EAST LANSING, Mich. — As the fourth quarter opened during Indiana women’s basketball’s matchup with No. 22 Michigan State, it was down by 10 points. Just a minute into the final quarter, it was down 15.
But the Hoosiers hadn’t given up just yet.
Michigan State senior guard Jocelyn Tate committed a foul as Shay Ciezki drove toward the basket, which sent her to the free-throw line with seven and a half minutes to go in the game. The junior guard made both of her attempts and sparked energy in Indiana.
After the free throws, the Hoosiers went on a 10-0 run, which was capped off by graduate student guard Sydney Parrish’s 3-pointer. Indiana then faced a 4-point deficit with just under four minutes remaining.
The Hoosiers had an opportunity to make a fourth-quarter comeback. They needed to play soundly on both ends of the floor, just like they had for the previous three minutes and 45 seconds.
But for Indiana, dire mistakes have been a reoccurring issue all season long — especially in late game scenarios — and that didn’t change against Michigan State on Sunday. And once the Hoosiers pulled within 4 points, they began to falter.
The Hoosiers had two crucial turnovers within the final two minutes of the contest, committed uncharacteristic fouls — which Indiana head coach Teri Moren was visibly upset with — and allowed Michigan State to snag offensive rebounds which turned into second chance points.
The lapses amounted to the Spartans pulling further ahead of the Hoosiers as Indiana fell 65-73 to Michigan State at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan.
And while each late game collapse differs, one thing remains a constant — turnovers.
“We knew they'd press,” graduate student guard Chloe Moore-McNeil said postgame. “We knew they were a great pressure team, and I think a lot of the turnovers we had were careless mistakes and a lot of them were caused by nobody but ourselves.”
Indiana racked up 18 turnovers Sunday, which Michigan State took advantage of as it scored 24 points off Hoosier turnovers. The Spartans entered the contest as one of the best teams in the Big Ten in forcing turnovers and looked the part as they intercepted passes and caused disruption for the Hoosiers throughout the contest.
“We’ve showed them, we’ve told them, we’ve showed them, showed them more film,” Moren said about her team and the turnovers. “They’ve gotten plenty of film and plenty of conversations, whether it’s together, whether it’s with their guard coach or post coach, collectively, all of it. They’ve heard it.”
Moren said at this point in the season her harping on the importance of protecting the ball could be put on a recorder and played over and over again for her team, yet the Hoosiers still continue to struggle.
While the Hoosiers defeated No. 8 Ohio State on Feb. 20 by 10 points, they still struggled with keeping the ball in their own hands. They tallied 21 turnovers, but other areas of their game stepped up — like playing strong defensively and draining shots — as Indiana found ways to work around its turnovers and limited shot attempts those entailed.
But, as Sunday’s performance showed, Indiana can’t always rely on its shots falling and its opponents not if it’s going to keep the giving the ball away.
And even as the season nears its end, Moren is still searching for the answers as to why her squad continually turns the ball over, even though she said they understand the importance.
“Trust me, the questions that you guys ask, if I had the answers for all of it, I’d try to fix it,” Moren said. “I really would because I want them to have success because they’re great kids and they work hard and some things I’m still a little bit perplexed by.”
However, Moore-McNeil said it’s not too late to fix the turnover issues for Indiana. But if Moren and the Hoosiers want to find a solution, they’re going to have to do so quickly. Indiana has just two games remaining on its schedule before the Big Ten Tournament and a potential berth to the NCAA Tournament starting with No. 21 Maryland on Thursday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames) and Savannah Slone (@savrivers06) and columnist Ryan Canfield (@RyanCanfieldOnX) for updates throughout the Indiana women’s basketball season.
