Hoosiers open Big Ten season at 1-2

IU lost a hard-fought game against Michigan 65-59 Saturday, falling to 8-6 overall and 1-2 in conference action. The Hoosiers could not keep the momentum from their 60-39 rout of Wisconsin just two days before the Michigan contest.\nThe Hoosiers and Wolverines battled through four lead changes and four ties in the contest. The first tie came after IU put together an 8-2 run to knot the score at 15-15 with 8:27 left in the first half. With both teams tied at 21, Michigan finished off the first half with a 12-4 run to give the Wolverines a 33-26 halftime lead.\nThe Hoosiers were able to pull themselves back into the contest with a 6-0 run in the first two minutes of the second half to pull within at 33-32. Michigan was able to keep its lead in a back and forth battle, but neither team led by more than six points in the second half.\n"The difference in the game was that (Michigan) broke us down defensively and got to the line," IU coach Kathi Bennett said. "That is how they beat us." \nJunior Jenny DeMuth and sophomore Cyndi Valentin led IU's offense again with 19 and 11 points respectively. The duo also added 11 boards and three assists to IU's cause. However, Michigan senior center Jennifer Smith all but eclipsed the duo's performance with a 33 point, 9 rebound performance. Smith's impressive performance was flanked by junior guard Tabitha Pool, who notched a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds.\nFoul trouble also plagued the Hoosiers, as the team committed 23 fouls with two IU players fouling out of the game. Bennett said that the foul trouble contributed to the Hoosier loss.\n"We played hard enough but didn't play smart enough," she said. "We committed way too many fouls."\nIU had its fair share of highs and lows during the winter break, finishing at an even 3-3 since school let out.\nIU had an impressive 60-39 home win against Wisconsin January 8, with DeMuth and Valentin each scoring over 20 points apiece. After the game, DeMuth said defensive consistency was the key to the big win over the Badgers.\n"We played 40 minutes of defense, and I think that is a huge stride for this team," DeMuth said after the win against Wisconsin. "I think the past week we really got after it defensively. Finally, what Coach Bennett has been trying to instill on us has come through."\nAnother high came in the form of an 81-74 overtime win against Western Illinois on December 22, where the Hoosiers fought through a 14 point second half deficit to steal the game in overtime.\nIU's lows came with the team losing its conference opener 59-41 at the hands of the Michigan State Spartans on January 2. Within the game, IU could not get its offense going, as the team scored its lowest point total since 1990 in another game against the Spartans.\nHowever, another high came with 6-foot-7 freshman Sarah McKay hitting her stride during the winter break. McKay fought her way into the starting lineup and has started in each of IU's last six games. McKay started her tirade in IU's loss against the Arkansas Razorbacks on Dec. 20, scoring 19 points, 4 rebounds and blocking two shots off of the bench. \nAfter the game, McKay cited her impressive performance to good ball movement from her teammates.\n"My teammates really set me up with some good passes and kept me going, and I was finishing," McKay said. "It felt nice to be a little shocker."\nHowever, the Arkansas game was just the beginning. McKay had another career performance against the Ball State Cardinals as she led the team in points and rebounds with 24 and 16 respectively.\nPrior to the Razorbacks contest, McKay averaged a lowly 2.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and half a block per game. In IU's last seven games, McKay broke out with an average 11.4 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game.\n"Sarah is a freshman playing a ton of minutes, and she keeps getting better and better," Bennett said after the Ball State contest. "She's an exciting player to watch." \n-- Contact staff writer Dan Patrick at djpatric@indiana.edu