Hoosiers’ comeback bid not enough

The fight. The heart. The effort.

They were all there for the Hoosiers at the Wednesday game against Michigan, but it wasn’t enough, as IU fell on the road 88-76.

The Wolverines (15-10, 8-5) were able to expand on a 15-point halftime lead to go up 64-46 with 11:22 remaining in the second half.

However, the Hoosiers (9-17, 3-11) refused to quit, going on a 17-to-1 run in just more than four minutes to draw to within two points of Michigan with 7:10 left to play.

The Hoosiers’ late run was fueled by senior guard Jori Davis, who scored 18 points in the second half. She finished the game with 27 points, six rebounds and three assists.

But Michigan had sharpshooters of its own.

A three-point basket by sophomore Kate Thompson with 6:54 left in the game quelled the IU run and sparked a Wolverine squad that never surrendered its lead.

Three-point field goals and foul shooting became the main sources of offense for the Wolverines, with IU outscoring Michigan 30-18 in the paint.

Michigan shot 13-of-26 from beyond the arc and 27-of-32 from the free throw line, which accounted for 66 of its 88 points.

“Making shots is a big part of the game,” Michigan coach Ken Borseth said. “We had open shots and we made them.”

The IU guards continued to excel, with senior Whitney Lindsay and junior Alisha Goodwin chipping in 10 points apiece.

However, a high-powered Michigan offense had five players score in double figures, led by junior Carmen Reynolds, who connected on 5-of-7 three-point shots to finish with 19 points. Off the bench, Thompson contributed 18 points, shooting 4-of-5 from long range.

“We were able to pretty much, as a team, get whatever shot we wanted,” Reynolds said. “We were really good at passing it around the perimeter, passing it in and out. Everyone was getting shots, everything was open, it felt like.”

IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack said the team’s late surge was not enough to compensate for defensive miscues.

“The surge to get back into the game was great, but we dug ourselves into a hole,” Legette-Jack said in a statement provided by IUHoosiers.com. “We knew what they were going to do. They are a very good three-point shooting team and our defense was just not there. Jori Davis was just fantastic. She gave us her all on defense and offense tonight. She is a special player for this program. We just need others to follow her lead.”