so deserving. Katelyn 
and 
Jillian 
deserve 
to 
be 

watched on the national screen. 
This is a great opportunity for 
everyone in the country to see 
our team.”

The 
Wolverines 
were 

awarded the No. 7 seed in the 
Lexington 
region 
and 
will 

face the No. 10 seed, Northern 

Colorado, in Waco, Texas on 
March 16.

The Bears are currently on 

a 13-game winning streak that 
included a 91-69 win over Idaho 
to claim the Big Sky Conference 
Tournament Championship.

If Michigan beats Northern 

Colorado then it is likely to face 
the No. 2 seed, Baylor.

The Bears are known as one 

of 
the 
most 

dominant 
programs in the 
nation. They are 
31-1 overall this 
season and went 
undefeated 
in 

the Big 12 and 
are a legitimate 
title contender.

Barnes Arico 

is ready for the 
challenge ahead 

of her team, though. She’s aware 
of the caliber of the teams they 
are about to play but believes 
the Wolverines will rise to the 
occasion.

“Every team in the field of 64 

is a great basketball program 
and every team is fighting to 
survive and advance. Starting 
with 
Northern 
Colorado 
... 

they’re a great program,” Barnes 
Arico said. “Every team is a 
tremendous program so it’ll be 
just fun to have the opportunity 
to play in that environment and 
to survive and advance.

“And then if we’re fortunate 

enough to get through Friday 
then we’ll have an opportunity 
to test ourselves against one 
of the best programs in the 
country.”

The stage is set, and Michigan 

is ready for redemption.

Michigan makes its first NCAA Tournament since 2013
Wolverines earn vindication with their Tournament bid

ETHAN SEARS
Daily Sports Writer

SARAH HURST
Daily Sports Writer

“Everyone was 
laughing and 
having a good 

time.”

