Across women’s college basketball, sophomores can’t be stopped

Her No. 6-ranked Wolverines fell short of completing a comeback that would have knocked off the defending champions. She also wasn’t named MVP of the game.

But Michigan sophomore Syla Swords delivered the show-stopping performance of the 2025-26 women’s college basketball season on Friday night. 29 points, highlighted by eight 3s, nine rebounds and three assists from the sprightly Swords had No. 1 UConn the brink. It was an electric effort that burnished Swords’ status as one of the sport’s ultimate gamers: When the lights are bright and pressure rises, she’s ready.

Even after quiet afternoon during Michigan’s blowout win over Syracuse on Sunday, Swords, who is averaging 14 points and 6.0 rebounds on the season, headlines a surfeit of sophomores who have turned in standout performances.

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Among those are her teammates Olivia Olson, the wing who leads the Wolverines in scoring and put up an 18-point and 10-rebound double-double against UConn, and Mila Holloway, the point guard who paces the Michigan attack with almost six assists per game. Te’Yala Delfosse, another sophomore already cited as a potentially key piece for Michigan, had her best game in Maize and Blue on Sunday, leading the Wolverines over the Orange with a career-high 21 points.

Of course, a huge reason the Huskies held off the Wolverines on Friday night was due to the best sophomore—and best player regardless of class—in the sport: Sarah Strong. At this point, it’s become almost exhausting to expound upon how excellent Strong is. Against Michigan, she pulled down a career-high 20 rebounds to go with her 16 points, six assists, four blocks and three steals. Strong, as is her wont, seemed to see her effort as unremarkable, saying, “I mean, yeah, I was just..rebounding.”

Well, we’re impressed by Strong, Swords and these other sophomores:

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Joyce Edwards (South Carolina)

Even before she scored a season-high 25 points in South Carolina’s Sunday afternoon obliteration of…

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Publish date : 2025-11-24 13:00:00

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