UPLAND, Ind. – The University of Michigan-Dearborn (0-1) women's basketball team began their regular season on Thursday (Oct. 26) against Taylor University (1-0). The Trojans took the victory on opening night, downing the Wolverines 82-55.
Five of the 10 student-athletes who saw playing time for Head Coach Brooke Bowers squad dawned the Maize & Blue for the first time. Bowers will acknowledge her team will take some time to gel. However, she understood that her young team would be ready for the challenge ahead. The real excitement on the day was for the return of senior forward Maya Barakat, who played her first full game after missing all of the 2022-23 season due to reconstructive surgery to repair a torn ACL.
Barakat played 27 minutes in her return and led the Wolverines in scoring with 12 points on 5-13 shooting from the field. Barakat also hauled in eight rebounds to go with a pair of blocks for the Wolverines. Sophomore Sydney Dixon quietly had a strong night as she tallied eight points, six rebounds, and dished out a pair of assists while only recording one personal foul.
The tale of the night was the Wolverines' inconsistency in shooting the ball. The Maize & Blue shot a measly 31.8% from the field and missed 12 opportunities at the charity stripe. However, the shooting struggles were similar for both teams. The Trojans were able to control the game in different ways, taking advantage of the young Wolverine core and forcing them into 14 turnovers, scoring 18 points off those turnovers compared to just four for the Wolverines. The Trojans were strong in the paint, scoring 46 of their 82 points from inside the painted area.
