IU not able to get on track vs. Minnesota

With the chance to clinch a top-five spot for next week's Big Ten Tournament, the IU women's basketball team failed to capitalize against No. 22 Minnesota Thursday night in a 65-58 loss.\nThe loss snapped IU's three-game winning streak and dropped it to 9-6 in conference. The win for Minnesota propels it into fourth place in the Big Ten while the Hoosiers dropped back into a fifth-place tie with Iowa. The Hawkeyes defeated Illinois Thursday.\n"We battled back, but our team defense was lacking," IU coach Sharon Versyp said. "But playing on the road, we did a good job."\nBattling early foul trouble, the Hoosiers continued a recent trend of falling behind in the game's opening minutes as Minnesota took an early 12-6 lead.\nThe Hoosiers strong shooting from the charity stripe -- 10-for-14 -- kept IU in the game as Minnesota took the 26-22 halftime lead. IU made only six field goals on 16 attempts in the first half.\nSenior guard Cyndi Valentin and sophomore guard Nikki Smith picked it up offensively early in the second half, keeping IU in the game. The backcourt duo scored 16 straight points for IU, including four 3-pointers.\nAs the offense clicked, the Hoosier defense failed to slow down the Golden Gopher offense. Minnesota answered every IU basket with a field goal of its own as it slowly pulled away.\nA Whitney Thomas layup cut the Minnesota lead to just eight points at 48-40, but a flurry of long-range three-point shots extended the lead to 16 points. \nWith the clock winding down under five minutes and the game seemingly in hand for Minnesota, IU unleashed its own flurry of 3-pointers to cut the lead down to just five points with 1:45 left in the game.\nHowever, a late Minnesota layup nailed down the game for the Golden Gophers as the Hoosiers simply ran out of time in mounting their comeback.\nValentin, IU's leading scorer on the year, was held to just nine points as she tangled with Minnesota's tough defense and her own foul trouble.\n"(Minnesota) took Cyndi totally out of the game," Versyp said. "Nikki (Smith) stepped in and was able to knock some shots down."\nWith Valentin limited offensively, Smith scored a career-high 18 points, 17 coming in the second half including four 3-pointers.\nIU will wrap up the regular season Sunday at Iowa. The winner will receive a first-round bye in the Big Ten tourney. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m.