IU women’s basketball took a two-game road trip to Michigan and Northwestern in mid-January and lost both games.
The Hoosiers were able to avenge the second of those defeats over the weekend when they beat the Wildcats thoroughly in a dominant defensive performance, and now, with No. 20 Michigan coming to Bloomington for a 6 p.m. tipoff Thursday, IU Coach Teri Moren said she and her team are eager to use the familiarity they have with the Wolverines to secure the Hoosiers’ first win over a ranked team all season.
“There’s something about being able to play teams more than once,” Moren said. “That was a disappointing loss for us, and there certainly is motivation there.”
Michigan’s win against IU on Jan. 10 started a stretch in which the Wolverines have won eight of their last nine games. The lone loss came to No. 3 Maryland, which is in first place in the Big Ten and undefeated in conference play.
Moren praised Michigan’s ability to win road games in the Big Ten. The Wolverines have already picked up four wins away from home in conference play. With just one freshman, guard Kysre Gondrezick, who plays more than nine minutes per game, Michigan’s roster boasts many experienced players.
IU has yet to beat a ranked team this year and has losses to No. 3 Maryland and then-No. 14 Ohio State on its résumé. The Hoosiers are currently in the running for an NCAA Tournament bid and were included as a 10-seed in ESPNW’s latest bracketology, but Moren said a win against Michigan would go a long way toward making her team feel more confident about its chances.
“We talk about a signature win. Michigan has done their work, and now it’s our job,” Moren said. “We have a great plan for them. It’s going to be a big win for your résumé, no question.”
In the previous battle between the two teams, Michigan’s 6-foot-5 sophomore center Hallie Thome was tough to stop for IU. She made nine of 11 shots and scored 21 points with 11 rebounds. Thome averages 15 points, 7.2 rebounds and a pair of blocks per game.
Part of what makes defending against Michigan so difficult is the ability of the Wolverine post players to dish the ball out to some of the country’s best 3-point shooters, Moren said. Michigan has the best 3-point field goal percentage in the NCAA with a 40.8 percent mark as a team.
Gondrezick, who shoots 47.3 percent from behind the arc, teams up with junior guard Katelynn Flaherty in the sharpshooting Michigan backcourt. Flaherty is averaging 20.2 points per game this season and has a 38.7 percent 3-point field goal percentage.
IU senior center Jenn Anderson, who stands two inches shorter than Thome at 6-foot-3, was able to hold her own offensively in the last game against Michigan. Anderson had 21 points to match Thome, but Thursday the Hoosiers need Anderson to challenge the Wolverine center more on the defensive end.
“You have to make every shot for her tough,” Anderson said. “We know that she’s left-handed, so we really have to close off her power moves and make her try to use her right hand.”
Moren said her post players will attempt to double team Thome as much as they can, but facing a double-team will be nothing new to Thome or the rest of her teammates.
Improving shot selection will be key for IU, Moren said. The Hoosiers made just three of 13 3-pointers against the Wolverines in January, so the IU backcourt of junior guard Tyra Buss and senior Karlee McBride will look to shoot efficiently and avoid mistakes.
The Big Ten schedule is winding down and just three regular season games remain for IU after Thursday’s matchup.
Moren said things have changed in the past month for her team, and the mindset of her players is different.
“We’re playing with a greater purpose, a greater sense of urgency because we know it’s there for us,” Moren said. “There’s no question that it’s going to give us some momentum.”
