No. 12 Indiana women’s basketball entered the halftime locker room Friday night against Michigan with its head held high. The Hoosiers were up 14 at the break in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
What preceded the Hoosiers 15 minutes after that jog to the locker room was certainly not what they and the Hoosier faithful had expected, dropping the matchup 69-56 inside the Target Center.
If it hadn’t been a chaotic week for Indiana University basketball, this adds to the pile.
The story going into the contest was the availability of graduate student forward Mackenzie Holmes and sophomore forward Lilly Meister. Both of the Hoosiers’ bigs were injured late in the second half against Maryland on March 3.
Indiana head coach Teri Moren said pre-game that both would be available but the recently minted All-Big Ten first-teamer Holmes would not start.
At halftime, Indiana out-shot Michigan five to zero from three and 14 to nine in total field goals. Fifth-year senior guard Sara Scalia headlined the half with 11 points on a team total of three 3-pointers. Scalia finished with 14 points with only one made field goal in the second half.
The Hoosiers held a 48-47 lead at the seven-minute mark of the fourth quarter. But after a 3-pointer from Michigan junior guard Jordan Hobbs, the Hoosiers didn’t lead the rest of the way.
Indiana seemed to have the Wolverines beat at halftime, but the maize and blue exploded, and it started immediately out of the gate in the third quarter. Michigan started the half on a 12-3 run, kickstarted by another newly minted first team All-Big Ten selection, junior guard Laila Phelia.
“Give Michigan credit, I thought Phelia was really good tonight,” Moren said postgame. “She really just put her head down and attacked us.”
Phelia ended with 30 points. In her two games at the tournament, Phelia has accrued 53 points — the most among players that have played two games in the tournament.
How did the Hoosiers fall apart in the second half?
Three total free throw attempts, allowing 19 points off 10 second half turnovers and allowing 60% on second half field goals while shooting only 29% themselves.
“We have to continue to learn even in moments like this,” Moren said. “Turnovers have been something we’ve addressed, being able to guard better off the dribble is something we’ve addressed, and we didn’t do either one of those good enough in the second half tonight.”
Moren also said countless times to the media that the Hoosiers are currently just not healthy. However, she also said that Holmes easily could have played more than 5 minutes.
Moren, however, promised that the Hoosiers will have the time to get healthy and will look much better when the NCAA Tournament begins in two weeks.
“This is not Indiana at full health right now,” Moren said. “I do believe this: come tournament time in two weeks, we will have a much different looking, healthier basketball team.”
Both teams were playing for something valuable. The Wolverines were one of the last teams projected to make the NCAA Tournament according to the Big Ten Network’s women’s bracketologist Autumn Johnson. The win Friday should put them comfortably in.
But for Indiana, a team that is at risk of losing home court advantage in the first two rounds of the tournament, a win could have solidified the possibility of hosting in Bloomington.
For now, the Hoosiers will now wait eight days for their fate. The NCAA Tournament selection show is set for 8 p.m. March 17 on ESPN.
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames) and Quinn Richards (@Quinn_richa), columnist Ryan Canfield (@_ryancanfield) and photographer Olivia Bianco (@theoliviabianco) for updates throughout the Indiana women’s basketball season.
