Miscommunication costs Hoosiers

Winning on the road is hard to come by in any conference, and the Hoosiers are continuing to find that out the hard way after a 63-61 loss to Michigan Sunday in Crisler Arena.\nIn a game that was tight throughout, involving 23 lead changes and 14 ties, it was the last lead change that prevented IU (8-9, 1-6) from picking up its first road victory during Big Ten play.\nWith the game deadlocked at 58, sophomore guard Leah Enterline twice gave IU a one point advantage down the stretch. First at the two minute mark 59-58 and again with a minute and 14 seconds left 61-60.\nFrom there things went dicey for the Hoosiers as the Wolverines (5-13, Big Ten 1-6) proved their mettle down the stretch.\nMichigan senior forward Tabitha Poole, who notched her eight double-double of the year, came up with running hook shot to give the Wolverines a 62-61 lead.\nAfter an errant pass by the Hoosiers, Michigan had the ball with 32 seconds on the clock. \nIU attempted to steal the ball from the Wolverines, but did not foul as the seconds ran off the clock.\n"I take responsibility for them not fouling earlier," said IU coach Kathi Bennett. "We wanted to try and deny the ball and get a steal, but after a certain point we needed to foul them. The instructions should have been clearer."\nThe Hoosiers had one final chance to escape Ann Arbor, Mich., with a victory, but with .3 seconds remaining, time immediately expired as sophomore forward Jamey Chapman grabbed the ball.\nAfter facing a one point deficit at the break the Hoosiers kept pace with the younger Wolverines, but no matter what IU did Michigan matched it. Neither team was able to get a lead bigger than three points during the second half.\nThe Hoosiers grabbed a three-point lead at the midway point sparked by freshman Nikki Smith. Smith scored career high 11 points on the evening, including five points during a 13-8 run midway through the second half.\nDespite reaching the 60-point plateau for the first time in more than a month, it wasn't enough to prevent the Hoosiers from losing their fourth in a row on the road. Throughout the game junior center Angela Hawkins kept pace with Poole. Hawkins scored 12 of her 16 points during the second half while grabbing 10 rebounds. \nAt the onset of the game it looked as though IU was going to snap out of its road woes grabbing a five point lead to start off the game at 8-3. Michigan quickly countered with a 10 unanswered points to take a 13-8 lead. The remainder of the game stayed close, with neither team having more than a five point lead.\nThe Hoosiers will look to solve their road woes as they battle Illinois (11-5, Big Ten 3-3) at 8 p.m. Thursday in Champaign, Ill., on Fox Sports-Net Chicago.