Michigan ends IU's season, throttles Hoosiers 67-40

When IU Coach Curt Miller looks for game film from this past season to use as lessons for improvement, he will have plenty of it featuring Michigan.

The Wolverines beat IU twice in the regular season by an average margin of 17.5 points and made life miserable for the Hoosiers Thursday night in the first round of the 2013 Women’s Big Ten Tournament in Hoffman Estates, Ill.

Michigan thumped IU 67-40 behind a dominant post game and fast break offense, using big runs at the start of each half to put the Hoosiers behind big in a hurry.

“I don't know why we didn't have more energy in the beginning,” Miller said. “But it's unfortunate, that start, it dug us a hole. Michigan had more determination and more fire in the beginning, and we challenged our kids early.”

The Wolverines started the game on a 12-0 run as IU missed its first eight shots from the field. Through the first 10:43 of the game, the Hoosiers shot just 16.7 percent from the field (3-of-18).

IU got its first points on an Aualni Sinclair jumper with 15:20 to go in the first half. Michigan would go up by 16 with 7:53 to go before IU went on a 13-8 run to cut the Wolverine’s lead to single digits, 29-21, with 1:32 to go.

The Hoosiers found themselves down just 10 at the half despite shooting 29 percent. It was one of the few times the Hosiers would string together some offense, and it was short-lived.

“I thought we were very focused and we were really sharp,” Michigan Coach Kim Barnes Arico said.  “I thought Indiana made a run at the end of the first half, but then we started the second half crisp and sharp again.”

Michigan started the second half on a 12-2 run as Kate Thompson hit two threes in the Wolverines’ first three possessions of the half.

Like in the first two matchups, Thompson was held below her team-leading average of 14.9 points per game by the tight defense of senior guard Jasmine McGhee. Thompson finished with eight points on 2-of-10 shooting.

While McGhee chased around Thompson and tried to carry the offense on the other end, Michigan had its way in the post. The Wolverines won the rebounding battle 45-30 and finished with a 32-10 advantage in points in the paint.

And like in the first two matchups, it was one of the Wolverines’ role players who stepped up with a big night. Sophomore guard Nicole Elmblad scored a career-high 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds, five of them on the offensive end.

Miller said his team was focused on stopping Rachel Sheffer, Nya Jordan and Sam Arnold as the trio had torched IU in the previous two meetings. It left the door open for Elmblad, whom Miller said he “recruited hard” while coach at Bowling Green.

“Not only did she score some points, but by playing off of it, she got a lot of free running lanes open to rebounding,” Miller said. “We insulted her tonight and tried to make her the star of the game.”

Senior forward Aulani Sinclair struggled mightily after hitting her first shot. She scored just four points on 1-of-11 shooting, and was noticeably fatigued during the game. Her shot looked flat, as she never could find her stroke.

IU shot just 27 percent for the game.

With his team losing control early, Miller called two timeouts in a 1:11 span about midway through the first half.

Between Sinclair’s fatigue — she led the conference in minutes with an average of 38 per game — and the illness hampering senior forward Linda Rubene, Miller was desperate to get his top scorers some rest.

“We're just kind of willing them at the time with three timeouts just trying to stay in it in case we could catch a run and catch a flurry of good play,” Miller said. “But (a) disappointing start for us, certainly. It didn't help us throughout the evening.”

McGhee was the only Hoosier to score in double figures, finishing with 12 points on 5-of-16 shooting. The Hoosiers seemed flat from the get go, and it was McGhee who was continually trying to pump up her teammates and turn things around.

“I wanted to win,” she said. “And me being a senior, I didn't want this to
be my last (game). I just know that I just tried to get my teammates going and maybe we can make a run.

“And unfortunately it didn't happen, but I'm just grateful for the opportunity that I've been playing here.”