Hoosiers lose third straight

IU women’s basketball maintained a six-point halftime lead against Michigan with a chance to add a conference win and move one step closer toward clinching a postseason bid, only to see it slip away.

Michigan (17-10, 8-6) outscored IU (17-9, 4-9) 44-26 in the second half and handed the Hoosiers their third consecutive loss, 70-58.

With only three regular-season games remaining — two of which are on the road — IU Coach Curt Miller said the loss at home was a missed opportunity.

“We knew this was a very big week, and we don’t talk about it with the team, but the coaching staff knows that it’s a big week,” Miller said.

Senior forward Simone Deloach agreed Michigan was a winnable game, but the Hoosiers lost their resilience during the second half.

“It’s a tough loss,” Deloach said. “These last couple months is when the tough teams play, and I just think we need to find our toughness back.”

Senior forward Tabitha Gerardot led the Hoosiers during the first half, scoring 16 points off 7-of-10 shooting. She finished with a season-high 22 points and eight rebounds.

Gerardot nailed a 3-pointer with two minutes and 10 seconds remaining in the first half
to spark an 8-2 run to close the half.

Coming out of the locker room, IU’s offense stalled while Michigan’s caught fire.
Freshman guard Larryn Brooks turned over the ball during the first possession, and Michigan’s Shannon Smith converted an and-1 on the ensuing fast break. Smith’s layup sparked an 11-2 Michigan run, giving the Wolverines a 37-34 lead with 16 minutes and 37 seconds remaining.

“We talked about how important it was to sustain it in that first four minutes of the second half, and we didn’t get them to miss a shot until almost nine minutes into the second half,” Miller said. “Essentially it took over control of the tempo of the game.”

Deloach converted on a layup with 15 minutes and 24 seconds remaining to give IU a 38-37 lead, but Michigan outscored the Hoosiers by 13 points during the next seven minutes.

IU shot 45 percent from within the arc, but only managed to make one of its 13 3-point attempts.

As IU’s offense struggled from beyond the arc, Michigan was able to pull away.

“I’m not really sure what happened for us,” Gerardot said. “They were hitting shots and we weren’t.”

IU cut the lead to eight points with three minutes and 49 seconds remaining.

Michigan’s Siera Thompson responded with a deep 3-pointer to give Michigan a double-digit lead the Wolverines would hold onto the rest of the game.

IU has three games remaining, including one final home game Saturday against Illinois, to pick up a résumé-boosting win the team needs to get a tournament bid.

Despite their 17 wins, the Hoosiers have struggled throughout conference play. The Hoosiers have only won four Big Ten games.

With the season winding down and not much time left to add wins, Miller said IU still has work to do if they want to ensure itself any games after the Big Ten Tournament.

“I’d love to send this senior class out with a postseason bid, and we don’t know if we’ve quite secured it yet,” Miller said.