| Special to USA TODAY
FORT WORTH, Texas — Michigan basketball fans have seen a mask before.
Former Detroit Pistons star shooting guard Richard “Rip” Hamilton famously donned a clear, protective face mask in the 2003-04 NBA season after suffering a nasal fracture during a game.
Hamilton continued to wear the mask long after his nose had healed, citing its protectiveness. He became known as the “Man in the Mask.”
Now, Michigan basketball has a woman in the mask.
Sophomore shooting guard Syla Swords has been wearing a mask similar to Hamilton’s since the beginning of this season after breaking her nose in a preseason game.
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Swords stopped wearing the mask when her nose healed, but she proceeded to rebreak it and the mask returned.
This time around, even after her nose healed again, the mask remains.
“I feel protected by it,” she said. “I wouldn’t say I like it. The sweat pools into it, but it’s a good quality mask.”
The No. 2 seed Wolverines face a tough task in their Sweet 16 matchup on March 28, playing the No. 3 seed Louisville Cardinals.
“We just need to stay true to what we do,” Swords said. “They’re a bigger matchup, and that gives us an advantage on the offensive end.”
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This season, Swords is averaging 14.8 points per game on 41.2% shooting from the floor, and 34.5% from behind the arc. She’s knocked down 80 3-pointers on the season, which is fourth in the Big Ten.
Swords said she is grateful for the relationships she has with her teammates who know her on the court with the mask and off the court without it.
“I’m just excited to play with this team,” she said. “This team’s never going to be this team again. We have seniors graduating, we have new freshmen coming in, and I’m just really excited to see how far we can go with this group of people.”
Where to watch Michigan vs. Louisville in Sweet 16
What time is Michigan vs. Louisville game?
- Tip-off: 12:30 p.m. ET on March 28
Zack Busbee is a student in the University of Georgia’s Carmical Sport Media Institute.
