March 27th, 2021, Michigan and Baylor in the Sweet 16. Kim Barnes-Zerico called a timeout with 32 seconds left in the fourth quarter,

ultimately drawing up a play that yielded a Michigan layup. March 26th, 2022, Michigan and South Dakota

in the Sweet 16. Kim Barnes-Riko called the timeout with 48 seconds left in the fourth quarter,

ultimately drawing up a play that yielded a Michigan layup. So many similarities,

though there was one key difference. Last season, that layup from Nas Hillman created a tie.

This season, that layup from Layla Phelia, broke a tie. Last season, Michigan fell to Baylor in

overtime. This season, Michigan got a stop to seal the win against South Dakota. Ever since

that loss to Baylor, 364 days ago, we've heard from Coach Rico, from Nas Hillman, from this

entire team, that they would learn from that loss, and they would do everything they could to get back to this stage and actually get the job done.

And because the margin for error is so small and the work needed to just slightly improve your outlook is so immense, the Wolverines were almost in the exact same situation they were working to try

to improve upon. But that work, that year of effort meant a two-point improvement heading

out of that timeout. And that slight bump, that slight improvement made all the difference.

It's fitting that this is how it all played out

because three wins versus two doesn't sound like a big difference without context. But think about

the tournament-related growth for this program over the last year. Before 2021, Michigan's high

watermark for NCAA tournament wins in a single season was one.

Last season, it went to two.

And on Saturday, it jumped to three with still potential for more.

The true goal for this program is a national title.

That would be three more wins.

But on this night, Michigan women's Basketball can celebrate that next step forward,

from being down late to being tied late, from going to overtime, to celebrating after regulation,

...