Syla Swords and Avery Howell face-off in Big-10 Tournament Semi-Final

It will be the first time the two Canadian freshmen play each other in college basketball — winner goes to the Big-10 Final.

After taking home some hardware in Conference awards, there is more Canadian action going down in the Big-10 Women’s Basketball Tournament this weekend. Syla Swords and Avery Howell will play each other for the first time in their college careers, as USC and Michigan meet each other in the semi-final of the Big-10 Tournament Saturday.

Southern California have the benefit of rest, given they were awarded the double-bye that comes with their no.1 seed in the conference. Their first game was that quarterfinal Friday against Indiana. The Hoosiers had the benefit of the “home court advantage” since the tournament is in Indiana — which lead them to a gritty performance that kept the no.2 ranked team in the country on their toes.

Canada’s Avery Howell — who is from Boise, Idaho but plays for Canada with her dual citizenship — got her first career start. USC’s senior center Rayah Marshall was out of the game with an illness, leading to Howell replacing her in the lineup. She scored 10 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 1 block, shooting 50% from distance.

Her teammate Juju Watkins scored 31 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals and 1 (massive) block. It was her 21st 20-point performance, which raised her to 2nd in Trojan history for most 30-point career games behind Cheryl Miller (25). Watkins could surpass Miller before her sophomore season is over, with only four 30-point games separating her.

Yet, despite this, USC still had a close call in their quarterfinal, winning 84-79. They certainly missed Marshall in the front court, and Indiana shot 42.1% from three.

Later in the afternoon, Michigan had their own different but still dramatic game. As the no.5 seed in the tournament, they faced no.4 Maryland. After winning the first quarter 27-6, Michigan had a scoring drought in the second that led Maryland to bring the game back within one possession. Going into the half, Michigan was only up four points.

Despite letting Maryland make their way back into the game, the second half was all Michigan. They were able to get that 20+ point lead back thanks to numerous turnovers from Maryland and an offensive blitz from the Wolverines. In the end, Michigan won 98-71 to book their ticket to the semi-final.

Syla Swords had 22 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals, shooting 50% from distance. The other half of Michigan’s freshman duo, Olivia Olson, scored 20 points while Michigan’s senior leader Jordan Hobbs scored 23 points.

USC and Michigan have only played each other one other time this season, back on December 29. USC won 78-58, though Syla Swords did not play in that game — sitting out with a leg injury. This makes Saturday’s game the first time Swords and Howell will play each other in their college careers.

The two players share a close friendship and bond, having been teammates on Team Canada’s Senior Women’s Team during Olympic training camp last summer. Howell recalls Swords showing her the ropes, as she had played with the Senior team longer, saying “she is super easy to talk to and really good friend — but we’re able to take things super serious.”

“At that high of a level, you have to kind of be able to know when it’s time to get to work and practice hard and get better. I think that that’s why both of us worked well at that high of a level over the summer,” Howell says. “Just having [Swords] help me and be there to talk as someone in similar positions and age, I think that that was pretty cool as well.”

Michigan also has another Canadian on their team, just not on the court. Canada Basketball veteran Natalie Achonwa is coaching at Michigan this season, taking a job as the Assistant Coach of Player Development after announcing her retirement after the Paris Olympics.

On an episode of Locked on Women’s Basketball last week, Swords recalled when her coach — then teammate, Achonwa — told her she would be joining her in Ann Arbour.

“I was getting on the bus, and she just said ‘I’m gonna be your coach next year,’” Syla says, “I was like ‘what?’”

This USC vs Michigan game will not only be a testament to the growth of the sport and these two programs in particular — but also of the growth of Canadian talent in women’s college basketball. There are 135 Canadian women playing on teams across the NCAA this season, with many playing on ranked teams and winning conference awards. Swords made the Big-10 Second Team and All-Freshman team, Toby Fournier of Duke won the ACC Freshman of the Year as well as making the ACC First Team and All-Freshman team. Delaney Gibb was the Big-12 Freshman of the Year, Jasmin Bascoe made the Big-East All-Freshman team, and Yvonne Ejim won West Coast Conference Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.

The growth of women’s basketball in Canada is a big part of the growth of the sport as a whole — especially as the WNBA prepares to welcome the Toronto Tempo into the league in 2026. The Canadian Women’s Senior team has been ranked top-5 in the World FIBA rankings for the past few years, and came 4th at the Women’s World Cup in 2022. These young players duelling it out in the NCAA will be among those chosen to represent Canada as the next cycle of international competitions approaches. Both Swords and Howell have similar goals when it comes to their Canadian Team: getting onto the podium.

That seriousness they share will come into play as they head into a single elimination tournament game. They both know the stakes — winner makes it to the Big-10 Tournament Finals. As close as their friendship is, they will be able to turn on their game faces when the game tips-off.