After winning its first three conference games, the IU women's basketball team have lost three of its last four.
IU Coach Teri Moren talked all season about how tough the Big Ten is. Right now Moren's team is going through the ups and downs the conference presents.
“There’s a lot of basketball left, and we’re certainly disappointed,” Moren said. “This isn’t a group that gives in. We don’t feel sorry for ourselves. We realize this is the Big Ten, and it’s going to be like this.”
After dropping its last two games to Northwestern and Purdue, IU will now prepare for Michigan at 6 p.m. Thursday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
The Wolverines have gone through a similar seven-game conference experience as the Hoosiers. At 12-7 on the season and 3-4 in the Big Ten, Michigan has defeated Northwestern, Minnesota and Ohio State. IU lost to Ohio State and Northwestern and has not played Minnesota yet.
Michigan lost to Nebraska, Purdue, Maryland and Iowa. IU lost to Purdue on Sunday but have yet to play the others.
Last season, IU and Michigan's lone meeting was played in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The then No. 23 Wolverines emerged victorious 84-79. Leading the way for Michigan was graduated guard Katelynn Flaherty.
But sophomore forward Hailey Brown, senior center Hallie Thome and senior guard Nicole Munger scored in double digits in the game.
Thome is a 6-foot-5-inch center who commands plenty of attention in the low post. IU has struggled with allowing offensive rebounds of late, and Thome won’t make that adjustment any easier.
“She’s proven year in and year out that she’s a force to be reckoned with on the inside,” Moren said.
Munger is a sharpshooter from 3-point range as she leads the team with 39 3-pointers made this season.
As for Brown, she’s an athletic forward in the vein of Purdue’s junior forward Ae’rianna Harris. Harris grabbed nine boards on the Hoosiers Sunday.
Michigan also adds freshman forward Naz Hillmon who is averaging more than 12 points and six rebounds per contest.
“Naz Hillmon is a terrific freshman — probably has an opportunity to be Freshman of the Year in this league,” Moren said. “She’s relentless. I’ve never seen a young kid that pursues the rebound like she does.”
One promising stat for the Hoosiers is that the Wolverines are just 2-6 on the road, while IU is 8-1 at home.
The Hoosiers will look to feed off their home crowd as they desperately seek a win to snap out of their two-game losing streak.
