Te’Yala Delfosse Ends UConn’s Streak — Michigan Beats the Huskies for the First Time Like This

Thirty-nine straight regular-season wins. That is the number UConn brought into Crisler Center on Thursday night, and it is the number Michigan buried. No. 5 Michigan beat No. 2 UConn 77–66 in Ann Arbor, and the engine was Te’Yala Delfosse — a career-high 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting, nine rebounds, and back-to-back threes early in the fourth quarter that broke the game open for good.

Game Center: Michigan 77, UConn 66 — full box score, play-by-play and highlights from Crisler Center.

UConn’s last regular-season loss was February 6, 2025, at Tennessee. Since then the Huskies had run the table for 39 straight, and they arrived in Ann Arbor as the No. 2 team in the country. Michigan made sure the streak ended in the loudest building on the schedule. The Wolverines’ 13-2 run early in the fourth quarter forced Geno Auriemma into two timeouts, and Delfosse’s consecutive threes capped an 8-0 burst inside it. From there, Michigan closed it out at the line and on the glass.

A career night, on the biggest stage Crisler has hosted

Delfosse’s 22 topped anything she had produced in her first 59 college games, and she did not do it alone. Olivia Olson added 19 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals. Syla Swords scored 10, and Courtney Ogden gave Michigan 12 off the bench. The Wolverines shot 9-of-20 from three and owned the moments that decided the game — when UConn pressed late, Michigan had an answer every time.

UConn’s freshman nearly stole it

The Huskies were not short on fight. Freshman Jovana Popovic scored a game-high 25 points with seven rebounds, and Sarah Strong finished with 13 points and eight rebounds despite fouling out. But UConn shot just 8-of-31 from three-point range, and a first quarter in which Strong picked up three fouls set the tone Michigan never gave back. The loss drops UConn to 1-1; Michigan moves to 1-0.

Why this one goes in the record book

This was the first top-five-versus-top-five AP matchup ever played at Crisler Center, and Michigan turned it into a program first: the Wolverines’ first win in program history over a team ranked No. 2 or higher — the highest-ranked opponent Michigan has ever beaten. There is no easing into a season after a night like this. Michigan hosts Wright State on Sunday. UConn goes home to face No. 10 Iowa on Sunday, carrying a loss it has not had to carry in a regular season since February 2025.

The night did not just belong to Delfosse's scoring. Michigan's defense chased UConn off the arc all night, and the Huskies finished 8-of-31 from three. Every time UConn cut it to two possessions in the fourth, the Wolverines answered with a stop and a score at the other end.

Kim Barnes Arico has built Michigan into a program that schedules nights like this on purpose. A top-five opponent in the home opener, in front of a national audience, is not an accident of the calendar. Her Wolverines have been building toward a win like this for a few seasons, and on Thursday night they collected it.

For UConn, the reset is immediate. Geno Auriemma's young core gets a ranked Iowa team at home on Sunday, and Popovic's game-high 25 points say the future is real even in a loss. One November loss does not dent a season in Storrs, but a 39-game streak ending in opening week is a headline the whole sport carries into the weekend.

Sunday splits the story two ways. Michigan hosts Wright State with the target now on its back, and a Wright State team hunting the headline of its own season. UConn gets No. 10 Iowa at home with the streak gone and something to prove.

The rankings will move on Monday, and Michigan's case is simple: the Wolverines beat the No. 2 team in the country by 11, at home, with Delfosse authoring the night of her career. Whatever number sits next to Michigan's name next week, Thursday night is the receipt.

Full box score, play-by-play and highlights: Game Center.

This one was played at Crisler Center in Ann Arbor before 9,575 fans (Melissa Barlow refereed). Michigan’s win ended UConn’s 39-game regular-season win streak at 77–66 — “39-game regular-season win streak.”