Olivia Olson is usually the most dominant player on the court. Scoring in double figures every single game this season and putting up 20+ points in seven of her last nine games, her offensive presence is felt every single time she laces up her shoes.
The sophomore guard is averaging almost 19 points per game, and she’s doing so with an efficient shot selection. And the times where she puts up the most shots on the team, are a result of her shot-making ability — not a propensity for chucking.
“There were some games where she had 17 and 19 (points) at half,” Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico said Jan. 25 of games against Southern California and Wisconsin. “She didn’t need to have 17 or 19 points in the second half, because someone picked up that slack. (Olson) is so unselfish that she buys into that.”
Olson is oversized compared to many of the guards that she faces. But her physicality doesn’t come at the expense of skill, so she is able to move opponents out of the way and finish over top of them inside the arc. Olson has the ability to knock down shots from all around the midrange, but above all else, she has a few spots that she looks unflappable from. Pull-up jumpers from the baseline and turnarounds in the paint are shots that seem like they fall for her every time she puts them up.
She often jumpstarts her own, and the seventh-ranked Wolverines’, offensive production through her ability to get to her spots in the midrange.
“It’s crazy seeing her work like that: the spin moves and the three’s, everything,” sophomore guard Mila Holloway said Jan. 5 after a nine-point Olson quarter. “She’s someone that can get it going at any point of the game, and she’s someone that can keep it going.”
Like Holloway said, Olson can knock down the three-ball as well. Her 31% clip from behind the arc isn’t jaw-dropping, but she hits 3-pointers at crucial times. In a deadlocked rivalry matchup against No. 13 Michigan State Feb. 1, Olson stepped up to hit four three’s — one of them being a deep pull in overtime to make it a two-possession game.
And obviously, she makes her shots down low. Michigan forced 22 turnovers per game, and they try to run in transition off of every single one of them. This plays to Olson’s strengths as her ability to get downhill puts defenders in a tough position; risk being out-physicalled on the way to the basket, or suffer a euro-step and a finish with the left hand.
Olson’s transition game also benefits from her defense. With long arms and quick feet, she traps opponents and overwhelm them with her size. She grabs almost two steals per game, and she gets down the court with consistency.
“I usually take the inbounder, and (senior guard Brooke Quarles Daniels) turns them,” Olson said. “I can use my length to not let them pass out.”
With all this being said, it begs the question: where are the flaws in her game? But scrolling through Michigan’s statistical leaderboards, Olson is in the top-5 of every figure. Even putting her game under a microscope, it’s hard to nit-pick.
Olson’s importance to Michigan cannot be overstated. Racking up a scourge of awards already, the nation has been put on notice. And while in interviews Olson has a stable and humble presence, her tenacity makes her one of the Wolverines’ most dangerous weapons.
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